14 - Safe working practices

Abstract

This chapter presents the safe working practices. The first part of the chapter is designed to help eliminate or minimize mishaps. It also provides a good review of what to do in case of an accident with burns due to fire. It also shows that some of the more obvious practices that any electrical technician is supposed to follow in terms of safety, looking out for danger signals, inspection and maintenance requirements, maintenance and safe practices, safe methods of insulation testing and requirements for hazardous area, safe methods of earth integrity checking and the specific requirements for a hazardous area, and finally, the safe practices after any incident of fire or electrical shock. Personnel should constantly be on the alert for any signs, which might indicate a malfunction of electric equipment, especially in a hazardous area. Besides the more obvious visual signs, the reaction of other senses—such as hearing, smell, and touch—are also taken into account. Having stated that “loss prevention” is one of the main objectives of any ongoing enterprise, it is needless to emphasize that this can only be achieved if all the apparatus, equipment and systems for hazardous area are designed, selected, and installed with painstaking care. Electrical installations, which comply with standards and regulations, or with other statutory documents dealing with the same subject, possess features specially designed to render them suitable for operation in hazardous areas. It is essential for reasons of safety in those areas that throughout the life of such installations the integrity of these special features is preserved. They therefore require systematic inspection, and if necessary, maintenance, both initially and thereafter at regular periodic intervals.