MODULE 5
UNIT 4: Personal Safety Measures
Electrical Shock:
A sudden agitation of the nervous system of a body, due to the passage of an electric current is called
an electric shock or A sudden discharge of electricity through a part of the body.
The factors affecting the severity of the shock are,
1. Magnitude of current passed through the body.
2. Path of the current passed through the body.
3. Time for which the current is passed through the body.
4. Frequency of the current.
5. Physical and psychological condition of the affected person.
Effects of Electrical Shock:
Loss of consciousness
Muscle spasms, numbness or tingling
Breathing problems, irregular heartbeat.
Precautions against Electric shock
Avoid water at all times when working with electricity. Never touch or try repairing any electrical
equipment or circuits with wet hands. It increases the conductivity of the electric current.
Never use equipment with damaged insulation. The insulation of conductors must be proper and
in good condition.
Earth connection should be maintained in proper condition
Use of the fuses and cables of proper rating.
Use the rubber soled shoes while working.
Megger tests should be done to check the insulation.
Never touch two different terminals at the same time.
Never remove the plug by pulling wire.
The sockets should be placed at a proper height
Switch off supply and remove the fuses before starting the work with any installation.
Always use insulated screw drivers, and line testers.
Earthing :
The connection of electrical machinery to the general mass of earth, with a conducting material of very
low resistance is called earthing or grounding. The earthing of electrical equipment brings the equipment to
zero potential and avoid the shock to the operator, under any fault conditions.
Uses of Earthing:
To maintain the line voltage constant
To protect tall buildings and structures from atmospheric lightning strikes.
To protect all the machines, fed from overhead lines, from atmospheric lightening.
To serve as the return conductor for telephone and traction work. In such case, all the complications
in laying a separate wire and the actual cost of the wire is thus saved.
To protect the human being from disability or death from shock in case the human body comes into
the contact with the frame of any electrical machinery, appliance or component, which is electrically
charged due to leakage current or fault.
Methods of Earthing
Earthing is achieved by connecting the electrical appliances or components to earth by employing a
good conductor called ‘Earth Electrode’. This ensures very low resistance path from appliance to the earth.
The various methods of earthing are
i. Plate earthing
ii. Pipe earthing
iii. Earthing through water main
iv. Horizontal strip earthing
v. Rod earthing
Plate Earthing:
The size or dimension of the plate used in plate earthing is 60cm(H) x 60cm(W) x 3.18mm(D) for
copper plate and 60cm(H) x 60cm(W) x 6.3mm(D) for the galvanized iron plate.
Place the earthing plate vertically at a depth of below 3 meter from the ground level.
Use a 12.7 mm diameter pipe to lay the earthing conductors through it.
Use a 190mm diameter pipe to connect the funnel and earthing plate.
Fill the coal, sand, and salt around the earthing plate in alternate layers in the earth pit. After that fill
the earth pit with black soil.
Salt soaks the alkali of the ground and the Coal makes the soil to hold the moisture. So, using these
Salt and Coal helps to increase the overall conductivity and efficiency of the earthing system.
Funnel arrangement is provided to pour the water periodically to the earthing to increase the
conductivity.
Figure: Plate Earthing
Pipe Earthing:
Figure: Pipe Earthing
1) In this method of earthing a G.I. pipe of 38 mm diameter and 2 meter (7 feet) length is embedded
vertically into the ground. This pipe acts as an earth electrode.
The depth depends on the condition of the soil. The earth wires are fastened to the top section of the
pipe above the ground level with nut and bolts.
The pit area around the pipe is filled with salt and coal mixture for improving the condition of the soil
and earthing efficiency. The schematic arrangement of pipe earthing system is shown in the Fig.
The contact surface of G.I. pipe with the soil is more as compared to the plate due to its circular section
and hence can handle heavier leakage current for the same electrode size.
According to Indian standard, the pipe should be placed at a depth of 4.75 m. The coke with salt
decreases the earth resistance.
Generally alternate layers of salt and coke are used for best results. In summer season, soil becomes
dry, in such case salt water is poured through the funnel connected to the main G.I. pipe through 19
mm diameter pipe. This keeps the soil wet.