Posted By colinfinnigan Hi, I am presently working on a ship that uses only 220 v AC power tools. having come across only 110v being allowed on land i wonder if any one knows that PUWER regs apply here on the ship or not.

Posted By Bob Y Reg 3 details the 'application' of the regs but I couldn't make to much sense of it at a glance http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1998/19982306.htm#3

Posted By FAH Hi Colin The first issues to confirm is whether you're in the UK, EU or somewhere else. If the UK law applies, then the criteria for the applicable legislation is whether the vessel is under the command of the Master or not, where it is, & the type of work carried out. If the vessel is under the command of the Master but moored alongside, is the task being undertaken by crew as part of the normal running of the vessel or not? If not, then conventional H&S legislation rather than maritime legislation applies. From your comment that it's 220v, I suspect that this is not a UK registered vessel, although that's not a problem other than for ensuring suitable current matching of equipment with UK standard voltage & consequently current drawn. Incidentally, I'm not aware of any explicit legal requirement for 110v in the UK H&S legislation - not even in construction. However, if you're using anything greater than 110v centre-tepped to earth, you should ensure that a suitable RCD is provided & used as well as ensuring that other topics such as personal electrical safety are included in the work risk assessments. Hope this helps a little. Frank Hallett