Electrical Hazard Protection For A Safe Workplace

Electricity is magic stuff, providing light, powering equipment, and doing the work of many with the flip of a switch.  It is also potentially lethal stuff, able to spark a deadly blaze or snuff out a life the moment its rules are disobeyed.  It makes a marvelous servant, but a poor master, to paraphrase a saying. 
 

Engineers, power line workers, and electricians, among others, work directly with electricity; and every worker at any job works with it indirectly.  OSHA has established both general and industry-specific standards and OSHA 30 hour trainings to minimize electrical hazards and promote the safe design and use of electrical systems and equipment; they also mandate testing and certification standards for electrical equipment as a condition of its use. 

Electrical hazards to persons include shocks, the effects of shocks, and burns.  Electrical hazards to property include damage to instruments and systems, fires, and explosions.  In extreme situations, the results can be fatal; in fact, electrical-hazard accidents accounted for almost 3,000 deaths, or roughly 5%, of workplace fatalities in 1999 alone.

OSHA’s focus is always on prevention, and standards exist for unsafe equipment or installation, unsafe environments, or unsafe work practices.  One source of protection is the use of insulation, as in insulated wiring, equipment, or power sources.  Another safety protection is to post warning signs in dangerous locations.  Guarding, or placing the equipment in a separate room or elevated platform, is another safety, as is the use of lockout or tagout devices.  Frequent and regular inspection of all hazard areas is vital.

Grounding a tool or electrical system, which is accomplished by creating a low-resistance pathway for the electricity, greatly decreases risk.  A service ground mainly protects machines and tools against damage.  An equipment ground helps to protect the operator if a malfunction should cause the tool’s metal frame to become electrically charged.

Circuit protectors limit or stop the flow of current automatically if there is a fault or short circuit in the wiring system.  This includes fuses, circuit breakers, and ground-fault or arc-fault interrupters.  Fuses and circuit breakers interrupt the flow of current when too much current is going through the equipment.  Ground-fault interrupters are used in wet locations or other high-risk areas to quickly shut down too-high current flow and prevent electrocution. 

Even with all possible hazard protection in place, it is still crucial to educate workers to the dangers of their workplace, and to give them specific, frequent instruction in working safely.  Workers should be aware of overhead power lines.  They should be trained in the use of personal safety equipment such as hardhats, goggles, face guards or respirators.  There should be zero tolerance on the worksite for any violation of safety standards.  Tools should be cared for, used only for their designated purpose, and put away safely.  In short, workers should each be totally familiar with the safety protocols for their particular jobs.  They should be taught to use common sense and good judgment at all times, and to look out for one another as they come and go.  They should complete any proper osha trainings and learn the proper methods. The result will be a safe and healthy work environment.