Electrical Safety Comics

Electrical cables, equipment, plant and machinery all have the ability to shock, injure and even kill personnel. Even non-fatal shocks can cause permanent injuries. For example, shocks from faulty equipment could lead to falls from scaffolding, ladders or work platforms. Electricity can also cause significant damage to property (e.g. fires). This is why every precaution must be taken to ensure Electrical Safety. 

These are some of the possible risks to our people and our business if you do not follow the correct Electrical Safety procedures:

Fatality or Serious Injury

• Lost time due to electrical burn injuries or interruptions to cardiac rhythm
• Injuries and burns from electric shocks
• Damage to property and equipment from power surges
• Fires from faulty electrical equipment
• Explosions from electrical sources
• Lightning strikes
• Reduced productivity

Risks must be assessed and identified at every decision making level in the organisation to ensure that appropriate controls are implemented to prevent Class One Personal Damage

HARD CONTROLS: ELIMINATE/SUBSTITUTE/ENGINEER/SEGREGATE

• Work on live electrical systems, installations and equipment must not be undertaken, except where deemed necessary by a competent and authorised person for the purposes of fault finding, testing/commissioning work or where the electrical supply cannot be interrupted.
• Every effort must be made to eliminate the risk associated with electricity by relocating the service/s and where this is not practicable by de-energising (isolating) the service/s.
• All electrical installations (panels, cabling, outlets, switches, lights etc.), generators, fixed or portable electrical plant and any other electrical appliances must be purchased and installed to company specification.

 General requirements for electrical installations and equipment:

• Electrical equipment shall have correct safety guarding and protective devices in place (e.g. RCD’s/ELCB’s, earthing, weatherproof materials, cover plates etc.).
• RCD/ELCB protection must be provided and functional for all electrical distribution installations, generators and portable panels.
• All electrical supply points shall be provided with a means of effective isolation and lock out.
• Electrical substations, distribution boards and panels must be weatherproof and secure against interference or unauthorised operation.
• All temporary distribution boards must be externally grounded and adequately secured in position.
• Portable electrical tools shall be double insulated.
• Precautions must be put in place to ensure there are no electrical sources of ignition in flammable atmospheres caused by the presence of flammable liquids and vapours (i.e. use of intrinsically safe equipment in high risk locations).
• Electrostatic earthing must be provided for all situations where sparking may present a hazard, orfor (e.g. explosives magazines), or steel & tall structures which may be subject to a lightning strike (e.g. Radio towers, steel sheds etc.).
• Eliminate the need for overhead cables wherever possible, especially over travel ways.
• All underground and overhead cables must be located or arranged so they are not in the way of activities on site (i.e. redirected, buried, raised above ground).
• Where cables are buried they should be at a safe depth (at least 0.5 m below final ground level).
• Underground cables must be adequately protected and insulated (cover tiles, compacted sand/indicator material, PVC/conduit, etc.) and their routes surveyed, clearly marked on site (marker posts) with site service plans updated.
• All cables must be suitable for the duty and expected load.
• Cables must be sufficiently insulated, sheathed or armoured.
• Socket outlets for distribution cables should be located as close to the working point as possible to prevent the need for long trailing wires.
• Power and lighting circuits should always be kept separate.
• Always look for opportunities to reduce trip hazards by having hanging cable at work stations.
• All temporary electrical leads will be secured off the ground by insulated hooks and/or lead stands.
• Joints in cables should be avoided wherever possible. Where unavoidable, they should only be made in purpose-built housing.

 SOFT CONTROLS: DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT CONTROLS ADMINISTRATION/BEHAVIOUR/PPE

Competency

• Electrical work and supervision of electrical work must only be carried out by competent licensed electrical workers (e.g. installing, repairing, testing, tagging of equipment).
• All electrical workers shall have the appropriate governmental licenses and certifications in place. 
• All electrical workers shall be trained in expired air resuscitation and cardiac pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), the work permit system, isolation procedures and specific site procedures.
• All electrical workers shall undergo specific medical check-ups in line with regulations and licensing requirements.

Procedures

• Standard Operating Procedures and/or JSEA’s shall be in place for all activities involving Electrical Safety.
• Before work always identify potential risk.
• Electrical equipment must be locked out and isolated and the LOTO procedure verified by a competent person before any repairs or maintenance.
• A test for dead (not live) must be completed: prior to, or recommencing work on any electrical equipment; following any time away from the work; or, following changed conditions.
• All exposed electrical parts and conductors, including earthing conductors, must be treated as live until proven otherwise.
•  A Permit to Work shall be required to work adjacent to, or under or near overhead power lines, or if performing high voltage work and switching.
• Excavation and penetration permits shall include requirement for verification of electrical services.
• All services must be accurately located by a designated competent persons using the relevant services drawings and the location verified by a secondary means such as (but not limited to):  electronic detection of horizontal and vertical location,  ground penetrating radar, non-destructive potholing.
• When working near live Overhead Line Equipment (OHLE) or live electrical parts, regulated safe working distances/exclusion zones must be maintained.

Signage, demarcation, labelling and other administration

• Site services plans, schematics, distribution diagrams and other appropriate records shall be kept for all electrical installations and updated when alterations are made.
• The location and type of all electrical installations and services must be visibly marked and identified in compliance with statutory requirements, for example, via: Signage; Markers; and/or Line marking, including on walls, floors and ceilings
• Height markers, signs, sacrifice cables, floating markers etc. must be installed/provided for vehicle crossings under overhead power lines.
• Floor and wall demarcation shall be in place to prevent obstruction to main DB’s and panels.
• All electrical panels, enclosures, control centres, substations, electrical circuits, breakers and equipment must be provided with statutory signage, equipment/ location identification numbers, and wiring diagrams kept on file.
• Isolation points for electrical equipment and power outlets shall be clearly labelled.
• All distribution boards/panels shall have circuit breakers labelled and listed on a location map/diagram placed in the panel door or nearby for easy reference when fault finding or isolating circuits.
• All outlets and switches shall be labelled to correlate to distribution panels and where required specific voltage indicated (e.g. 110V in some special circumstances).

Inspections, Testing & Tagging

• Power generation sets (Gensets) and other temporary power supply at all sites must be inspected every three months by a competent person with records kept of inspections.
•  All RCD’s shall be tested every three months with records kept of testing (amperage and trip out time).
• For portable RCD’s push button tests shall be done prior to use and recorded every three months.
•  Earth continuity of all circuits, apparatus and where required earth grounding for structures must be tested and results recorded (resistance levels).
• Portable electric tools and extension cables must be inspected and tagged every three months by a competent person in compliance with colour coding requirements.

Behaviours

• Never overload power outlets or extension cables/cords.
• Always check electrical tools and extension cables for damage before use.
• Never use or try to fix equipment or tools with visible signs of damage, without tags or that are not working.
•  Any faulty electrical equipment or equipment without a tag must be taken out of service and labelled with an ‘out of service’ tag and reported to a supervisor.
• No person shall use or operate a piece of portable electrical equipment if it shows visible signs of being unsafe due to damage, or if it does not have a valid inspection tag.
•  Keep electrical appliances away from water or moisture.
• Always wear the correct PPE when doing electrical work. Provide insulated footwear and gloves where required.

Special requirements for Lightning Safety

Electrocution from lightning strikes is known to have claimed many lives in industry. Special precautions must be taken to reduce chances of workers being struck by lightning:  All projects where lightning strikes are likely to pose a risk to the work force, shall have in place procedures and controls to manage this risk as best as reasonably practicable:

•  Provide adequate lightning protection to structures (grounding & earthing).
• Make use of weather data and warning and alarms systems to anticipate heightened electrical storm activity.
• During heightened electrical storms always seek shelter in an enclosed building or vehicle and keep away from high ground.
• Crane operators to be stood down during electrical storm activity and instructed to remain in cabin until threat has passed.
• Mobile equipment operators to park away from high ground (e.g. away from dumps) and remain in cabins. Never exit a cabin or hide under equipment during electrical storms.
•  If caught out in the open keep in a low crouched position away from other people or tall objects (e.g. keep away from trees).

Semoga Bermanfaat & Terima Kasih

Andry Kurniawan Amd SKM (MKKK) "Coming together is a beginning, Keeping together is progress., Working together is success“ Safety not only about knowledge and how to manage risk it’s about needed because safety is everybody business", More information : Andryzsafe@yahoo.com/Andryzsafety@gmail.com/andry.kurniawan@halliburton.com

CP : (+62)81219662291

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