6 Tips for Electrical Safety at The Workplace
Every workplace or office operates on electricity. The computers, machinery, and other electrical equipment are potential hazards and can cause burn and shock injuries if improperly maintained or used. Although not all staff need specialized electrical safety training. If you find yourself working around electricity in the workplace, and you are not qualified to handle various electrical components, you should follow electrical safety measures to keep yourself and other employees safe. This includes ensuring you have a first aid kit checklist for the workplace. Below are electrical safety tips to follow for the workplace.
1) Only qualified personnel should work on live wires
As a staff member, if you encounter a live wire, keep off that area. Only qualified personnel that has proper training should sort issues of live electrical wires present in the workplace. This electrical safety precaution applies to electrical equipment that is hazardous as well. Consider the case of a live electrical hazard best handled and managed by contacting a commercial electrician. Therefore, if you see an unattended live wire, always notify the safety personnel, to place the physical safety barriers first before they get a qualified electricians from ft. Myers Naples Florida.
2) Install physical barriers around electrical hazards
Proper physical barriers are essential to help protect employees from any electrical hazards in the office space. Also, cabinet doors of electrical panels must stay closed and ensure there are no holes where someone can come into contact with exposed wires. Where this is not possible, barriers and shields should be used, and you may even wish to add tamper proof asset labels just so you know that people won’t touch them where they shouldn’t. Also, if you call in an electrician to sort out an issue or for maintenance on the electrical panel. Have physical barriers in place to prevent others from entering that area, and signs should be put there too to warn workers of the hazard.
3) Ensure safe use of electrical equipment
To ensure everyone’s safety in the workplace is by using electrical equipment properly. Therefore, employees need to take care of and handle cords properly. In that, they avoid fastening cords with staples, always pull on the plug head to unplug cords instead of the cord. Do not overstretch or press electrical cords and avoid hanging electrical equipment from cords. More importantly, all plugs and cords in the workplace must be inspected for any defects before use. If you encounter a plug or cord with damage, avoid using that equipment.
Safe use of electrical equipment is something to be responsible for as a business owner. It’s important to ensure that happens, otherwise, you could be faced with a personal injury lawyer as a result of your negligence.
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4) De-energize equipment and use lockout
Any electrical parts that are live and exposed must be de-energized before you get near or work on them. Through tagging and locking out of parts or for a whole electrical system, you isolate electrical energy and prevent accidents. Know your companies lock-out policy to know how to go about it in the future. Since this exists to protect employees from electrical hazards during maintenance activities or during servicing.
5) Beware of conductive cleaning materials and tools
If your workplace has constant electrical hazard issues, always assume that the electrical parts are live. Act accordingly and avoid using the conductive tools in that area. Also, as you clean the area, remember that some materials for cleaning are conductive and need additional caution. Some electrically conductive cleaning materials are water-based and solvent ones. Also the metalized cloths and steel wool. Thus, keep the conductive tools and the cleaning products too away from live electrical equipment and parts.
6) Prevent contact with live electrical current
To stay safe, the best thing to do is to stay away from electrical hazards. If you are unqualified personnel do not come close or interact with electrical current above 50V. If you have to be in that room or work in there where equipment or electrical hazard is operating at more than 50V, always maintain a safe distance. Importantly, no exposed wires should be around the workspace, and all panel doors need to be closed before you start operations.
To sum up, always follow your companies’ electrical safety practices. Every company is unique and they have policies and practices put in place depending on the electricals present in your workplace. As you follow them, you not only protect yourself but the other employees as well. Also, follow the above tips to have an idea of how to stay safe around electricity. Electrical shocks are dangerous and keep electrical equipment away from flammable materials too.
