Electrical Task Analysis Template for New Zealand Construction
Plan electrical work around the actual supply, equipment, people and work area. This New Zealand form supports a task analysis for a site electrician, supervisor and person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU). It does not authorise an unlicensed worker to perform prescribed electrical work (PEW), determine that a circuit is dead, replace an isolation procedure or issue a certificate. WorkSafe says people carrying out PEW generally need appropriate registration and a current practising licence, and different work can require testing, certification and inspection under the Electricity (Safety) Regulations 2010. The authorised worker must identify the rules for this work, not infer them from a blank template.
Job information and prerequisite evidence
| Field | Record for this task |
|---|---|
| Site, work zone and precise electrical scope | |
| PCBU, principal contractor and electrical contractor | |
| Authorised electrical worker(s), role and licence check | |
| Site supervisor and person controlling access | |
| Installation/supply description, plans and known alternate feeds | |
| Permit/authority to access or isolate | |
| Temporary works and adjacent trade interfaces | |
| Applicable current standard/code and designer instructions | |
| Test equipment, suitability and checks | |
| Emergency plan, first aid and rescue contacts | |
| Certification/inspection and handover plan |
The WorkSafe electrical safety checklist for small construction sites distinguishes site set-up, regular and day-to-day checks and warns that its checklist is not a complete statement of legal duties. Use it to prompt inspection of temporary supplies, leads, residual current devices and communication; use current standards and a competent electrical designer/worker for technical settings and test procedures.
Copyable task sequence
| Stage | Specific hazard or failure | Control and hold point | Owner / evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Confirm scope and competency | Wrong circuit or unauthorised PEW | Verify drawings and site conditions, scope of licence, competent supervision, work boundaries and permitted tasks. | |
| 2. Coordinate shutdown | Unexpected power loss, other trades affected, alternate feed | Agree outage with relevant PCBUs/occupants; identify all energy sources, backfeeds and dependent systems. | |
| 3. Isolate and secure | Electric shock, arc, unplanned re-energisation | Authorised person uses the applicable isolation/lockout process; label and control access. Verify absence of voltage with appropriate equipment and method before touch; record who proved the state. | |
| 4. Set safe work area | Contact by others, damaged temporary leads, water or poor lighting | Barrier/sign the zone, control pedestrians/plant, inspect access, work platform and weather/environment. | |
| 5. Carry out work | Contact with energised parts, fire, wrong materials/connection | Follow current design, standards and manufacturer instructions; protect exposed work; competent supervision and change control. | |
| 6. Test and inspect | Unsafe installation handed back | Authorised worker performs required tests and arranges independent inspection where the work type requires it. Record results, defects and correction. | |
| 7. Re-energise and hand over | Person working on system, unsafe circuit, missing documentation | Account for people and tools, close covers/barriers, agree re-energisation, verify operation and provide legally required certificates/records. |
Do not use “switch off” alone as proof of isolation. The authorised worker must choose the correct technical method and test instruments for the installation. If live work is proposed, stop and obtain a documented task-specific decision under the current legal and technical requirements; this general template does not authorise live work.
Specific site prompts
- Temporary construction supply: Who owns the distribution board and how are temporary leads protected from water, vehicles, cuts and unauthorised alteration? Are the relevant WorkSafe construction-site electrical checks current?
- Overhead or buried cables: Have the network owner, location information and safe distances been checked? An excavation or lifting task needs coordination with its own task analysis; see WorkSafe excavation guidance.
- Other stored or alternate energy: Are batteries, solar generation, generator feeds, UPS equipment or plant isolations relevant to this site? Ask a competent person to identify any backfeed path.
- Shared work: Has the site manager told other PCBUs what is isolated, what remains live and when the area will reopen? Do not rely on a notice that workers have not seen.
- Certification: Determine whether a Certificate of Compliance, Electrical Safety Certificate or inspection record is required for the specific PEW. WorkSafe's construction and certification guidance and current regulations govern this; this page does not state that every repair produces the same certificate.
Change, defect and sign-off record
Unexpected condition: ___ . Work made safe and people excluded: ___ . Revised scope/method approved by: ___ . Other PCBUs notified: ___ . New tests or inspection required: ___ . Date/time of rebrief: ___ . If a circuit differs from the plan, stop and re-identify it. A previous licence check or permit does not prove this specific circuit is safe.
Pre-start briefing: workers ___; date/time ___; isolation boundaries explained ___; questions ___ . Hold point released by authorised worker: ___ . Tests/certificates/inspection references: ___ . Handover recipient/date: ___ . A site manager's signature cannot replace an electrical worker's legal certification.
Example: fit-out beside an occupied tenancy
An electrical contractor is adding circuits to a commercial unit while the neighbouring tenancy remains open. The task analysis maps the shared board, identifies the affected circuits and possible alternate supply, agrees a shutdown window with the site controller, barriers the working zone and requires the authorised worker to isolate and verify before touch. It records how emergency lighting and public access are maintained. If the drawings do not match the board, the team stops and revises the plan instead of guessing from a label.
Frequent failures
- Assuming the same isolation point controls every feed.
- Letting an unregistered person undertake PEW because a supervisor signed a generic form.
- Treating an RCD as permission to work on a live circuit.
- Placing temporary leads across traffic or wet ground without suitable protection.
- Re-energising before people, barriers and test results are accounted for.
- Claiming one certificate type always applies to every electrical task.
Page ownership and Complys boundary
This is the NZ electrical task-analysis form, distinct from WorkSafe's official electrical safety checklist, a generic SSSP and other trade task forms. It links to WorkSafe's checklist rather than duplicating it as an official inspection form. Targeted live search found no exact NZ Complys electrical-task template; final current repository/gated-content search remains required. The observed Complys NZ site is a neutral brand link. The proposed /nz/risk-assessment-software money route and any feature claim require direct product/route evidence before a CTA. Complys cannot confer an electrician's licence or issue a statutory electrical certificate.
Primary sources reviewed 6 October 2026: WorkSafe who must comply, construction-site electrical checklist, construction and certification, getting electrical work done. Writer-side QA: no technical isolation procedure or universal certificate claim invented; must be adapted and checked by an authorised NZ worker. Disposition: READY with publication gate above.