Safety Requirements

WHAT IS ELECTRICAL SAFETY?

Electrical Safety is a system of an Organizational measures and technical means to prevent harmful and dangerous effect on personnel from electric current, electric arc, electromagnetic field and static electricity.
It also means that its hazardous effect is a dangerous condition whereby personnel who makes an electrical contact with energized equipment or conduct shock, and there is potential for worker to receive an arc flash, thermal burn or blast injury.

Importance:
On the job site, working around electricity can be very safe when personnel are properly trained to identify and control hazards. But inadequate training of personnel, lack of experience and failure to recognize potential hazard could result in electric shock or death.
Most of these incidents and fatalities are caused by power lines and contact with machines, tools and hand-carried metallic objects.

SAFETY PRECAUTION

Safety precaution is a specific control measures being implemented to remove electrical hazard and mitigate the risk of electrical accidents and injuries. Safety precaution for workers that are working with electricity depends on personnel jobs instructions and their environment. However, the most basic electrical safety precaution include clearly understanding on how electricity works, being able to identify and eliminate electrical hazards such as poor cable management and lack of proper housekeeping and wearing the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE).

Electrocution is one of the most common hazards across construction sites all over the world according to occupational safety and health administration.
To identify electrical hazards, it helps to create awareness of the risks, their severity and how it can harm personnel.

i. OVERHEAD POWERLINES

Do not endanger your life by living and trading under high tension power line, on top of underground and cable lines. It is dangerous and it can cause electrocution. At best stay away from high tension with the following specifications:
• 5.5 Metres or 20 feets away on either sides of 33/11KV Power Lines
• 15 Metres or 50 feets away on either sides of 132KV Power Lines
• 25 Metres or 60 feets away on either sides of 330KV Power Lines
Overhead Powered and energized electrical lines have high voltages which can cause major burns and electrocution to personnel. Remember to maintain a minimum distance as specified above. Therefore, the conducting site surveys or Engineer to ensure that nothing is stored under overhead power lines. Also, safety barriers and signs must be installed to warn against non-electrical personnel of the hazards so as to prevent them from entering the danger zone.

ii. UNDERGROUND CABLE ROUTE MARKER

Underground cables are of course meant to be installed. underground. The reliability of underground cable network highly depends upon proper laying of cables, quality of Cable joints and branch connections etc.
Therefore, having observed all these procedural methods of laying the underground cables being High Voltage or Low Voltage cables but it's ethically mandated to adopt the underground cable marking approach so as to avoid a calculated future Electrical eletrocution of Electrical personnel, road side construction Workers and/or local Gold miners . So, if this cable route marking approach is strickly utilised, then there would have no Victims of eletrocution or shock of Electrical Personnel and non Personnel

iii. DAMAGED TOOLS AND EQUIPMENTS

Using damaged electrical tools and equipment can be very dangerous to human’s life. Do not fix any electrical faults unless you are qualified electrical Engineer or Electrician to do so. Furthermore, thoroughly checking for cracks, cuts or abrasion on cables, wires or cords. Incase of any defects, have them repaired or replaced. Lock out Tag out (LOTO) procedures should be performed at all times before commencing electrical maintenance and repairs. LOTO procedures are there to protect all Personnel on work sites. Never try to repair the already energized equipment. Always check to ensure that it is de-energized first by using tester. When an arc electric touches a life or hot wire, the bulb inside the tester lights up; mean that electric current is flowing through electric wire. Check all the wires, the outer metallic covering of the service panel and any other hanging wires with an electrical tester before proceeding with your work.

iv. UNPROFESSIONAL WIRING AND OVERLOADED CIRCUITS

Substandard wires with in appropriate size for the current can cause overheating and fire to occur. Use the standard correct wires suitable for the operation and electrical load to work on. Use the correct extension cord designed for heavy duty use. Also do not overload an electrical outlet and use suitable circuit breakers. Perform regular fire assessment to identify areas at risk of bad wiring and circuits.

v. IMPROPER GROUNDING

The most common occupational safety and health administration on electrical violation is the improper grounding of equipment. Proper grounding of an equipment can eliminate unwanted voltage and reduces the risks of electrocution and even safe the equipment from damage. Never remove the metallic ground pin as it is responsible for returning unwanted voltage to the ground. Therefore, according to Engr. Peter O. Ewesor [NEMSA MD] article on Practical Electrical Systems Installation Book, Earthing provisions stated that the following parts and equipment shall be adequately grounded for effective discharge of fault current to the earth. That is, all steel structures [cross arms] and line isolator switches, injection substation, the power transformer neutral point, RMU body and all substation metallic objects must be earthed. Also protective multiple earthing system is hereby recommended as this permits the Neutral conductor to be connected to the general mass of the earth at several locations and points for effective grounding installation.

vi. DAMAGED INSULATION

Deflective inadequate insulation is a hazard.
Be aware of damaged insulation and report it immediately. Ensure that you turn off all power sources before replacing damaged insulation and never attempt to cover them with an electrical installation tape.

vii. WET CONDITION

Never operate electrical equipment in a wet location as water greatly increases the riskof electrocution, especially if the equipment has damaged insulation.
Have a qualified Electrician to inspect the said electrical equipment that has gotten wet before energizing it. Electrical safety is the most important job of an electrical personnel, no matter how much training one has received or how much employer try to safeguard their workers.
The electrical safety is ultimately the responsibility of the electrical personnel. The human factors associated with electrical accidents can be immeasurable. No one can replace a worker or loved one that has died or suffered the irreparable consequences of an electrical accident.

USAGE OF ELECTRICAL MATERIALS

Never use Aluminum or Steel ladder if you are working on any receptacle at height in your home because if electrical surge occurs it will ground you and the whole electric current will pass through your body. Use a wooden or fibre glass ladder instead.
Also never handle electrical equipment without personal protective materials, for example safety boot, hand gloves etc.

FIRE ALARM SYSTEM

Fire alarm system is an active fire protection system that controls all the fire modules in a building.
The fire alarm system can be set of automatically by smoke detectors, heat detectors or manually.
These sensors are set to detect certain levels of heat or smoke that could be an indication of fire. It has a number of devices working together to detect and warn people through visual and audio appliances when smoke, fire, carbon monoxide or other emergencies are present.

USAGE OF FIRE EXTINGUISHER

A fire extinguisher is an active protective device used to extinguish or control small fire outbreak, often in an emergency situation. It is not intended for use on out-of-control fire, such as one which has reached the ceiling, endangers the user or otherwise requires the expertise of fire Brigade.
It is a portable device that discharge a jet of water, foam, gas or other materials. For the fire outbreak on an electrical basis, it is better to use class C type to fight that fire. Better still class C extinguishers are suitable for use only on electrically energized fire. It is very important to make sure you have the right types of fire extinguishers on hand to put out common household fires.