Welcome to the energy safe Victoria
electrical apprentice safety
presentation. This presentation has been
developed for new electrical apprentices
to make you aware of the dangers present
in the electrical field and provide some
tools to assist you to stay safe as you
progress through your apprenticeship.
The electrical industry is vast in its scope
and begins with the generation of
electricity.
It continues through transmission,
distribution and then into individual
installations - which is where most of you
will be working.
Our aim is to educate you on how you keep yourself safe at
work. Safe work practices are essential. If you don't
know how to do something, ask.
We want to make it absolutely clear
that it's the responsibility of the
supervising electrician to provide
effective supervision to the apprentice.
It's the responsibility of the
supervising electrician to make sure you
know how to work safely and are working
safely.
In the 12 months from 2015 to 2016
we have investigated four electrical
worker fatalities in Victoria. Three of
those fatalities have been electrical
apprentices. This photo shows an actual
site where an electrical apprentice died
recently.
Energy Safe Victoria wants to
make sure this doesn't happen to you, so
for every job that you do the equipment
that you are going to work on must be
made safe to work on. Your supervising
electrician must ensure that this
happens.
The isolation point of the
circuits or equipment that you are
working on must be identified. The
circuit or equipment must be isolated
tested and then proven to be
de-energized. This is vitally important
for your safety and that of others
around you.
If you have any doubts ask
questions. Say 'no' if you need to.
Contact Energy Safe if you need assistance,
have questions or want support.
As a first-year apprentice your
supervising A grade electrician must
provide you with constant supervision
and specific guidance. Your supervising
electrician must be readily available in
your immediate work area and within
audible range.
Your supervising electrician must prove that the
equipment you are working on is not live.
This is a skill that you will learn
during your apprenticeship. There are
some basic ABCs for licensed trades
people working in our industry.
Assume nothing
Believe no one
Check everything
Never assume a circuit or equipment is
not live; do not trust anyone who tells
you something is not live, check it
yourself.
Always use a voltage tester or
multimeter to test and confirm the
equipment you're working on is not live.
As a first-year apprentice you must
perform these tasks under direct
supervision. Any equipment containing
electrical wiring can become live at any
time if there is a fault or if someone
has not done their job properly.
Unexpected situations can occur when you
least expect it. We test before we touch
to find out if it's safe to work on the
equipment. If you have any doubts ask
questions. Say no if you need to or
you are unsure.
As an example this is a
domestic water pump located on a farm.
Moisture entered the electrical
terminals of the pump motor which caused
the frame of the pump to be live at 246
volts. A person died when he touched this
water pump. Don't let this be you - always
test before you touch.
Another industry basic is don't work on or near live
parts. You should never work on live
parts. You may hear the saying 'don't work
live' quite often in our industry, but
it's also very dangerous to be working
near live parts as the same risks apply.
If you isolate a switchboard at the main
switch but do not remove the service
fuse you will be working on a
switchboard that still contains live
parts.
Here we show a switchboard where
the main switch is off but there is
still power to one side of the main
switch as you can see by the lit up
tester, therefore there is still access to live
parts at the switchboard so the
recommended action is to remove the
service fuse. Your supervising
electrician can do this following supply
authority and procedures. This
electrician was working on a switchboard
that contained live parts and he did not
isolate or take adequate precautions.
Three years after this incident this
electrician still does not have full use
of his hand. This could happen to you if
you don't work safely. These next few
slides show details of a severe
electrical incident that involved a
young electrical worker who was working
in the electrical switchboard
compartment shown here.
The isolator was turned off from this
compartment, however terminals on one
side of this isolator was still live,
just as we saw earlier in the other switchboard.
The electrician's pliers came into contact with live parts
causing a large electrical explosion to
occur. The arc from the explosion was the
cause of the severe burns to the
electrical worker. The electrical worker,
his supervisor and the employer all
failed to follow the basic procedure of
isolating when working in the vicinity
of live parts.
This compartment could have been isolated
upstream to eliminate the hazards of working
near live parts.
The reason given for not isolating
further upstream was that this would
have adversely affected production. This
is never an excuse to work unsafely.
The results of this incident was a much
greater loss of production - the cost of
replacing and repairing the switchboard
compartment and the devastating ongoing
effects of this injury to the young man
and his family.
This video demonstrates what happens
when a fault is applied to a switchboard.
This explosion was performed under
controlled conditions to demonstrate
what can happen when the rules are not
followed. When you don't follow the rules
you are at risk of electric shock, arc
flash burns or even death. So how do you
make sure you can work safely? After
testing and isolating under supervision
to make sure the circuits or equipment
are safe, you must 'lockout and tagout'.
This is known in the industry as LOTTO.
Remember, a first-year apprentice carrying out
LOTTO must do this under active supervision.
Every circuit you work on must be
switched off or have the fuse cartridge
removed. A lockout device must then be
attached and padlocked with a completed
danger tag attached.
Never remove someone else's lock or tag
and always check with your supervisor
before re-energizing.
There is an Australian Standard which
provides further guidance on making your
work environment safe - it is Australian
Standard AASNZS 4836 - Safe work on
or near live electrical equipment. We
recommend you get yourself a copy or
have your employer provide you with a
copy and follow the guidance given.
These next few slides depict a fatality
that occurred in late 2015. A 25 year old
electrical worker was repairing this air
conditioner. After isolating and carrying
out his repairs he energized the air
conditioner to check it was working
properly. Once he confirmed the air
conditioner was working correctly he did
not isolate again before finishing
internal electrical work and replacing
the covers, so he continued working on
this equipment while the electrical
control panel was live. This electrical
worker was killed when he made contact
with live parts within the air
conditioner control panel.
Isolating the air-conditioner unit would
have prevented this young electrical
worker's death. Remember to always lockout
and tagout every circuit you work on
every time.
All cables must be treated as
live not just 'actives'. This is a photo of
a socket outlet installed in a roof
space for a light. An electrical
apprentice had turned off the light
switch but had not turned off or locked
out the circuit of the switchboard. There
was a broken neutral at the socket
outlet. The broken neutral was live. The
apprentice did not test before touching
the neutral. The 22 year old apprentice
electrician was killed.
We want to make it absolutely clear
that it is the responsibility of the supervising
electrician to provide effective
supervision to the apprentice. It's the
responsibility of the supervising
electrician to make sure you're working
safely and know how to work safely so in
summary, don't forget:
- always ensure you have the correct supervision
and remember to test before you touch
- don't work on or near live parts
make every circuit you need to work on safe by isolating it after
isolating
- lockout and tagout to ensure no one turns on the supply while you're working on the circuit
- treat all cables as live not just the actives
ESV have apprentice supervision guidelines on our
website. Everyone deserves to go home
from work safely every day.
Remember the WorkSafe Victoria messages
the most important reason for making
your workplace safe isn't at work at all.
If you have any doubts ask questions say
no. If you need to contact ESV, if you
need assistance, have questions or want
support.
Energy Safe Victoria (ESV) is the
technical and safety regulator
responsible for electricity, gas and
pipeline safety in Victoria. We also
license electricians and electrical
inspectors. We register electrical
contractors and issue and audit
certificates of electrical safety.
You can visit ESV's website for contact
information, technical guidance and
up-to-date safety issues.
Please find us and like us on Facebook.
We often have important safety alerts
and information on our Facebook page.
If you have any questions use these contact
details on the screen.
We look forward to working with you as you
progress to becoming a licensed electrician.
Reviewed 19 September 2023