Job Site Electrical Safety – A Matter of Life and Death

Job Site Electrical Safety –
A Matter of Life and Death
Scott Forsyth, PE
Senior Engineer
Johnson Controls
Performing the Job Right and on Time is Top Priority!!!! Right?
Wrong!!!!
Performing the Job Safely is Top Priority!!!!
Every employee needs to go home to their family intact!!!!
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NFPA 70E Risk and PPE Requirements
Hazard
Risk
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www.techtric.ca
Hazard
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Hazard
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Clueless PEs
Hazard Risk
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Outline
Electrical Injury Risks
NFPA 70E Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace
Job Site Electrical Accident and Injury Demonstration
NFPA 70E and OSHA
Company and Personal Liability and Risks
25 Minute Electrical Safety Training Video by Fluke (CD is free!!)
Benefit to Cost and Risk Ratio of TAB Measurements
Anonymous Company Safety Program Survey
Discussion if Time Allows
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Electrical Injury Risks - Electrocution
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Electrical Injury Risks - Electrocution
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Electrical Injury Risks – Arc Flash Burns
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Electrical Injury Risks – Arc Flash Burns
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Electrical Injury Risks - Death
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US Workers Electrical Injury Facts
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Worker Electrical Safety
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NFPA 70E Risk Categories
NFPA 70E Risk Categories
NFPA 70E Risk and PPE Requirements
Hazard Risk
Category 0
www.techtric.ca
Hazard
Risk
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Hazard
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Hazard
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NFPA 70E Risk and PPE Requirements
Personal Protective Equipment (P.P.E.) Requirements.
Hazard/Risk
Category
Eye protection, ear canal
inserts, long sleeve shirt
and pants
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Arc rated
clothing
Face & Head
Protection
Flash Suit
Hood
Job Site Electrical Accident and
Injury Demonstration
35 Years of Live Electrical Test Measurements by a NEBB Supervisor
without Injury is Proof of Safe Procedures and Practices
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Job Site Electrical Accident and
Injury Demonstration
35 Years of Live Electrical Test Measurements by a NEBB Supervisor
without Injury is Probably More Attributable to Luck
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Live Electrical Demo Safety and
Good Practice Violations
PPE: eye protection safety glasses
PPE: long sleeve shirt and pants – cotton and not synthetics
PPE: ear plugs
PPE: flash rated overalls
PPE: face and hood protection
Athletic shoes instead of heavy duty work shoes or boots
Jewelry and watches
Performing live measurements alone
Inserting both hands inside the panel to make the measurement
(current flowing through chest and heart is a killer). Consider a spring
loaded alligator clip tip with an integral electrical insulator on external
edges that may be clipped on a ground connector allowing only one
hand to be inserted into the live panel.
Using inexpensive and short probes. Alternatively, use long probes
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with short metal tips.
Job Site Electrical Accidents Caused by
Murphy’s Law and Bad Luck
Electrical fuse or circuit breaker just happens to fail catastrophically
while you have the panel door open due to an electrical transient
Your electric meter just happens to fail while you are making the live
measurement
You just happen to be bumped by another contractor’s employee
who was being careless while working and backed up in to you as
you were making the live electrical measurement
Just as the panel is opened a loose wire or nut inside the panel just
happens to move or fall causing an arc
Any number of other potential failures or causes while you are
making the live electrical measurement that you have no control of
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Scott Forsyth, PE
Worker Electrical Safety & NFPA 70E
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Worker Electrical Safety & NFPA 70E
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Worker Electrical Safety & NFPA 70E
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Company and Personal Liability and Risks
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Company and Personal Liability and Risks
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Company Safety Program
Free Resources from Fluke
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Company Safety Program
Free Resources from Fluke
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Benefit to Cost & Risk Ratio in Performing
TAB Measurements
Benefit to Cost & Risk Considerations:
Just don’t perform measurement because we always have in past
What is the real benefit in making a measurement such as voltage on
a large 480 volt 3 phase AHU or pump motor or Electric duct heater
(likely not wired to 208 volt source)?
Cost should include time to acquire and put on PPE
Cost should consider risk – making high voltage measurement has
high risk
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Benefit to Cost & Risk Ratio
Should Some “Shalls” be “May”?
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Anonymous NEBB Member Safety Program Survey
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Anonymous NEBB Member Safety Program Survey
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Time for Discussion?
What is general status of company safety programs in TAB industry?
Do small firms lack necessary resources?
Why don’t more TAB technicians use PPE?
Lack of knowledge?
Lack of PPE?
Competitive pressures on man hour estimates translate to shortcuts in field?
How can NEBB and FEBB help?
Should NEBB develop a safety training program that can be used by NEBB certified
firms?
What changes can you make to help ensure your employees go
home to their families intact?
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