Insulating Mat and Blanket

Testing
Method Statement

Purpose
To implement a safe method of work when testing Insulating Mat and Blanket.

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Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 3
Controls ................................................................................................................................ 3
Personal Protective Equipment Required .............................................................................. 4
Job Preparation..................................................................................................................... 4
Relevant Standards .............................................................................................................. 4
Classification of Standard Insulating Mats ......................................................................... 4
Classification of Standard Insulating Blankets ................................................................... 5
Hole on the Mat/Blanket and Dielectric Strength of Air ...................................................... 5
Safe Work Practices.............................................................................................................. 6
Testing Tools ........................................................................................................................ 7
Process for Testing Insulating Mat..................................................................................... 8
Setup and Connection ....................................................................................................... 8
Test Operation................................................................................................................... 9
Process for Testing Insulating Blanket ............................................................................. 10
Setup and Connection ..................................................................................................... 10
Test Operation with AC Power Injection .......................................................................... 10
Insulating Blankets Passing Criteria .................................................................................... 11
Risk Assessment ............................................................................................................. 12
Revision Register ................................................................................................................ 13

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Introduction
This work method statement is to be read in conjunction with Hazard Identification,
Risk Assessment and Control Procedure (PR-015-OHS).

All workers will be suitably instructed, trained and assessed as competent before
commencement of the work.

All workers, tools, equipment and plant will be used in accordance with State
regulation, National and Industry standards, Manufactures’ specifications, Code of
Practice and Company Safe Work Procedures. They will not complete any tasks
unless they have Electrical Engineering qualifications or hold a valid Electrical
Workers or Electrical Training Licence (constant supervision required).

Some risks of injury are:

o Serious injury
o Sprains
o Fractures
o Abrasions, lacerations and open wounds
o Contusions
o Dislocations

Controls
Eliminations
o Wherever possible seek other options on the work e.g. can the work be
performed in another manner?

Substitution
o Where ever possible substitute plant, equipment and/or substance within
the work process to make the work safer and reduce the hazards?

Engineering
o Where ever possible design a process or system of work to either
eliminate or reduce the exposure to hazards

Administration
o Create and maintain a work method statement (WMS),
o Provide appropriate training, instruction and information.

Employee
o Do not complete any work that you are unqualified for,
o Do not complete a task if the correct PPE is not at hand,
o Maintain your PPE in good working order and request replacements if any
item is damaged or not in good working order,
o Observe and follow all safety/warning signage,
o Comply with all reasonable instructions within this work method statement,
o Only undertake work with proper authorisation from the site manager,

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 o Adhere to safe systems of work identification through the performance of
Job Safety and Environment Analysis (JSEA) prior to undertaking any
activity.

Normally a combination of these control options will maximise safety outcomes.

Personal Protective Equipment Required

o Hi-Vis Long Sleeve Shirt,
o Cotton Drill Long Pants,
o Gloves,
o Hard Hat,
o Safety Glasses,
o Safety Mask,
o Safety Footwear, and
o Any other site required Safety Equipment or Task related Safety
Equipment

Job Preparation
o Complete Job Safety Environment Analysis (JSEA) form and obtain
verification from site.
o Obtain work permit and sign on as required.
o Identify area of work, equipment to be worked on and set up tools and test
equipment to commence task.
o Complete a Take 5, Pre-task Risk assessment to confirm all required
controls are in place to perform the task safely and competently.

Relevant Standards
AS/NZS 2978:1995 Insulating Mats for Electrical Purposes
ASTM D1048 Standard Specification for Rubber Insulating Blankets

Classification of Standard Insulating Mats

According to AS/NZS 2978:1995 Insulation mats for electrical purposes, there are
two classes of insulating mats. Class A is used for general purpose, the class B is
restricted to use indoors on surfaces which are free from protuberances or
projections.
Both of these two classes of mat are used to protect personnel who work nearby to
energised electrical conductors or electrical equipment under 650V a.c r.m.s or d.c,
between conductors or between conductors and earth.

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The specification of two classes of mat is given below:
Class A Class B
Thickness >6mm >3mm
Size >900mm x 900mm >900mm x 900mm

Classification of Standard Insulating Blankets

According to ASTM D1048 Standard Specification for Rubber Insulating Blankets,
the requirement of different classes of blanket is given below
Class of Color Thickness Nominal Maximum AC Proof-Test DC Proof-
Insulating (mm) Use Voltage Voltage Test
Blankets (Phase-Phase, rms) (rms) Voltage
(avg)
0 Red 1.6 to 2.2 1000V 5000V 20000V
1 White 2.6 to 3.6 7500V 10000V 40000V
2 Yellow 2.8 to 3.8 17000V 20000V 50000V
3 Green 3.0 to 4.0 26500V 30000V 60000V
4 Orange 3.2 to 4.3 36000V 40000V 70000V

Hole on the Mat/Blanket and Dielectric Strength of Air

When the voltage potential between two conductors is over 3 MV/m, the air can
begin to break down and become electrically conductive. If there is a hole on the
insulating mat and two conductors are charged with 3 MV/m voltage potential, the air
in the hole will break down. A by-product of air breaking down is Ozone gas and
sparks (Note: Ozone gas is harmful, HOLD YOUR BREATH and LEAVE immediately
if you smell it!!!). If either Ozone or sparks are observed, then the mat should be
inspected for a hole.

The breakdown voltage can be determined by follow equation.

Where
d is the thickness of the insulating mat, in mm
P is the atmospheric pressure, in atm

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For example
To test an insulating mat with a thickness of 0.45 cm at 25 °C (101.325 kPa = 1 atm),
the breakdown voltage is about:

Safe Work Practices

Safety Warnings and Tips

It is mandatory to follow the below mentioned safety controls
prior to commencing any electrical work.
• Ensure you know what the Emergency procedures are for the site i.e.
Emergency radio channels, Emergency phone numbers, Location of
nearest muster point, First aid kit location, Location of nearest medical
Emergency facility.

• Always ensure the equipment to be tested/worked on is correctly isolated

from the power source – physically check the isolations.
• Understand the single line diagrams and related permits you are working
Isolation under.

• Confirm no hazardous voltages exist by testing all phases with a suitably

rated voltage Tester (Multimeter, Modiwark, Taplin Sticks, etc.)
• Always ensure the earth is connected to a suitably rated earth point.
Earthing

• Ensure the equipment has been correctly locked and tagged out.
• Lock on with your personal lock and tag before starting work.
Lock On/Tag On • Sign onto the correct permit

• Never touch the equipment/test object without an appropriate earth

being applied and connected.
• While setting up/connecting the test equipment to the test object, leave
the earth connected and only remove after connections are complete and
Before just prior to testing.
Touching • If required, wear suitably rated rubber gloves.

• Always discharge the test object before trying to connect/disconnect test

leads.
Discharging

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Testing Tools

High Voltage AC Hipot Instrument

Wooden Board

Flat Metal Plate A

Flat Metal Plate B

(The size of metal plate is going to be in 2 sets with different sizes which are about
900mm*900mm and 1200mm*1200mm, final size may vary. NEED TO BE
CONFIRMED WITH WORKSHOP)

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Process for Testing Insulating Mat

Setup and Connection

1. Conduct the test at a temperature of 23 ± 2 °C
2. Place Wooden Board at ground level in a well-ventilated area.
3. Place Flat Metal Plate A on Wooden Board
4. Place the insulating mat to be tested on Flat Metal Plate A (the size of the mat
being tested must be bigger than the flat metal plate A and B, also make sure
all edges of metal plates are 25mm to the edge of testing mat to avoid flash
over)
5. Stack Flat Metal Plate B on testing insulating mat. (Refer to diagram below)

├ >25 mm ┤ Flat Metal Plate B ├ >25 mm ┤

Testing Insulating Mat

├ >25 mm ┤ Flat Metal Plate A ├ >25 mm ┤

6. Set up Hipot instrument at ground level (maintain 2 meters’ clearance from all
live terminals and the testing mat)
7. Connect the HV lead of the Hipot to the middle port of Flat Metal Plate B
8. Connect the Negative of the Hipot to one corner of the Flat Metal Plate A
9. For safety purpose, connect one ground cable between the corner connected
with Negative of the Flat Metal Plate A and the earth

Metal Plate B

Testing Mat (On top of Flat Metal A)

Wood Board

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 Test Operation
10. Switch on the test instrument
11. Raise the test instrument output voltage from 0V to 15 kV r.m.s. rapidly (raise
time should be less than 15 seconds)
12. Record the milliAmp reading on the test instrument when the voltage reaches
15kV
13. Maintain the output voltage at 15 kV for 1 minute.
14. Record the milliAmp reading on the test instrument at 1 minute
15. After 1 minute, reduce the output voltage of the test instrument rapidly to 0 kV
and switch off test instrument
16. Discharge the testing mat to earth after the test

Insulating Blankets Passing Criteria

I. Thickness and size of testing mat qualified.
II. The milliAmp reading on the test instrument must be less than 160 mA/m^2.
The Size may vary, these need to be confirmed with workshop
The size of the Flat Metal Plate B is 900mm*900mm (0.81 m^2), which means
the milliAmp reading should not over 160*0.81 = 129.6 mA.
The size of the Flat Metal Plate B is 1200mm*1200mm (1.44 m^2), which
means the milliAmp reading should not over 160*1.44 = 230.4 mA.
III. There are no sparks, “fresh air” smell of Ozone during test, Hipot instrument
tripping and other obviously failures like melting and burnt.

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Process for Testing Insulating Blanket

Setup and Connection

1. Prior to testing, leave testing blankets in a flat position for at least 24 hours
2. Place Wood Board at ground level in a well ventilated area.
3. Place Flat Metal Plate A on Wooden Board
4. Place the insulating blanket to be tested on Flat Metal Plate A (the size of the
mat being tested must be bigger than the flat metal plate A and B, also make
sure all edges of metal plates are more than 25mm to the edge of testing mat
to avoid flash over)
5. Stack Flat Metal Plate B on testing insulating mat. (Refer to diagram below)

├ >25 mm ┤ Flat Metal Plate B ├ >25 mm ┤

Testing Insulating Blanket

├ >25 mm ┤ Flat Metal Plate A ├ >25 mm ┤

6. Set up Hipot instrument at ground level (maintain 2 meters’ clearance from all
live terminals and the testing mat)
7. Connect the HV lead of the Hipot to the middle port of Flat Metal Plate B
8. Connect the Negative of the Hipot to one corner of the Flat Metal Plate A
9. For safety purpose, connect one ground cable between the corner connected
with Negative of the Flat Metal Plate A and the earth

Test Operation with AC Power Injection

10. Switch on the test instrument
11. Raise the instrument output voltage at 50 or 60 Hz from 0V to the AC proof
voltage level, which is according to the class of the testing blanket, with a rate
of rise of approximately 1000V/s
12. Maintain the output voltage at the proof voltage level for 3 minute.
13. After 3 minute, reduce the output voltage of instrument to at least half of the
proof voltage first and then switch off instrument
14. Discharge the testing blanket to earth after the test

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 Insulating Blankets Passing Criteria

I. Thickness and size of testing blanket qualified.

II. Each blanket must withstand the ac proof-test voltage (rms value) of their
classification for at least 3 minutes.
III. There are no sparks, “fresh air” smell of Ozone during test, Hipot instrument
tripping and other obviously failures like melting and burnt.

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Risk Assessment

REVISED
RISK HAZARD CONTROL
PROCESS HAZARDS Consequence RISK
RATING MEASURES
RATING
Always use two people when
lifting above 25kg or load is too
Move test equipment to Lifting heavy
Back Strain M9 heavy for an individual. Refer to L3
testing location equipment
WMC-025-MH (Manual Handling
Procedure)

M9 Clear the walkway before moving L3

Slips & Trips Sprain/strain
any equipment

Sharp edges L3
on test gear Cuts M9 Gloves must be worn at all times
boxes

Always set up gear in a location

Leads and where a walkway is not
test gear obstructed.
Slips and H13 L5
Set up test equipment at obstructing Leads must be off the ground and
walkways Trips
location or tapped to the ground or run in
such a way that it does not pose a
trip hazard.
Always handle test leads while all
Testing of Insulating Mat & Electrical/test outputs are switched off
Electric Shock H21 M9
Blanket leads
Barricade/restrict access to area

smell of Hold Breath & leave area L5

Fainting
Ozone H13 immediately

Always use two people when

Pack up test equipment lifting above 25kg or load is too L3
Lifting heavy
Back Strain M9 heavy for an individual. Refer to
equipment
WMC-025-MH (Manual Handling
Procedure)
L3
Clear the walkway before moving
Slips & Trips Sprain/strain M9
any equipment

Sharp edges L3
on test gear Cuts M9 Gloves must be worn at all times
boxes

Risk Assessment matrix

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Revision Register

Author Revision Date Reason

Frances Tesorero 1 14/11/17 New Document

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