Workplaces should always make sure that the standard electrical safety regulations are always maintained. If you are the manager of a company, you need to safeguard the health and safety of your employees and protect your firm from liability. On the other hand, if you are an employee, you need to alert your supervisors about any potential hazards just so that they can be rectified immediately by electrician services in London. The electricity voltage and available current in most businesses has enough strength to lead to electrocution and eventually death.
All electrical systems, whether they are dynamic or static, has the potentiality to cause harm. Electricity is said to be dynamic when it is produced by a uniform motion of negatively charged electrons through a conducting material. Conductors help electricity to move from one point to another. Most metals serve as good conductors of electricity. However, the human body is also a good conductor of electricity, and so special care needs to be taken so as to never get in direct contact with electric energy.
If electricity flows through our bodies, it can lead to four different types of injuries, namely, burns, falls, electric shock and electrocution (fatal). When the body comes in direct contact with any exposed circuit parts or energized conductors, then the current can pass through our bodies and interfere with normal electrical signals that pass between our brain and muscles. This may stop our breathing or our normal heart beats and lead to muscle spasms. Accidents may also occur when electricity arcs from a circuit part or an energized conductor through a gas to a person standing on the ground. Thermal burns can occur from heat produced by an electric arc, and contact burns from electric shocks can severely burn internal tissues and yet leave only small injuries on the outer surface of the skin.
In order to prevent any electrical accidents in the workplace, make sure that you follow the safety guidelines stated by OSHA or Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA has recommended certain safety codes in a workplace in relation to electricity. These include wiring designs, building codes, as well as the use of electrical protective devices and personal protective equipments. Although the standards set for each and every different workplace might vary, your building should follow the guidelines set by OSHA’s 1910 publication.
There are certain electrical equipments that are more vulnerable to electricity-related hazards than others. These may include generators, extension cords and construction equipments. While using them, you should go through the recommended safety guidelines before actually proceeding. Generators should never be used indoors, and always make sure that the circuit breaker connecting your building to power grid is kept turned off. In order to prevent mishaps like overloading, electrocution and short circuits, use only those extension cords that have three prongs. Avoid using extension cords that are frayed and always remove the cords from the electric boards by pulling the plug and not the cord. Never stand in wet or swampy areas when working with corded power tools, or use them in the rain, as there is a high chance of being electrocuted.
If you are working near power lines, there are certain security measures to be followed. When near overhead power lines, keep a distance of 10 feet at all times and always assume that the lines are energized. Use non conductive fiberglass or wood ladders instead of aluminium when near power lines. If you have to dig in the ground, get in touch with local utility company for making sure that there aren’t any buried power lines in that area. De-energize the ground wires before operating near them.
