Standard
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AS 5804.1:2025
[Current]High-voltage live work, Part 1: General
AS 5804.1:2025 establishes the minimum requirements for high-voltage live stick work to safeguard live workers and the public and to align live work requirements with current industry practices and advancements in technology.
Published: 27/06/2025
Pages: 76
Table of contents
Cited references
Content history
Table of contents
Header
About this publication
How to read this Standard
Preface
Introduction
1 Scope and general
1.1 Scope
1.2 Application
1.3 Normative references
1.4 Terms and definitions
1.5 Responsibilities
1.5.1 General
1.5.2 Network operator and service provider
1.5.3 On-site controller
1.5.4 Safety observer
1.5.5 Team members
2 Live work methods
2.1 General
2.2 Glove and barrier method
2.3 Stick work method
2.4 Barehand method
3 Risk assessment
3.1 General
3.2 Pre-job hazard and risk assessment
3.3 Known hazards
4 Live work personnel
4.1 Selection criteria
4.2 Medical assessment
4.2.1 General
4.2.2 Initial medical assessment
4.2.3 Ongoing regular medical assessment
4.3 Workplace health issues
4.4 Initial training and competency assessment
4.4.1 Training and assessment
4.4.2 Competency assessment
4.4.3 Refresher training
4.5 People working with a live work team
5 Work documentation
5.1 General
5.2 Procedures and techniques
5.3 Documentation
5.3.1 General
5.3.2 Live work manual
5.3.3 Live work permit
5.3.4 Approved work documentation
5.3.5 Minor changes to work procedure on-site
5.4 Records
6 Safe working principles
6.1 General
6.2 Work on adjacent structures and spans
6.3 Combination live work and access authority work
6.4 Integrity of insulation
6.5 Inspection of insulators
6.6 Restraint of free ends of harness straps, pole straps and ropes
6.7 Worksite electrical apparatus assessment
6.8 Safety observers
6.8.1 Safety observer
6.8.2 Team members
6.9 Work team communications
6.9.1 Communication with the system controller
6.9.2 Communication between work team members
6.10 Weather conditions
6.11 Traffic management
6.12 Step and touch potential
6.13 Protective devices
6.13.1 Operation of protective devices
6.13.2 Disabling of auto-reclose function
6.13.3 A manual reclose or other planned switching of a circuit
6.14 Plant earthing
6.15 Public safety
6.16 Personal protection
6.16.1 Wearing metallic objects
6.16.2 Hair length
6.16.3 Personal protective equipment
6.17 Procedures in the event of an incident/accident
6.17.1 Events constituting an incident or accident
6.17.2 Procedures for responding to live work incidents or accidents
6.18 Post-job assessment
6.19 Safe working principles for substations
7 Insulation and voltage
7.1 General
7.2 Insulating materials
7.3 High-voltage insulators
7.3.1 General
7.3.2 Handling of insulators exhibiting physical damage or electrical distress
7.3.3 Minimum number of electrically sound disc insulators
7.3.4 Testing of insulator strings
7.3.4.1 Insulation integrity
7.3.4.2 Voltage profile across the string
7.3.5 Minimum number of electrically sound discs not available
7.3.6 Capacitive charge on disc insulators
7.4 Porcelain disc insulators
7.5 Glass disc insulators
7.6 Non-ceramic insulators
7.6.1 General
7.6.2 Installation of new insulators
7.6.3 Handling of non-ceramic insulators
7.6.4 Assessment of non-ceramic insulators
7.7 Potential abnormal voltage conditions
7.7.1 General
7.7.2 Ferro-resonance
7.7.3 Ferranti effect
7.7.4 Lightning and backflash
7.7.5 Resonant earth system
7.7.6 Neutral earth resistor and neutral earth reactor
8 Current and conductors
8.1 General
8.2 Elevated conductor temperature
8.3 Current and switching
8.4 Conductors and controlled movement
9 Electromagnetic fields
9.1 General
9.2 Electric fields
9.3 Magnetic fields
9.4 Electromagnetic field management
10 Minimum approach distance
10.1 General
10.2 Insulation based on air
10.3 Minimum approach distance based on air
10.3.1 Calculation
10.3.2 Electrical factor
10.3.3 Ergonomic distance
10.4 Recommended minimum approach distance
10.5 Conditions applicable to Tables 10.4(A) and 10.4(B)
10.6 Decreasing the minimum approach distance
10.7 Increasing the minimum approach distance
10.7.1 Ergonomic distance
10.7.2 Individual factors related to the live worker
10.7.3 Environmental factors
10.8 Minimum approach distances for mobile plant
10.8.1 General
10.8.2 Variations to minimum approach distances
10.8.2.1 General
10.8.2.2 Increasing the minimum approach distance
10.8.2.3 Decreasing the minimum approach distance
10.8.2.4 Mobile plant and load considerations
10.8.2.5 Ergonomic distance for plant and loads
10.8.2.6 Persons working in association with live work teams
11 Equipment
11.1 General
11.2 Electrical rating of insulating equipment
11.3 Contamination
11.4 Insulation maintenance
11.5 Electrical properties of tools and equipment
11.5.1 Categories of insulating materials
11.5.2 Current associated with personal protective or cover-up tools and equipment
11.5.3 Current associated with support, lift, or reach-extending tools and equipment
11.5.4 Maximum permissible current
11.6 Live work sticks
11.7 Gloves and sleeves
11.8 Insulating barriers
11.8.1 General
11.8.2 Types of insulating barriers
11.9 Conductor support equipment
11.10 Rope
11.10.1 Properties of rope for live work
11.10.2 Types of rope in use
11.11 Elevating work platforms
11.11.1 Use of elevating work platforms
11.11.1.1 Elevating work platform insulation — Stick work
11.11.1.2 Elevating work platform insulation — Glove and barrier
11.11.1.3 Elevating work platform insulation — Barehand
11.11.2 Supporting energized components
11.11.3 Uninsulated parts of the elevating work platforms
11.11.4 Earthing and bonding of the chassis of the elevating work platforms
11.11.5 Elevating work platforms for live high-voltage work
11.12 Crane operations
11.12.1 General
11.12.2 Instruction of crane operators
11.12.3 Supervision of crane operators
11.12.4 Supporting energized components
11.12.5 Uninsulated parts of the crane
11.12.6 Earthing and bonding of the chassis of the crane
11.12.7 Operation of multiple plant items on the same site
11.13 Insulating positioning towers
11.14 Personal protective equipment
11.14.1 General principles
11.14.2 Safety footwear
11.14.3 Eye and face protection
11.14.4 Head protection
11.14.5 Protective clothing
11.14.6 Additional outer clothing
11.14.7 Specific live work equipment
12 Care and maintenance of equipment
12.1 General
12.2 Equipment management system
12.2.1 General
12.2.2 Leaving of live insulating equipment on energized electrical apparatus
12.3 Inspection
12.3.1 General
12.3.2 Frequency of inspection
12.4 Cleaning
12.5 Storage and transport
12.6 Care and maintenance of live work sticks
12.7 Care and maintenance of gloves and sleeves
12.8 Care and maintenance of barriers
12.9 Care and maintenance of conductor support equipment
12.10 Rope for live work
12.10.1 Insulating rope
12.10.1.1 General
12.10.1.2 Use and marking of insulating rope
12.10.1.3 Minimum length of insulating rope
12.10.1.4 Management of insulating rope
12.10.1.5 In field insulating rope inspection and testing
12.10.2 Storage and handling
12.10.3 Live work rope
12.10.3.1 General
12.10.3.2 Testing
12.10.3.3 Storage and handling
12.10.4 Rescue rope
12.10.4.1 Testing
12.10.4.2 Storage and handling
12.11 Care and maintenance of elevating work platforms
12.11.1 General
12.11.2 Electrical
12.11.3 Mechanical
12.12 Care and maintenance of cranes and crane insulation
12.13 Care and maintenance of PPE
12.14 Testing
12.14.1 Electrical testing
12.14.1.1 General
12.14.2 Testing in the field
12.14.2.1 General
12.14.2.2 Testing disc insulators
12.14.2.3 Earth leakage testing
12.14.2.4 Live work stick and rope testing
12.14.3 Periodic electrical testing intervals and standards
12.14.4 Mechanical testing
12.14.5 Identification and marking of safe working load
13 Auditing
13.1 General
13.2 Basic principles
13.3 Audit frequencies and scope
13.4 Live work auditors
13.4.1 General
13.4.2 Selection
13.5 Audit process
13.6 Management of non-conformance
13.7 Reporting of audit results
14 Use of helicopters
14.1 General
14.2 High-voltage live work principles
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
C.1 General
C.2 Full audit
C.3 Partial audit
C.4 Brief audit
C.5 Non-conformance resolution sheet (example)
Appendix D
D.1 General
D.2 Formulae for derivation of minimum approach distance
D.2.1 General
D.2.2 Air insulation distance, ϕ–g
D.2.3 Air insulation distance, ϕ–ϕ
D.3 Example calculations
D.3.1 Example calculation of ϕ–g MAD for 110 kV system voltage
D.3.2 Example calculation of MAD ϕ–ϕ 275kV system voltage
Appendix E
E.1 Determination of minimum helicopter approach distance
E.2 Calculation of minimum helicopter approach distance
E.3 Guiding principles and assumptions
E.4 Commentary
Bibliography
Cited references in this standard