Electrical Safety

Toolbox Talk

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© A. Groves & Océ (UK) Ltd

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 Introduction

„ Why is electricity dangerous?

Because it’s
„ Invisible (and odourless)
„ Instant

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 Hazards from electrical equipment

„ Tripping
„ Over the equipment itself or its flex

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 Hazards from electrical equipment

„ Fire
„ If possible, switch off / unplug
smoking or burning equipment.
„ If it is still live, use only
CO2 or Powder extinguishers.

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 Hazards from electrical equipment

„ Electric shock
„ Burns
„ Electrocution
„ Never remove covers unless authorised to do so.
„ Always switch equipment off before removing its covers or
repairing it.

„ Other consequential events, e.g.

„ scalds from overturned kettle
„ entanglement if a motor starts

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 Safety in an office or home

„ Equipment condition
„ no damaged covers
„ no missing screws
„ no bypassed interlocks

„ Equipment operation
„ no intermittent faults
„ all switches, warning lights etc. work OK

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 Safety in an office or home
„ Flex
„ not in a walkway
„ not loose on the floor under a desk
„ not where it may get damaged
„ not squashed, damaged nor cut
„ not frayed nor perished
„ Plug
„ not broken
„ no signs of overheating
„ no bent pins
„ Resilient type for things which are moved frequently, e.g.
„hand-tools
„vacuum cleaners / floor polishers
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 Safety in an office or home

„ Cord grip around the sheath

„ No coloured wires showing

„ No water / coffee / liquid

ingress
„ Don’t spray aerosols into live equipment
„ Don’t use plug-in multiway
adaptors
„ use a short 4-way extension lead
instead.
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 Safety in an office or home

„ Use short flexes on work-top equipment

„ long flexes risk being pulled and overturning the item (e.g.
a kettle)

„ Keep sockets dry

„ take care when washing walls

„ No DIY bodges

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 Protection Devices

„ No device prevents you from getting a

shock.
„ A Fuse or Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB)
switches off the current if it exceeds the
rated value for long enough.
„ Plug = 3 or 13 amps (can also be 5 or 10 amps)
„ Lighting circuits = 5 amps (1200 watts)
„ Ring main for 13 amp sockets = 30 amps.
„ They help to prevent a fire caused by prolonged
overloading of the equipment, its flex or the fixed wiring.

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 Residual Current Devices (“RCD”)
„ They detect when the current in the Live wire is different
from the current in the Neutral wire.
„ If the difference is 30mA, they QUICKLY switch off the
current.
„If the missing current was going through your body, it aims to
switch it off before your heart stops permanently.
„ Use the test button regularly - make sure the device still
actually works!
„ They are ESSENTIAL when using portable equipment
outdoors or in wet / damp environments.
„ They are desirable in many other situations, e.g.
„Children poking things into anything electrical, fingers in light
fittings, etc

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 To conclude

„ Please think about what you have seen in

this presentation.
„ Injuries hurt. Pain isn’t pleasant.
Death is final.
„ Safety = 100% concentration
100% of the time
„ You have choices about your life.

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