Electrical Safety

OSHA Susan Harwood Grant

• This material was produced under Grant Program # SH-31246-SH7
from the OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor. It Does not necessarily reflect
the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Labor, nor does
mentioning of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply
endorsement by the U.S. Government. Revisions were made to this
material under grant SH-20999-10 and SH-16610-07 from the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of
Labor.
 Training Audience
• Water Utility Operators
• Heavy equipment operators
• Electricians
• Plumbers
• Mechanics
• Welders
• Carpenters
• General laborers
• Tradespeople
 Training Objectives
• Occupational Safety and Health Act and your rights as a
whistleblower
• Introduction into electrical safety standards
• Case studies and exercises
• How to use safe work practices to prevent electrical
injuries
 OSH Act of [Link]
(a) Each employer shall:
(1) Furnish to each of his employees employment and a
place of employment which are free from recognized
hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death
or serious physical harm to his employees;
(2) Comply with occupational safety and health standards
promulgated under this Act.
(b) Have each employee comply with occupational safety and
health standards and all rules, regulations, and orders issued
pursuant to this Act which are applicable to his own actions
and conduct.
 Your Rights as a Whistleblower
• You may file a complaint with OSHA if your employer
retaliates against you by taking unfavorable personnel
action because you engaged in protected activity
relating to ‘workplace safety or health’, asbestos in
schools, cargo containers, airline, commercial motor
carrier, consumer product, environmental, financial
reform, food safety, health insurance reform, motor
vehicle safety, nuclear, pipeline, public transportation
agency, railroad, maritime, motor vehicle safety, and
securities laws.
 Unfavorable Personnel Actions
Applying or issuing a policy which provides for an
unfavorable personnel action due to activity protected by a
whistleblower law enforced by OSHA:

Blacklisting Intimidation
Demoting Making threats
Denying overtime or Reassignment to a less
promotion desirable position, including
Disciplining one adversely affecting
Denying benefits prospects for promotion
Failing to hire or rehire Reducing pay or hours
Firing or laying off Suspension
 When Filing a Complaint-Legal Time
Limits
• Occupational Safety and Health Act -30 days to file
• Solid Waste Disposal Act-30 days
• Toxic Substance Control Act-180 days
• Federal Water Pollution Act-30 days
• Compensation and Liability Act-30 days
• Clean Air Act-30 days
• Safe Drinking Water Act-30 days
 Filing A Complaint
• Visit or calling the local OSHA office or

• Mailing a written complaint to the regional or area

office

Written complaints can be sent by facsimile,

electronic communication, hand delivery during
business hours.
OSHA’s Electrical Standards, NFPA 70
and 70E Electrical Safety
• OSHA's electrical standards are based on the National Fire Protection
Association Standards NFPA 70, National Electric Code, and NFPA 70E,
Standard for Electrical Safety for Employee Workplaces.

• Only qualified employees may conduct electrical work.

• Special training is required for qualified employees:

Safe Work Practices
Isolation of Electrical Sources
Test Equipment
Tools & PPE
Is Compliance with NFPA 70E Standard for
Electrical Safety in the Workplace
Mandatory?
• Answer: No.
• NFPA 70E is a national consensus safety standard
published by NFPA primarily to assist OSHA in preparing
electrical safety standards. Federal OSHA has not
incorporated it into the CFRs
 Can I be cited for not complying with
NFPA 70E?
• Answer-Yes.
• The employer must assess the workplace for electrical hazards
and the need for PPE under 29 CFR 1910.335(a)(1)(i).
• The employer is expected to use the best means available to
comply with this requirement and that is done through
consensus standards.
• In the event of an injury or death due to an electrical accident,
if OSHA determines that compliance with 70E electrical safety
standard would have prevented or lessened the injury, OSHA
may cite the employer under the general duty clause.
Lets Start with a Few Case History
Examples
• An employee was electrocuted while
using a grinder with a frayed cord. The
employee was standing in water, wet-
grinding stone countertops…”
Class Discussion
• Was there a risk assessment
conducted prior to this work?

• What hazardous environmental

conditions contributed to this
death?
 Case History Continued
• “An employee was electrocuted when he
made contact with a piece of equipment
being hoisted from an excavation. The
arm of the backhoe hoisting the
equipment contacted an overhead
power line…”
Classroom Discussion
• Was there a risk
assessment conducted
prior to this work?

• What hazardous
environmental conditions
contributed to this
fatality?
Most Common Causes of Electrocution
• Contact with Overhead Power lines

• Contact with Live Circuits

• Not following Lock/Tag-out

procedures

• Poorly Maintained Extension Cords

• Defective Power Tools

There are direct and indirect types of
electrical injuries:
• Direct:
• Electrocution or death due to
electrical shock
• Electrical shock
• Burns
• Hearing loss from arc blast
• Indirect:
• Falls
• Fire
 The Anatomy of Electricity Flowing
Through the Body
• Severity of the shock depends on:
• Path of current through the body
• Amount of current flowing through the
body (amps)
• Duration of the shocking current through
the body
• LOW VOLTAGE DOES NOT MEAN LOW
HAZARD!!!!
Its Your Responsibility to Know the Work
Hazards
• Know the hazards of electricity

• Know the equipment

• Use Safe Work Practices

• Inspect your PPE before each use

• Don’t work on energized circuits without permission

 Overhead Power Line Hazards
• High wires are usually not insulated
• Examples of equipment that can contact with
these power lines:
 Crane
 Ladder
 Scaffold
 Backhoe
 Scissors lift
 Raised dump truck bed
 Aluminum paint roller
 Flashover
• High-voltage electric short circuit made through the air
between exposed conductors.

• Can occur when equipment is operating too close to

overhead power lines.
Overhead Power Line Hazard with Equipment

Show a video
 Operating Equipment near Overhead
Power lines
• The OSHA requirements limit crane
operations to a minimum clearance
of 10 feet for lines rated at 50
kilovolts (kV).

• Follow safe distance operating

instructions for all power lift
equipment.
 Arc Blast/Flash
• When an arc fault occurs, the result is a massive electrical
explosion. The light and heat emitted by the explosion is
known as the arc flash, and the pressure wave is known as the
arc blast.

• Pressure waves generated by an arc flash explosion can carry

a force up to thousands of pounds per square inch.

• Powerful enough to knock down or throw nearby workers, and

cause damage to the eardrums, lungs, brain and other organs.
Other effects of arc blast include:: high temperatures.
 Arc Blast

Show a video
 Employers must protect workers from
hazards posed by flames and electric arc
• Identify employees who will be working around these
hazards.

• Estimate the incident heat energy of any electric-arc

hazard to which a worker would be exposed.

• With certain exceptions, ensure workers exposed to

such hazards wear protective clothing and other
protective equipment with an arc rating equal to or
greater than the estimated heat energy.
Proper PPE for Electrical Safety Work
• 100% cotton long sleeve shirts
• Heavy duty Leather Coat
• Heavy duty cotton long pants
• Safety glasses or arc flash shield
• Hearing protection
• Leather work book –non-steel toe
• Gloves rated for the electrical work with
outer leather
• DO NOT WEAR polyester clothing or
clothes that are highly flammable
 Electrical Safe Work Practices
Include:
• Use barriers and guards to
prevent passage through
areas of exposed energized
equipment

• Pre-plan work, post hazard

warnings

• Keep working spaces and

walkways clear of cords
 Control – Use of GFCI
(ground-fault circuit interrupter)
• Detects difference in current between
the black and white wires as low as 2mA.
• If ground fault detected, GFCI shuts off
electricity in 1/40th of a second.
• Protects you from the most common
form of electrical shock hazard, the
ground fault.
• Will not protect you from line contact
hazards-such as holding two hot wires
and hot wire and neutral in each hand or
from an overhead power line.
Job Site Generator Equipped with
GFCI Protection
 Control of Hazardous Energy
• The OSHA standard for The
Control of Hazardous Energy
(Lockout/Tagout) (29 CFR
1910.147)
 What is LOTO?
Lockout-tag-out (LOTO) or lock and tag
is a safety procedure which is used in
industry and research settings to ensure
that dangerous machines are properly
shut off and not able to be started up
again prior to the completion of
maintenance or servicing work
 Training Requirements

• Qualified employees, such as engineers, electricians,

electronic technicians, and power line workers, among
them — work with electricity directly.

• Affected employees, such as office workers and sales

people, work with it indirectly.
 Lock-out/Tag-out Purpose

• Workers must understand

purpose and function of energy
control program
Authorized employee
Affected employee
Other employee
• Locks vs. Tags
• Steps for energy isolation and
removal of isolation.
 Authorized Employee = Person
Applying Controls
• Each authorized employee
shall receive training in the
recognition of applicable
hazardous energy sources, the
type and magnitude of the
energy available in the
workplace, and the methods
and means necessary for
energy isolation and control.
 Affected Employee

• Each affected
employee shall be
instructed in the purpose
and use of the energy
control procedure.
 Other Employees
• All other employees
whose work operations are
or may be in an area where
energy control procedures
may be utilized, shall be
instructed about the
procedure, and about the
prohibition relating to
attempts to restart or
reenergize machines or
equipment which are locked
out or tagged out.
Difference Between Lock-out and Tag-
out
• Lock-out-Uses a • Tag-out-is only used when a
lock to hold an lockout is not possible. Tags
energy isolation are placed on a piece of
device in a safe equipment to indicate that the
position and
prevents the equipment being controlled
energization of the may not be operated until the
machine or tag-out device is removed
equipment
Hazardous Energy Sources for Lock-out
Tag-out
• Electrical
• Mechanical
• Springs
• Hydraulic/Pneumatic Systems
• Flywheels
• Elevated Weight/Gravity
• Chemical, Thermal
• Water, Steam, Gas, Air
 LOTO Program

• List all equipment

• ID energy control methods
• Group equipment by shop
• Describe energy control method
for each
 Lock-out/Tag-out Program
Continued:
• Test each piece of
equipment and control
method
• Train personnel
• Periodic inspection and
program review
 Employer Responsibility to Conduct
Periodic Inspection of LOTO Program
• The employer must identify any deficiencies or deviations and correct them.

• Where lockout is used, the inspector must review each authorized

employee's responsibilities under the procedure with that employee (group
meetings are acceptable).

• Where tag-out is used, the inspector must review both the authorized and
affected employee's responsibilities with those employees for the energy
control procedure being inspected, and the additional training
responsibilities of 1910.147(c)(7)(ii).

• The employer must certify that the periodic inspections have been
performed
 When to Use LOTO
• Maintenance and
adjustments of machinery
• Repairing energy controls
• Clearing jammed
mechanisms
• Prevent unexpected start-
up of machinery
First Day on the Job was his Last

Show a video
 Isolating Devices

• A mechanical device that physically

prevents the transmission or release of
energy
• Examples:
• Disconnect switches
• Slide gates
• Valves
• Blocks
• Blind flanges
 Energy Control Devices

Extension Cord Lock-out Valve Lock-out

Energy Control Devices Continued

Circuit Breaker Lock-out Lockout Gang Devices

Basic Steps for Lockout/Tagout
Procedures
• Step 1: Identify energy sources and shut
off energy to the affected equipment.
(Use normal stopping or running
procedures for the machine.)
Step #2-Notify all Affected
Employees
• Notify others – in particular all
affected employees and any
contractors that may be
working in the area
• Place WARNING signs and
barriers
 Step #3-Isolate all Affected
Equipment
• Isolate the equipment from the
energy source
• Shut off the affected circuit
breaker panel switches
• Disconnect switches
Step #4-Lock-out and Tag-out
Equipment

• Lock-out/tag-out the
equipment by affixing
locks and tags to each
energy source controlling
device.
Step #5-Release Stored Energy

• Release any stored energy from

capacitor banks, springs,
compressed air, steam,
hydraulics, etc.
 Step #6-Verify Isolation

• Verify isolation of energy

has occurred with testing
equipment.
• Visual inspection to verify
correct devices have been
locked and tagged out in
the correct position
• Use deliberate attempt to
restart equipment
 Step #7-Perform Servicing

• Do not by pass the lock-out/tag-out process

• Ensure the safety of others

Steps for Removing Lock-out Tag-out
• Ensure that nonessential items are removed from
equipment.
• Ensure that equipment components are intact.
• Check area to ensure that all affected employees are
notified and safely positioned or removed from the work
area.
• Notify all affected employees and site supervisor before
reenergizing the equipment.
• Remove lockout/tag out devices only by those who
installed them.
• Reenergize equipment to ensure safe operation
 Special Considerations
• Outside contractors
• Temporarily by-passing the
lockout device
• Extended lock-out/tag-out
periods
Notify affected personnel
• Non-standard lock removal
Approval process
The “Fatal Five” Causes of Lock-out/Tag-
out-Related Fatalities
• Failure to stop equipment
• Failure to disconnect from power
source
• Failure to dissipate (bleed, neutralize)
residual energy
• Accidental restarting of equipment
• Failure to clear work areas before
restarting
#1 Safe or Unsafe
#2 Safe or Unsafe
#3 Safe or Unsafe
#4 Safe or Unsafe
#5 Safe or Unsafe
#6 Safe or Unsafe
 Conclusion
• Only qualified employees are trained and qualified to
work on energized circuits.
• Know the hazards of electricity

• Know your equipment

• Use Safe Work Practices

• Inspect your PPE before each use

This Concludes our Training