Electrical Safety
The first step toward protecting yourself when dealing with electricity is recognizing the many hazards you face on the job. To do this, you must know which situations can place you in danger. Knowing where to look helps you to recognize hazards.
- Inadequate wiring is dangerous
- Exposed electrical parts are dangerous.
- Overhead power lines are dangerous.
- Wires with bad insulation can give you a shock.
- Electrical systems and tools that are not grounded or double-insulated are dangerous.
- Overloaded circuits are dangerous.
- Damaged power tools and equipment are electrical hazards.
- Using the wrong PPE is dangerous.
- Using the wrong tool is dangerous.
- Some on-site chemicals are harmful.
- Defective ladders and scaffolding are dangerous
- Ladders that conduct electricity are dangerous.
- Electrical hazards can be made worse if the worker, location, or equipment is wet.
Real World Accident
A meter technician had just completed a seven week basic lineman training course. He worked as a meter technician during normal working hours and as a line during unplanned outages. One evening, he was called to repair a residential power outage. By the time he arrived at the site of the outage, he had already worked two hours of overtime and worked 14 straight hours the day before. At the site, a tree limb had fallen across an overhead power line. The neutral wire in the line was severed, and the two energized 120-volt wires were disconnected. The worker removed the tree limb and climbed up a power pole to reconnect the three wires. He was wearing insulated gloves, a hard hat, and safety glasses.
He prepared the wires to be connected. While handling the wires, one of the energized wires caught the cuff of his left glove and pulled the cuff down. The conductor contacted the victim's forearm near the wrist. He was electrocuted and fell backward. He was wearing a climbing belt, which left him hanging upside down from the pole. Paramedics arrived five minutes after the contact. The power company lowered his dead body 30 minutes later.
Several factors may have contributed to this incident. Below are some ways to eliminate these risk factors:
- Ask for assistance when you are assigned tasks that cannot be safely completed alone. The task assigned to the victim could not have been done safely by only one person.
- Do not work overtime performing hazardous tasks that are not part of your normal assignments.
- Employees should only be given tasks they are qualified to perform.
- All employees below the journeyman level should be supervised
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
2-10. If a supervisor wants you to complete a complex hazardous task after working a 12-hour shift, what should you do?
You forgot to answer the question!