Electrical danger

Contact with electricity

can cause:
ventricular fibrillation
(stops the heart)
internal organ damage
severe burns
loss of limbs
death
 Electrical danger

Even a minor contact causing no electrical

injury can cause a muscle spasm and
injuries sustained through falling
Electricity at Work Regulations
1989
Safe construction of systems

Safe use and maintenance

Provision and use of suitable protective equipment

No overloading of systems and equipment

Protection of equipment from conditions of use

Insulation of conductors
Electricity at Work Regulations
1989
Earthing and other protective measures
Correct location of switches
Use of suitable joints and connections
Use of fuses and circuit breakers and
isolation of supply
Keeping dead circuits safe
 Electricity at Work Regulations
1989
No work on live conductors unless:
not reasonable to make system dead

reasonable to allow live work

suitable precautions are taken

 Electricity at Work Regulations
1989

Provision of adequate access, lighting and

space.

Only expert workers with technical

knowledge and experience.
 Working near overhead power
lines
Consult electricity
company
Lines made dead or
otherwise made safe:
erection of barriers
re-routing of cables
Working near overhead power
lines
Use of barriers:
on both sides if power
line can be approached
from both sides
No material storage
inside barrier
No ladders or scaffold
poles inside barrier
Working near overhead power
lines
Ground level barriers:
post and rail fence
tension wire fence, earthed at both ends and flags on
wire
steel drums
earth bank and posts
timber baulks
Barriers painted red and white
 Work on site
Assume all overhead lines are live
until advised otherwise
All work must be supervised
Safety precautions must be
observed
Plant to be modified if necessary
Extra precautions with ladders,
scaffold poles, crane jibs and
diggers, etc.
 Underground cables
Before work starts:
safe systems and adequate
supervision
check with electricity
company
obtain advice on
underground
cables:
a) whose are they?
b) where are they?
 Underground cables

Before work starts (continued):

check plans for:
a) cable routes
b) depth
c) voltage
use cable location devices
 Underground cables
When excavating:
treat all cables as live:
a) suspect pot-ends
b) hand dig near cables
do not use excavators and
power tools within 0.5
metres of indicated line of
cables:
support
protect
never use as a hand or
foothold
Any doubts consult electricity
company
 Markings

All supply, distribution and

transformer units should be marked
with the sign shown below
 Markings

DANGER
415v
A supplementary sign with the
word Danger and giving the
highest voltage likely to be
present should be put below
the warning sign