AS/NZS 3003, 3551 and 3760: which test is which?

Three different standards get called “testing” in a practice, and they cover three different things. AS/NZS 3003 covers the electrical installation of a patient area: the wiring, the 10 mA RCDs, the outlets, the earthing and the sign. Its routine inspection and test is at least every 12 months, and it is what the test label on the green sign records.

AS/NZS 3551 covers medical electrical equipment: the chair, the ultrasound, the ECG, the steriliser. It sets out how that equipment is maintained and tested, usually by a biomedical technician or the supplier, with its own tags and intervals. New Zealand testing companies treat everything plugged in within a patient area, computers and fans included, as falling under it.

AS/NZS 3760 is ordinary workplace test and tag of plug-in appliances: the kettle, the printer, the vacuum. It is not a medical standard and it says nothing about the room. A practice typically needs all three, and they can be done on the same visit, but a current test-and-tag sticker on the appliances does not mean the room itself is in date.