In 1990 "Electrical Systems in Office Furniture and Office Screens" was published as a full British Standard and the "Electricity at Work Regulations" came into effect. The Electricity at work regulations part of Health and Safety legislation superseded the old Electricity Factories Act extending the scope to embrace all workplaces.

All electrical equipment and installations must be designed and tested to ensure their safety to comply with the regulations. Relevant British Standards may be used as means of demonstrating compliance, in the case of office furniture B56396 in its updated 1995 version.

Electrical accessories including power modules must meet electrical standards as set out in B56396 as a requirement for overall compliance of the desk or workstation electrical system. Power modules are manufactured to B55733 with production and quality traceable standards to assist with ensuring compliance of completed office furniture installations. The diagrams below indicate the maximum number of sockets outlets that may be connected from a single power supply cable fed from a 13 Amp B51363 plug.

 

Sockets installed in office furniture are intended to supply office equipment with a rating not exceeding 5 amps. Equipment with ratings in excess of 5 amps must be provided its own dedicated power feed and it is acceptable to run this through the workstation cable management system.

For compliance with the "Electricity at Work Regulations" and B56396 all installations when completed must be tested. Section 7 of B56396 sets out the procedures. These tests should also be carried out on re-configured desks and screens as well as new installations. Annual inspections and tests should be carried out to fulfil the obligations of the "Electricity at Work Regulations" in maintaining a safe working environment.

Tests should be performed by trained competent personnel and the results of the test recorded on test record sheets. Copies of the documentation should be passed to the client for safe keeping and future reference.

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