job site electrical safety – a matter of life and death

Performing the Job Right and on Time is Top Priority!!!! Right?

Job Site Electrical Safety –

A Matter of Life and Death

Scott Forsyth, PE

Senior Engineer

Johnson Controls

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Wrong!!!! Performing the Job Safely is Top Priority!!!!

Every employee needs to go home to their family intact!!!!

NFPA 70E Risk and PPE Requirements

www.techtric.ca

Hazard Risk

Category 1

Hazard Risk

Category 2

Hazard Risk

Category 3

Hazard Risk

Category 4

Clueless PEs Hazard Risk Category 5

� 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

Outline

� 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


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Hazard Risk Category 0

Hazard Risk

Category 1

Hazard Risk

Category 2

Hazard Risk

Category 3

Hazard Risk

Category 4

Personal Protective Equipment (P.P.E.) Requirements.

Hazard/Risk

Category

Eye protection, ear canal

inserts, long sleeve shirt

and pants

Arc rated

clothing

Face & Head

Protection

Flash Suit

Hood

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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 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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� 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

Live Electrical Demo Safety and

Good Practice Violations

� 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 with short metal tips.18

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

19Scott Forsyth, PE

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

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 ProgramFree Resources from Fluke

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Company Safety ProgramFree 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)?

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(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

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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� 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?

Time for Discussion?

� 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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job site electrical safety – a matter of life and death

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