Welcome to the Energy Safe Victoria
electrical supervisors safety presentation.
This presentation has been
developed for supervisors and employers
to provide you with tools to help your
workers - in particular apprentices - to be
aware of the dangers present in the
electrical industry.
Our aim is to educate you on how you keep your workers
- in particular apprentices - safe at work.
Safe work practices are essential. We
want to make it absolutely clear that
the employer and supervising electrician
have responsibility to provide effective
supervision to workers (in particular
apprentices) to ensure that they work
safely.
A culture where apprentices and
less experienced workers feel free to
ask questions and raise concerns if they
are unsure should be developed and
encouraged
In a recent 12-month period
we have investigated for electrical
worker fatalities in Victoria three of
those fatalities have been electrical
apprentices. This photo shows an actual
site where an electrical apprentice died.
At the time of the fatality, the
supervising electrician was in the
process of live testing to try and
identify why the lights weren't working.
There is no good reason to test live. In
this circumstance a continuity test
could have been carried out with the
circuit isolated to find the fault.
Energy Safe Victoria wants to make sure
this doesn't happen at your workplace. A
first-year apprentice must be provided
with constant supervision and specific
guidance at all times. This is called
direct supervision and it means you must
be readily available in the immediate
work area and within audible range.
Every job must be made safe to work on.
The isolation point of the circuits or
equipment that are to be worked on must
be identified. The circuit or equipment
must be isolated tested and then proven
to be de-energized. If an apprentice is
to work on a circuit it is the
supervising electrician's responsibility
to ensure the circuit is correctly
isolated and tested.
If an apprentice isolates and tests the circuit
themselves they must do so under direct
supervision. This applies to all
apprentices, all the way through their
apprenticeship until such time as they
hold their own electrical license. These
are skills that apprentices need to learn.
This is vitally important for the
preservation of life and prevention of
injury. Encourage apprentices and other
workers to seek guidance when they need
to.
Contact ESV if you need assistance,
have questions, or want support.
Employers and supervisors should encourage the
industry basics for electrical workers
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.
An apprentice must be taught to do this
under 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. Apprentices must
be taught these skills.
Be aware of the limitations of proximity testers.
Proximity testers can provide an
indication that something is live, but
must never be used to prove something is
not live.
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. On investigation
it was found that the pump was plugged
into a newly installed socket outlet.
Testing proved there was no earth
continuity from the socket outlet to the
associated switchboard due to a broken
earth wire in a nearby junction box.
A person died when he touched this water
pump. Don't let this be you - always test
before you touch.
Another industry basic is the
elimination of risks. We hear the saying
'don't work live' quite often in our
industry. It is also very dangerous to be
working near live parts as the same
risks apply. The most effective way of
eliminating the risk is to remove supply,
so the recommended action is to remove
the service fuse. You can do this
following the VESI Code of Practice
low-voltage service fuse removal and
reinsertion. This is available on the ESV
website.
If it is not possible to remove
the service fuse due to the size or
function of the installation, the
recommended action is to isolate
upstream from the switchboard or
compartment you're working in.
Severe electrical incident
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 or
your workers if you don't work safely.
These next few slides show details of a
severe electrical incident that involved
the young electrical worker who was
working in the electrical switchboard
compartment shown here. The isolator was
turned off in this compartment, however
terminals on one side of this isolator
was still live. 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 result of the 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
injured 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 we make
sure we are demonstrating safe work
practices? After testing and isolating to
make sure the circuits or equipment are
safe, you must lockout and tagout this is
known as LOTTO. All apprentice is
carrying out LOTTO must do this under
direct 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 those around you
before re-energizing. There is an
Australian Standard which provides
further guidance on making your work
environment safe. It is Australian
Standard ASNZS 4836 - Safe work
on or near low-voltage electrical
installations and equipment.
We recommend you get yourself a copy or have your
employer provides you with a copy and
follow the guidance given in it.
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.
We must be teaching all workers how
to work safely - don't let this happen at
your workplace. You should be aware that
death from electric shock only takes a
minor body contact with live parts, it
does not take large explosions or major
body contact to kill.
The difference between a fatality and a minor electric
shock can just be the path current takes
through the body, the position your body
is in or the materials you may be in
contact with. With many electrocutions
the injuries are quite innocuous.
There are no second chances in many electrical
contact scenarios.
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 at
the switchboard. There was a broken
neutral at the socket outlet. The broken
neutral was live. The 22 year old
apprentice did not test before touching
the neutral and was killed.
We want to make it absolutely clear that the
employer and supervising electrician
have responsibility to provide effective
supervision to workers - in particular
apprentices - to ensure that they work
safely.
A culture where apprentices and
less experienced workers feel free to
ask questions and raise concerns if they
are unsure should be developed and
encouraged. Refer to ESV's apprentis
supervision guidelines.
In summary, always
- ensure you are providing effective 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
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.
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 we issue and
audit certificates of electrical safety.
You can visit ESVs 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 ESV's contact
details are on the screen.
Reviewed 19 September 2023