HYDAC achieves the AS/NZS 61439 certification.
AS/NZS 61439 certification is a series of standards for low voltage switchgear and control gear assemblies that replaces the AS/NZS 3439 series.
Three key areas of the standards are temperature rise test, arc faults, and verification.
Low voltage misleading name
HYDAC Graduate Engineer Michael Seed, who is mainly working on this certification project, cautions that “low voltage” is a misleading name.
“It goes up to 1000Vac or 1500Vdc, which is high enough to be dangerous as most things we build at HYDAC,” Mr Seed points out.
“And switchgear is almost any moving part that makes/breaks electrical contact like a button, switch, relay, or circuit breaker, etc.
“In essence, the series of standards defines different responsibilities for original manufacturers and assembly manufacturers.”
Non-compliant switchgear assembly can be refused.
Mr Seed also highlights that the new series of standards, mandatory since May 2021, enables any electrician, contractor, or technician to legally refuse to install any switchgear assembly that isn’t compliant.
“The Australian government hasn’t started enforcing it yet though. And from industry talk HYDAC appears to be one of the few businesses that is really taking it seriously and making a big push to catch up,” he says.
AS/NZS 61439 main sections
The AS/NZS 61439’s four main sections are as follows:
1 - Client agreement
Client agreement centres on a detailed agreement on what is being designed and built.
“The list of things we now need to predefine is quite extensive. This agreement can override some design requirements, but any detail not covered could render HYDAC legally liable.”
2 - Design verification
Design verification is of particular interest, according to Mr Seed.
“There’s a list of 13 things we need to verify with the design. And this process only needs to be carried out once for every design even if multiples of a design have been built.”
The 13 design verifications are as follows:
- Strength of Materials and Parts
- Degree of Protection of Enclosures
- Clearances
- Creepage Distances
- Protection Against Electric Shock and Integrity of Protective Circuits
- Incorporation of Switching Devices and Components
- Internal Electrical Circuits and Connections
- Terminals for External Conductors
- Dielectric Properties
- Temperature Rise Limits
- Short Circuit Withstand Strength
- Electromagnetic Compatibility
- Mechanical Operation
He specifies that the previous standard limited temperature to 105°C maximum whereas AS 61439 limits temperature rise to 105K above ambient unless stated otherwise in the client agreement.
Default ambient temp is 35°C, which means the default maximum temperature is 140°C.
“The new AS 61439 series of standards allows hotter temperatures and further exemptions based on agreements with the client,” Mr Seed says.
He further explains that the temperature rise test would be at ‘10 Temperature Rise Limits’.
“If an operating current is below 1600A and below 80 percent of the device’s current rating, temperature rise can be verified by calculations.”
The temperature rise test, which can be done instead of calculations, is only required in the absence of an original manufacturer’s proof or equipment is used irregularly.
As to arc fault protection, specific protection against arc faults is optional unless stated otherwise in the client agreement.
“The old standard’s testing methods are still acceptable, or IEC/TR 61641 can be used if the client requires arc fault protection,” Mr Seed says.
“This revolves around whether the customer wants the inside of their panel’s layout arranged so components are physically divided to protect delicate components from arcs – it’s case by case based on customer needs.”
He points out that arc faults (without additional client requirements) fall under four different categories on the list:
- Clearances,
- Creepage Distances,
- Protection Against Electric Shock and Integrity of Protective Circuits
- Dielectric Properties
Some of these can be verified with original manufacturer’s certificates or measuring distances and sizes, according to Mr Seed.
“Others require power frequency withstand voltage tests.”
Many tests are however not required if they were executed by the components’ original manufacturers.
“For example, most of our enclosures and circuit breakers are already compliant because they have been sourced by compliant suppliers,” Mr Seed comments.
“Therefore, we are already compliant, but just need to save their data sheets. But we could become the original manufacturer depending on the extent to which we alter enclosures, which could necessitate re-certification.”
3 - Routine verification
Routine verification points to the need for all completed builds to be inspected and tested.
“This is a much smaller part than design verification and our electricians have been verifying our builds for ages,” Mr Seed says.
“All we need to do on our end is change the layout of our paperwork because we’re already doing this stuff. I can’t emphasise enough how lucky we are to have such a strong production team.”
4 - Certificate of compliance
HYDAC issues the certificate of compliance.
“It’s a legal statement where we swear that we're compliant. But if it gets challenged, we need to provide evidence of our compliance,” Mr Seed emphasises.
Australian push to be European-standard compliant
Mr Seed explains that Australia has been eager to become compliant with European standards in recent years.
“For example, some years back we changed from 415V 3ph and 240V 1ph to 400V 3ph and 230ph. That was to match the standard voltages in Europe,” he points out.
“In Europe they have standard IEC 61439, which has been in use for over a decade.
“This new standard will help Australia become more internationally compatible.”
Impact of AS/NZS 61439
According to Mr Seed, the new series of standards doesn’t change building requirements.
“Everything we build must still comply with individual component standards and electrical wiring and safety laws already in use. AS/NZS 61439 is mostly about responsibility for design verification,” Mr Seed says.
“It’s adding whole new layers of requirements to prove we did things correctly. In the past, everyone just took your word that what you built was up to specification because previous standards didn’t assign a lot of responsibility.
“AS/NZS 61439 now requires us to legally swear we did it correctly and provide the evidence to support that claim.”
Impact at HYDAC
Mr Seed says that HYDAC is required to be more selective with its suppliers because it can only use parts that come with their own proof of certification in their individual standards.
“As mentioned, we need to have clearly defined and detailed agreements with our end customers before we design anything: client agreement is a big part of AS/NZS 61439,” he reinforces.
“We are also set to add more man hours to our builds to account for all the extra design and routine verifications we will perform and record - which translates into a higher level of record keeping.”
Penalties for Non-Compliance with AS/NZS 61439
In Australia, non-compliance with AS/NZS 61439, which regulates low-voltage switchgear and control-gear assemblies, can result in various penalties enforced through state and territory Work Health and Safety (WHS) and electrical safety laws.
Key penalties include:
Fines: Serious breaches, such as reckless conduct leading to risks of death or serious harm (Category 1 offences), can incur fines up to $300,000 for individuals and $1.5 million for corporations. Less severe breaches (Category 2 and 3) carry lower but still significant fines.
Prohibition Notices: Regulatory bodies like SafeWork NSW, WorkSafe Victoria, and others can issue prohibition notices, halting the use of non-compliant electrical assemblies until the issue is rectified.
Rectification Orders: Contractors may be required to take corrective actions, leading to project delays and added costs.
Licence Suspension or Revocation: In serious cases, electrical licences can be suspended or revoked for non-compliance.
Criminal Charges: Where negligence results in injury, death, or serious harm, criminal charges may be pursued, potentially leading to imprisonment.
Contractors and professionals are legally obligated to ensure compliance with AS/NZS 61439 in the design, installation, and maintenance of assemblies to avoid financial, legal, and criminal consequences.
HYDAC process
Mr Seed emphasises that the certification process is “heavy duty”.
“For example, there are amendments or additional parts depending on the industry. 61439.1 is the general standard, 61439.2 industrial, and 61439.3 domestic. 61439.2 has a lot of amendments that are applicable to our line of work,” he says.
“This led me to divide the task into four already mentioned subtasks to focus on: client agreement, design verification, routine verification, and certificate of compliance.
“With assistance I also found various examples of compliance certificates, routine verification checklists, and design verification checklists that proved useful for comparison.”
Mr Seed says he researched how each section of the design verification is applicable to HYDAC.
“This included what could be excluded, what could be satisfied by original manufacturer’s paperwork, and how the ACE (Automation Control Engineering) department needs to perform the required tests,” he says.
The ACE department has been collecting data sheets and compliance certificates for the components and materials it regularly uses and developing a compliance database.
“Graduate Electrical Engineer Phillip Gossip, part of the team, has been helping develop a temperature rise calculation tool.”
Timelines
HYDAC has been working on AS/NZS 61439 certification since October 2022.
“Currently we are finalising our process and will issue some of our certificates in the next few weeks.”
“I am really looking forward to the time when HYDAC can slap a ‘61439 compliant’ label on everything due to the ACE department team's efforts.” Mr Seed concludes.
