Health and safety paperwork for HVAC and refrigeration technicians

The hazards that actually matter

Every trade has a long list and a short one. The short one is what the task documents have to deal with properly, because it is where the serious harm comes from.

Refrigerant release

Most refrigerants are heavier than air and displace oxygen in plantrooms, risers and pits. Some decompose into toxic products on contact with a flame or hot surface. Ventilation and gas detection before entry, not after a smell.

Work at height on roof plant

Condensers and AHUs sit on roofs reached by fixed ladders and hatches, often with no edge protection within metres of the unit.

Lifting plant onto roofs

Crane or HIAB lifts over an occupied building, with an exclusion zone that has to hold on a live site.

Confined spaces

Plantrooms, ducts, ceiling voids and risers. Restricted access, heat, and a rescue route that does not exist unless you plan it.

Electrical isolation

Three-phase supply, capacitors that hold charge, and VSDs that stay live after the isolator. Prescribed electrical work requires its own licence.

Brazing and hot work

In ceiling spaces and plantrooms, next to insulation, with a fire watch afterwards.

Legionella

Cooling towers and warm water systems, both for the people servicing them and for the building.

Manual handling

Units that are heavy, awkward and routinely carried up a stair because the lift is not available.

What applies beyond the general duties

The Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and the General Risk and Workplace Management Regulations 2016 apply to every business. These sit on top of them for this trade:

• Ozone Layer Protection Act 1996 and its regulations, for handling and disposal of refrigerants
• Electricity Act 1992 and the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010, where the work is prescribed electrical work
• Health and Safety at Work (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2017
• Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016, reg 14 emergency plans

Competence and licensing

Handling refrigerants requires approved filler status or equivalent authorisation under the refrigerant handling regime. Electrical work on the equipment is prescribed electrical work and requires EWRB registration and a current practising licence. Confined space entry and working at height both require their own training.

Notifying WorkSafe

Lifting operations of the kind used to place roof plant, and work where a person could fall 5 m or more, both bring the 24 hour notification duty. The full list and its exclusions are in notifiable work: the 10 categories.

What a main contractor will ask you for

• A lift plan for any crane or HIAB placement, with the exclusion zone
• A Task Analysis for roof plant access, refrigerant handling and electrical isolation
• Refrigerant handling authorisation and EWRB licence details
• Hot work permits and the fire watch arrangement
• The confined space entry permit and rescue plan for plantrooms and risers

A document per task, not one for the job. The crew doing one task should not have to read past three others to find their controls, and a site manager checking one task should not have to either.

Where to start

If you are writing from scratch, how to write a Task Analysis sets out the order. If you have been asked for something and are not sure which document it is, which document do you need covers the difference between a site plan and a task document. Our prepared documents for this trade are the HVAC & Refrigeration Task Analysis Pack, or single documents from the catalogue.

Sources

• Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, s22 (reasonably practicable), s34 and s36
• Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016, regs 5 to 8
• Health and Safety in Employment Regulations 1995, reg 26 (particular hazardous work requiring notice)
• Ozone Layer Protection Act 1996 and its regulations, for handling and disposal of refrigerants
• Electricity Act 1992 and the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010, where the work is prescribed electrical work
• Health and Safety at Work (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2017
• Health and Safety at Work (General Risk and Workplace Management) Regulations 2016, reg 14 emergency plans
• WorkSafe New Zealand, Identifying, assessing and managing work risks

This guide is general information about New Zealand health and safety law as at the review date. It is not legal advice and it does not describe your site. Confirm what applies to you with WorkSafe New Zealand or your adviser.