Safety Around High Voltage
Learn what protective clothing and safe practices are required when working near high voltage equipment.
Safety Around High Voltage
To reduce the chance of an accident around electrical equipment, remind your employees to follow proper safety procedures.
Clothing:
– Always wear safety shoes with nonconductive soles.
– Always wear headgear insulated to a voltage rating that exceeds the voltages around which you will be working.
– Wear voltage-rated insulated gloves covered by leather gloves to protect against piercing.
– Wear clothing that is NOT made of synthetic materials (e.g., polyester, rayon or nylon); these can melt and cause severe burns.
– Remove all conductive metal from your person including jewelry, underwires, metal framed glasses, etc.
Safety Preparations:
– Never exceed your limits of knowledge and training.
– Set up barricades to keep non-qualified personnel away from the work site.
– Use only properly rated tools.
– Always be sure you have adequate light.
Safe Work Practices:
– Always stand to the side when opening or closing any electrical disconnect.
– Check blue prints and naming configurations to determine voltage levels and places of live wires.
– Always be sure to de-energize a unit if possible.
– Always use a test meter to confirm that there is no power.
– Always install bonding and grounding conductors, where applicable.