The intention behind statutory maintenance is supposedly safety of course. For this reason they exist on cranes, lifting gear, pressure vessels, release valves and so forth. it is also the reason why they are so prevalent within the underground coal industry.
High voltage equipment operating in an environment of highly explosive gases tends to be a little hairy at times, so the statutory tasks are there to help manage these risks safely.
That's all well and good; and on the surface it seems like a great idea. Unfortunately it is the implementation that has gone awry in most cases. In some cases this is merely counter productive, but at times it is actively increasing the risk of the type of incident they are supposed to be protecting against.
We work a lot with companies to troll through their relevant statutory codes and to determine which tasks they need to be compliant with, and helping them to manage these.
In recent time this has focused a lot on the Underground Coal Mining industries, as well as cranes, pressure vessels and lifting devices in other industry sectors.
Time and time again what has been implemented is either not aligned with the standard that applies to them, or it misses the point altogether.
The underlying reason for this is that very few people actually know and understand the standard they are meant to be auditing their assets to. In fact, the vast majority of what they believe to be statutory is in fact just part of the myths and legends of the industry.
Let me explain further. AS 2290 is a standard looking at the management of electrical equipment in hazardous / explosive environments.
Almost without exception the companies that make up the underground coal mining sector have implemented this incorrectly. Resulting in increased downtime for inspections, AND an increased risk of the failures they seek contain.
Right now it's New Years eve and I have to go and countdown with my wife and our friends.
Cheers...