NTT Blog

High Voltage Electrician Safety for Your Workers

Electricity is a good friend and the worst enemy at the same time. Electricity has helped the human race make huge strides over the years. It is vital in every industry in that, no plant in the world today at this age operates without the use of electricity. Electricity has even been introduced in cars making them entirely electric-driven, including high voltage.

The world wouldn’t be where it is right now were it not for electricity. However, there is an ugly side to all this. It’s always a beautiful story until something tragic happens. Electricity especially that with high voltage, if not handled carefully can lead to very unpleasant incidents. It’s very important that those working in such areas receive quality training on how to prevent accidents and how to react if they occur.

What makes electricity with high voltage more dangerous than one with low voltage?

In firms where operations require the use of high voltage, the risks are greater as compared to those that use low voltage. High voltage exposure causes instant shock to different muscles and neurons in the body. The shock is so strong that the body at times reacts to the shock by throwing itself a distance from the point of exposure. This phenomenon is described as electrocution and is fatal.

The heart, which works as an engine to the body, is the largest muscle in humans and when it receives the shock, the incident may cause you to experience a very strong heart attack. Chances of surviving such an attack are very low and the cases of survival are very few in such cases. Additionally, the heat that high current emits is capable of totally cooking a living tissue. That being said, a person who goes through such an experience is unlikely to come out of it alive. High voltage currents travel very fast and give you little chance to react.

Areas with low voltage are not as dangerous as those with high voltage. If you get into contact with electric currents with low voltage, there is a chance that you will suffer from serious injuries. However, these injuries are not as serious as the high voltage ones. While high-voltage injuries are lethal, low voltage accidents will only see you visit the doctor. They should, however, not be underestimated since they can cause numbness, serious pain and cause a person to become violent.

Safety training for people working in areas with high voltage

To prevent electricity-related hazard, experts have done hazard analysis in different areas. The goal of this researches and analysis is to establish safety codes for people working in these areas. It is important for employees to be trained on electrical safety. Training on how to observe safety at places with high voltage helps you protect yourself and those around you from electric injuries.

Training not only protect the individual from fatal injuries but also helps the company to avoid huge costs which would result in electrical hazards. If a fatal accident occurs, the company will use a lot of money in compensation and will lose an important member of the team. This will result to various hitches in the company making it lag behind and perform below its standards.

The danger of handling electrical appliances without care has always been mentioned from time to time but very few people pay attention. Simple instructions like making sure that your hands are dry before touching an electric appliance that is connected to the power may fall on dead ears. Training people on the repercussions of wrongful handling makes them want to be more careful.

Safety tips for high voltage handling

To avoid accidents at the place of work, you should:

• Make certain that only those that are authorized have access to high voltage equipment.
• Indicate places with high voltage
• Always make sure that when surges that are brought by switching transients or electrical faults can be withstood by the set voltage ratings.
• Observe total care when handling output circuits whether it’s on or off.
• Be careful with power supplies serving two or more areas.
• Always inspect the power supply before beginning operations on a high voltage area.
• Ensure you are not working on your own around high voltage places so that you can have someone to offer you help if an accident occurs.
• Keep emergency shutdown procedures in close proximity or in display to be useful if the need arises.

Having looked at the adverse effects of the lack of safety training when dealing with machines that use high voltage, as an employer, you might see the need of taking your members of staff through safety training. If so, consider our arc flash electrical safety and utilization of high voltage seminars here at NTT Inc. Feel free to contact us in case you need any clarification.

For more information about National Technology Transfer or any of our programs click here: http://www.nttinc.com or http://www.nttinc.com/seminar-list-catalog/.