Module 1A: Safety and Health

Alexander MacFarlane

Required clothing, footwear, and eye protection

• When dealing with electricity especially high voltages it is necessary to where flame resistant clothing appropriate to the level of danger(for more voltage use clothing with a higher “arc rating”). Electrically insulating gloves are also important for dealing with dangerous electrical situation

footwear

• When dealing with potentially dangerous contact with electrical components and conductors it is necessary to where electrical insulating shoes.

• When in a situation when a static discharge may create a hazard static dissipative shoes are necessary

Eye wear

• When dealing with electronics especially ones that could arc and flash and damage your eyes it Is necessary to wear well maintained safety glasses that offer protection from arc flash exposure and bright lights.

Fire prevention and safety

• Avoid putting loose wires or conductors near anything flammable

• Fuses and other overcurrent devices should be installed to help prevent over heating

• Place any electronics on a level surface away from things that can burn

• Try to make sure there are no short circuits• Don’t uses electronics that have the potential to

spark around gas/air mixtures

Fire extinguishers

• When dealing with fires that involve electrical equipment never use water to extinguish the fire you should use a Class C fire extinguisher which contains non-conductive contents

Tools relevant to electrical equipment

• Non-contact voltage detector is used to see if there is voltage or current flow present – you but the end near a wire, breaker or cord to see if it is energized

• Safety:• Appropriate equipment should be used for each tool –

never use damaged tools, always keep the tool pointed away from you, don’t carry tools in your pocket

• When stripping a wire with a knife or wire strippers it is important not to cut the inner core

• When screwing a wire to a terminal it is important that there are not stray strands

Body resistance and lethal currents

• The human body resistance is about 100,000 when dry and 1,000 ohms when wet but high energy electrical equipment can break down skin and reduce it to 500 ohms

• Over 600 volts with at least 50 milliamps could kill you

First aid procedures

• For electric shock call 911 • make sure he is not in contact with electric

current before touch, power off all unnecessary electric component

• Before dealing with high voltage make sure there are no ground fault and make sure everything is dry

WHIMIS

Workplace hazardous materials information system(WHMIS) is meant to identify dangerous materials at a workplace.Hazardous materials are supplied with labels on containers of hazardous materialsMaterial safety data sheets to supplement the label with detailed hazard and precautionary information.

WHIMIS

• symbols

flammable

• Flammable material must be kept away from electronics that can arc or spark and cause a fire

Role of an electrical inspector

• An electrical inspector inspect construction and building sites. They use measuring equipment and examine lights, motors, generators and sometimes heating and air conditioning systems to make sure they’re safe.

• They report back finding and records to government agencies so that they can notify contractors of violations when necessary.

Electrical lockout procedures

• Disconnect switch, circuit breaker, manually operated valve, blind flange, or other things that prevent power or energy from flowing to that piece of equipment

• Notify all affected persons of the electrical isolaton

Dangers of working with a ladder

• The ladder must be on an even surface• Always position the ladder where it can

remain stable• Identify any potential danger before using• Do not overreach, bring too many things

resources

• http://education-portal.com/articles/Electrical_Inspector_Job_Description_and_Requirements_for_Becoming_an_Electrical_Inspector.html

• http://www.ecmag.com/section/safety/eye-and-face-protection

• http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/hs/pubs/whmis/

• http://www.hsa.ie/eng/Publications_and_Forms/Publications/Construction/Using_Ladders_Safely_-_Information_Sheet.pdf