electrical equipment in the workplace

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Electrical Equipment in the Workplace
7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4
Unit 201/601: Health, Safety and
Welfare in Construction

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Objectives
To be able to:
7.1 State precautions to take to avoid risks to self and others when
working with electrical equipment
7.2 State dangers of using electrical equipment
7.3 Identify voltages and voltage colour coding that are used in the
workplace
7.4 State methods of storing electrical equipment.

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Legal requirements
As you now know, “legislation” is just the fancy
term for the law.
You – and your employer – are legally required to
abide by (follow) the law when you are at work.
The workplace legislation most relevant to safe
electrical equipment and electrical maintenance in
the workplace is:
• Health And Safety at Work Act 1974
• Electricity at Work Regulations 1989
• Provision and Use of Work Equipment
Regulations 1998 (PUWER).

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7.2 Dangers
The 3 main dangers of electricity are:
1. Contact with live parts, causing electric shock and electrical burns *
2. Electrical faults which can cause a fire
3. Explosion: where an electrical spark ignites a flammable gas
* Electric shocks can also lead to other types of injury, for example: falling from ladders or scaffolds.

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Accidents waiting to happen:
These are transformers. They are meant to make site
work safer by converting standard 240 volt mains supply
down to 110v (a lower voltage will give a milder electric
shock). However, these transformers could kill.

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More accidents waiting to happen:

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Another accident waiting to happen:

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All manner of madness waiting to happen:

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Ingenious ways to make sure accidents happen:

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Using (still wound) cable reel extensions for long
periods of time can have spectacular results:
Cable reels that haven’t been fully extended when in use can overheat, melt and catch fire

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Finally: the accident that DID happen:

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Many faults with work equipment can be found from a simple visual inspection.
So, before EVERY use, you must check that the electrical equipment is in
good condition (and before you perform any checks, you must switch off and
unplug the equipment!)
Visual Checks:
• Plug is not cracked or damaged
• Cable is properly secured to both plug and tool.
• Cable sheathing (insulation) is in good order. Do not use a power tool which
has the cable repaired with insulating tape or connector blocks.
• Outer covers of the equipment body are not cracked or damaged.
• Burn marks or staining anywhere suggests the equipment is overheating.
• Check for a valid PAT (Portable Appliance Testing) certificate.
7.1 Precautions before use

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7.1 PAT Certificates
• 1 in 4 of all reportable electrical accidents involve
portable electrical appliances.
• Most organisations choose to have all their portable
appliances tested once a year.
• The person trained to perform a PAT test will check the
appliance for electrical short circuit (which would
otherwise give the user an electrical shock) and
sometimes for electrical continuity (which could cause
the appliance to fail to work correctly).
• A sticker is placed on the tool after testing.
• A failed appliance must be taken out of use.
• An in-date PAT certificate DOES NOT guarantee that
the appliance is safe to use. Like an MOT, it only
identifies that the appliance was (minimally)
electrically safe on the date of testing.
• All the other precautionary checks must still always
be carried out prior to use.

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Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, the employee is responsible for
working in a safe manner at all times and making sure they do not put themself or
others at risk by their actions. When using electrical equipment, they must pay
particular attention to:
• Their proximity (how close) to hazardous (combustible) materials
• Good housekeeping: especially their management of flammable waste
• The noise they are going to generate
• Trailing cables across the work area (where possible, cable hangers should
be used to raise the cabling from the ground so that they do not present a trip
hazard).
• Unless it is specialist equipment for use in adverse weather conditions,
portable power tools should NEVER be used outside in rain, snow etc).
7.1 Precautions during use

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Classy operator:

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This lot should
burn well:

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What could POSSIBLY go wrong?!?

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Electrical cable connectors will be coloured as follows:
Yellow 110 volt Single phase
.
Blue 240 volt Single phase If using 240 volt, then an intelligent
circuit breaker – a Residual Current
Device (RCD) – must be used between
tool and supply
Red 410 volt Three phase
The position and numbers of pins inside
the connector also indicate the voltage.
They help ensure correct connection is made.
7. 3 Types of Power Sources: Electrical

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7.4 Storage after use
Electrical equipment should be stored in a secure, clean and dry location.
Before putting away for storage, you must:
• Check all components are present
• Clean the equipment
• Check for damage (see slide 11)
Correct storage of electrical equipment is important:
• To protect the tools from damage (especially water damage which may
cause the tool to become live in use and give electric shock)
• To protect the tools from theft (sadly, too common on site)
• Failure to store according to manufacturers’ instructions will void the tool’s
warranty

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Site work: Oops! Careful!

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This is what REALLY happens when you walk into a
power line while carrying an aluminium ladder

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Site work
Underground power cables
• Always assume cables will be present when digging in the street, pavement
and/or near buildings
• Consult local electricity companies and service plans to identify where
cables are located before starting the work
Overhead power cables
Incidents often involve:
• Machinery (eg cranes and tipping trailers)
• Equipment (scaffold tubes and ladders)
• Work activities (loading, unloading, lifting, stacking, spraying)