What's new at HSE » News

Tuesday 5 April 2011

Health And Safety Training: What You Should Know About Electrical Safety


It is imperative to take precautionary measures while handling electrical equipment in the workplace. If you are not careful you could suffer from electrical shock or injure someone else around you. Health and safety training teaches workers how to deal with electric sources and equipment in a safe and responsible manner. Electrical safety is an important part of the health and safety training curriculum for workers. Below are the tips for maintaining electrical safety in the workplace. This is just some of the crucial information that is shared with workers during health and safety training.

Electrical cords and equipment should not be in contact with any moisture. A worker should avoid handling electrical cords and equipment with damp hands. Doing so could cause electric shock or fatal injury. Cords that are broken or torn should be immediately replaced. Health And Safety Training encourages workers to become aware of where the fuses and circuit breakers are located in the building. This is important information that could be useful during an emergency or crisis situation. Rooms that have high electrical hazards should have safety posters outlining electrical safety procedures.

Circuits and conductors should be tested before workers handle them. Lockout and tag-out procedures should be put into place while handling electrical equipment. Health and safety training teaches workers about lockout and tag-out methods to ensure their safety and avoiding injury. Lockout and tag out procedures protect employees from injury if there is an unexpected start-up during maintenance. Testing and maintenance for electrical equipment should be carried out on a regular basis to ensure safety. Health and safety training emphasizes that all electrical sockets in the building should have safety covers when not in use. This reduces the risk of workers being exposed to electrical shock.

In order to make sure your workplace is safe and secure from electrical hazards you should answer the following questions:

* Are there any signs of burning or overheating for any electrical cords and equipment being used?
* Do you get small jolts of electric shock while using certain electrical equipment?
* Are certified electricians being used to make any repairs required on electrical equipment?
* Are all wires and extension cords out of the way to prevent someone from tripping and falling?
* Are all appliances being used in the workplace properly grounded?

Health And Safety Training encourages workers to focus on the electrical outlets to make sure they are not being overloaded with too many plugged items. During health and safety training it is important to teach workers how to dress an electrical burn injury. They should also be taught the procedures to follow if someone is stuck to a live electrical current. Health and safety training suggests that you should find the power source and to shut of the electrical current immediately in such a situation. If you are not in the position to shut off the electrical current you can use anything made of wood to push the person away from the electrical current. Now that you have understood the importance of electrical safety make sure to invest in a number of safety reference materials to conduct your health and safety training sessions successfully. Reference materials could range from safety posters, safety booklets, hazard signs, first aid kits, safety awareness DVDs, trainer guides and more.

Safety Media is the UK's leading Health And Safety Training provider. Their range of products and services include online safety training software, manual handling DVDs, ergonomic equipment, safety posters, first aid equipment, safety booklets, safety and hazard signs, and much more. For more information and details on how to make your workplace a safer environment visit http://www.safetymedia.co.uk/

No comments: