Benchmarking safety

Abstract

All of general industry in the United States, represented by the participants in the IEEE/IAS Petroleum and Chemical Industry Committee Technical Conference (PCIC), is regulated by the federal government to have an electrical safety program. The Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) documents that drive the electrical safety of employees in the workplace is written in performance language. Companies trying to conform are having difficulties with the prescriptive means to comply. Emerging electrical safety issues are difficult to answer since they involve both technological and cultural changes. Many of the electrical-safety-related work practices and most all of the electrical-safety-by-design features that improve electrical safety escalate the cost of electrical equipment and facilities. Employers generally want to do the "right thing" and will do so, even if the cost is higher, if they are convinced that others are also "going the extra mile." Benchmarking can provide the direction and the support needed to convince industrial company business managers when more complicated and expensive features can really enhance electrical safety for the employee workplace. The results of questionnaires circulated and discussed in meetings to benchmark electrical safety over the last year are presented. Present understanding and acceptance reinforces the impression that further dialogue is needed on this subject.