Electrical engineers, how to work safer? (back to basics)

We received a nice article in our mailbox by an electrical engineer who wants to guide you for you to work safer. Electrical safety is an important topic, that’s why we accepted to publish his article as a back to basics…




“Anyone who works with electricity knows that it is not something to joke with! If someone says that he is not afraid of the electricity then he has not seen the damage it causes. Therefore, in this article I will examine how to work safer and how we can avoid future accidents after the job is done.

How to work safer?

1. First of all, before you start working on an electrical installation you need to do a few things:



• – Inspect the condition of the installation
• – Where is the power cable?
• – Is it only one power cable?
  



2. Just before you start working check for voltage presence (even if you are 100% sure that there is no voltage) using a device that you trust! It happened to me to switch off a breaker but there was still voltage on the wires.
   Also once one of the buildings where I was working had RSD (reserve switching device) and when I switched off the power it was activated.



3. When you turn off the power and do not have visual contact with the breaker all the time, always put a warning plate because someone may switch on the breaker by mistake.



4. When you switch on or off a breaker use protective gloves, helmet and protective mask (if you do not have a mask, turn your head away) because when you perform these maneuvers can obtain a voltage arc and to cause injury.



5. When you work always wear special insulating shoes. They will isolate you from the floor and if you come under voltage the current flow will not go through your body.



6. When you are working on the wires try not to touch anywhere. Thus even if you came under voltage the current flow will not go through your body because there will be nothing to close the chain.

How we can avoid future accidents?

There are several things which you can do to avoid future accidents after the job is done:

1. Make sure that the installed wires and breakers are designed for the consumers who are connected to them.



2. After finishing work, make sure all screws, nuts and other connections are properly tightened because if there is loose connection this can lead to “shinning” and after a while to a fire.



3. After finishing work, make sure that the cable sheathing is not damaged.

We can summarize that working with electricity is very dangerous for both you and the people around you and because of that first of all you must follow the safety regulations. Compliance with these rules may cause inconvenience or to take more time to finish the job but it can literally save your life!

After you build a way of working the implementation of these rules will become a part of your daily routine and even will not make you an impression.”