Electrical Safety Basics
Unsafe use of electricity causes 10 percent of job-related deaths as well as many serious injuries. That’s why OSHA has written electrical safety rules for protecting employees in the workplace. The electrical safety rules include design safety standards for electric utilization systems and safety-related work practices for employees.
Electrical Safety Rules
Most of OSHA’s electrical safety regulations involve the design of electrical installations. These rules point to major risks for employees who use electricity. The top four electrical violations involve conductors, grounding path, guarding of live parts, and covers and canopies.
One of OSHA’s key electrical safety regulations is aimed at reducing electrically caused accidents and injuries. The detailed Electrical Safety-Related Work Practices rules limit certain tasks to “qualified” employees, who are defined as having “training in avoiding the electrical hazards of working on or near exposed energized parts.” Qualified employees must at least be able to distinguish exposed live electric parts and their nominal voltage, as well as the clearance distances and corresponding voltages to which they will be exposed.
The regulation defines all other employees as “unqualified,” which means they have no special training in recognizing and avoiding electrical hazards but might be exposed to electrical shock on the job. Regardless of their level of qualification, all employees need some knowledge of electrical safety and the protections built into this OSHA directive.
Common Electrical Safety Hazards
To use electricity safely, employees must be able to identify the most common electrical hazards. Most electrical safety hazards occur in everyday work situations, rather than the specific electrical tasks covered by the OSHA directive.
Some of the most common electrical safety hazards are loose electrical connections, cords with frayed (or no) insulation, plugs that do not match their outlets, equipment running over capacity, wires running across the floor, and tools that smoke or spark.
Electrical Safety Hazard Protection
A properly designed electrical system has many built-in protections—such as grounding individual wires and large electrical equipment, fuses, or circuit breakers to shut off overloads, and ground-fault circuit interrupters to detect leaks and cut off power.
OSHA’s electrical safety standard requires that companies provide employees with appropriate protective equipment that may include nonconductive head protection; eye and face protection; tools with insulated handles; and rubber gloves, clothing, and shoes. Among other requirements, the electrical safety standard also tells employers to use protective shields, barriers, or insulating materials and place warning signs or tags on exposed energized parts to keep employees safe from electrical hazards.