Legislation & safety

Electrical safety legislation BA4 – BA5

The competence codes BA4 (instructed) and BA5 (skilled), the risk analysis of electrical installations and the competence declaration.

What does the law say?

Definitions

AREI/RGIE
— General Regulation on Electrical Installations. It sets out the legal requirements that electrical installations must meet and has applied since 1 October 1981, both at home and at work.
Code BA4 — instructed persons
:
  • persons sufficiently instructed about the electrical risks associated with the work entrusted to them, or
  • permanently supervised by a skilled person during that work.
Code BA5 — skilled persons
:
  • persons who, through training or experience, can themselves assess the dangers of the work to be carried out and determine the measures to eliminate specific risks.

In summary

  1. The codification table defines the distinction between the competence levels.
  2. The employer has a traceable risk analysis carried out for each electrical installation.
  3. Every person concerned receives appropriate training.
  4. The employer records the worker’s competence in a competence declaration.

Legal text

“BA4 or BA5 competence is granted to workers by the employer and recorded in a document that clearly specifies for which work and for which electrical installations the competence applies. Employers remain obliged to ensure that every person concerned receives sufficient and appropriate training aimed at their workstation or function.”

AREI/RGIE (RD 10/03/1981, art. 47) + update (RD 25/04/2004)

“The employer carries out a risk analysis of every electrical installation of which they are the holder and provides the necessary training and instructions to avoid the risks inherent in the use of and work on the installation. Work with risks that cannot be excluded is reserved for workers with competence code BA4 or BA5. A general BA4/BA5 training course must always be supplemented with internal situational guidelines based on the risk analysis.”

Electrical installations at workplaces (Code book III, title 2)

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