ECN Forum
Posted By: Trumpy Is Safety that Important? - 01/09/05 03:25 PM
Judging by the speed that things happen in this Forum and a comparison between those that want to know how things work and also those that want to make as much money as they can, where does Safety actually fit into ECN?.
Everyone here at ECN talks Safety, but so few people actually post here.
If you have ideas, please let's hear them.
There's no point in having a Safety Forum, if it isn't going to be used. Period
I've run out of ideas to keep this place going, so the onus is on you guys.
Use it or lose it!
That's all I can say. [Linked Image]
Posted By: bfdpoc221 Re: Is Safety that Important? - 01/10/05 12:47 AM
I hope you can keep this topic going. I don't post much but I do check this topic out every time I log on to ECN.
A topic that stands out with me is I am an industrial Journeyman Electrician and we are reqiured to use our gloves for any voltage above 50 volts. Do the resi guys have similar reqiurements?
Posted By: mxslick Re: Is Safety that Important? - 01/10/05 06:45 AM
Trumpy:

Excellent point. To add my own tips:

1: Always wear PPE when working on anything over 100 volts;
2: NEVER stand directly in front of any breaker/disconnect/fuse pull block when opening or reclosing (and that includes breakers in resi panels!);
3: LOOK AWAY when doing any of the items in #2, so if it arcs you stand lesser chance of eye damage;
4: NEVER pull/install meters without PPE, especially NEVER pull meters to cut power on a faulted system;
5: Most importantly, stay alert and DON'T rush when working live. Despite the pressure to finish/restore power, the extra time it takes to do it safely is a helluva lot less than the time to deal with an injury or equipment damage from rushing.

In repairing cinemas I frequently deal with harried staff/managers to get things running again, but I refuse to let that force me into something unsafe. In addition to electrical hazards, I deal with explosive (high-pressure) Xenon arc lamps, mechanical hazards and high intensity light.

Work safe and be able to go home to your loved ones at the end of the day. NO JOB IS WORTH YOUR LIFE OR INJURY TO YOURSELF OR OTHERS!!

Tony
Posted By: capt al Re: Is Safety that Important? - 01/10/05 04:17 PM
bfdpoc221, wearing gloves above 50 volts is an OSHA requirement. It applies to everyone. OSHA has adopted the new NFPA 70E as a standard and will use it for citing violations. I would suggest everyone get a copy of NFPA 70E and read it. It will change the way you do things.
Al
Posted By: Trumpy Re: Is Safety that Important? - 01/11/05 10:32 AM
Look guys,
All i'm looking to do, Is have some good decent discussion on Health and Safety Practice as it pertains to you guys, in your normal course of daily work.
Maybe you've seen something that you don't like or something that could be improved, it shouldn't have to come down to the Law all the time.
This is after all a Discussion Area, just a place to bounce ideas off of one another.
There are no wrong answers here and you won't be held to account for your comments.
My above comments only come from a bit of vented frustration, as I felt like I was talking to myself here.
I have no problems at all with keeping this Area open, but please, could you guys at least use the thing!. [Linked Image]
And if you guys do, I will support you as well, with relevant back-up.
Thanks very much for your time in reading this.

[Linked Image]
Mike.
Posted By: Trumpy Re: Is Safety that Important? - 01/18/05 11:17 AM
Bump.

[Linked Image]
Mike.

{Message edited to fix up UBB Code}

[This message has been edited by Trumpy (edited 01-18-2005).]
Posted By: safetygem Re: Is Safety that Important? - 01/18/05 04:32 PM
Mike,

I apologize. I should be more actively involved in this forum. My primary responsibility is to enforce safety and health regulations and while I routinely check threads here, I have rarely responded. I'll work on that, this is a valuable forum that I would like to see ECN continue. [Linked Image]

I am going to start a new thread on 70E to address some of the issues raised in this thread. I'll have it up shortly.

Edited to add information about new thread.

-Glenn

[This message has been edited by safetygem (edited 01-18-2005).]
Posted By: Bjarney Re: Is Safety that Important? - 01/20/05 02:19 PM
 
There are quite a long list of details that make a safe and conscientious electrical worker. In the US, baseline concepts and expectations of basic, personal safety practices originate in five “rules” that we all should understand with our eyes closed, and can be used in zeff study if your employer doesn’t have a formal training program.

For ‘qualified’ and ‘unqualified’ workers, US OSHA is very clear on what they expect for baseline electrical training in places of employment. [It’s not Rocket Science.]

Title 29 — Code of Federal Regulations

1910.331 - Scope
1910.332 - Training
1910.333 - Selection and use of work practices
1910.334 - Use of equipment.
1910.335 - Safeguards for personnel protection.

These basic matters are not that hard to learn and live by on the jobsite.

If you sift through OSHA incident reports, an oft cited infraction is lack of job-specific training. Where formal in-house training exists, it helps to establish a paper trail of individuals’ qualifications and consequent experience, which, during accident investigation, will surely be scrutinized by investigators.
Posted By: Trumpy Re: Is Safety that Important? - 01/24/05 01:25 PM
Glenn and others,
Look fella's I really appreciate every single post that has been placed in this Forum here.
Without you guys there isn't a forum for a start. [Linked Image]
Occupational safety or any safety for that matter is a very "dry" subject, in that it doesn't lend itself to the humour and glamour of the other forums here at ECN, after all, who can laugh at work accidents?.
And another thing, a few of you may be wondering why I use a lot of stories to get my point across at times, those particular stories have only come about from personal experience or those related to me by fellow work-mates, all of them true and without embellishment, people tend to remember things better when they are backed up by a practical example.
BTW there is no such thing as a bad post in this area, if we can all learn from it, it's job is done. [Linked Image]

[This message has been edited by Trumpy (edited 01-24-2005).]
Posted By: Bjarney Re: Is Safety that Important? - 01/24/05 08:10 PM
Reposted links

1910.331 - www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9908
1910.332 - www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9909
1910.333 - www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9910
1910.334 - www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9911
1910.335 - www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9912
Posted By: Trumpy Re: Is Safety that Important? - 01/29/05 07:48 PM
Thanks Scott!. [Linked Image]
Posted By: Trumpy Re: Is Safety that Important? - 02/06/05 10:23 AM
From what I can see guys,
Occupational Safety isn't as pro-active as what it should be.
It seems like it is more like the "Ambulance at the bottom of the cliff", sort of thing.
How do we turn this around?.
We can talk about Education until we are blue in the face, at the end of the day, I reckon it comes down to the individual.
I've worked in a few places here and I'm more than well aware of the Safety laws, but I like to work to the situation, not the Laws that tell me how I should work.
Posted By: BigJohn Re: Is Safety that Important? - 03/14/05 08:38 AM
What little I can add here:

-Test your meters and electrical testers every morning on a circuit you know to be energized.

-When I use non-contact voltage sensors I use two of them in tandem (they're taped together) because they are less reliable than a tester that makes solid electrical contact.

Know the limitations of your tools and equipment:
-I've actually run across cheap multimeters that had a maximum working voltage of 250VAC.
-Non-contact sensors will not work with DC or sheilded conductors and are much less responsive with twisted pair cables.
-I've seen tools advertised as "electricians pliers/screwdrivers/etc." that claimed to be insulated but had no maximum voltage ratings and were missing the double triangles. Make sure any insulated hand tools are tested to ASTM F1505-01 and IEC 900 standards.

I know a lot of guys like to work live, I'm not one of 'em but some ideas for those that prefer it:
-Always wear your gloves and glasses at a minimum, a set of insulated tools isn't a bad idea, either.
-I don't pull NM into energized panels because of the bare EGC, too much of a chance it could whip around and short something out.
-I don't work with metal connectors if they are in any position where a locknut or connector could end up in the bus if it's dropped.
-If a panel has any voltages greater than 120 to ground I won't work it live for any reason. Period.

-John
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