ELECTRICAL

SAFETY
Electricity Is most widely used
form of energy. It is clean and
convenient but it is dangerous.

If an electrical installation is properly

designed, correctly installed with
equipment of right type, capacity and
specification and carefully attended by
trained personnel, then Electricity is
perhaps the safest energy to use
 CAUSES AND EFFECTS
OF
ELECTRICAL HAZARDS

1. Shock

2. Burns

3. Electrical fire and explosion

 SHOCK

Electric Shock is a sudden

stimulation of the nervous
system of human body by
flow of electric current
through a part of the body.
Effects of Magnitude of Shock Currents :-
Magnitude of

Current Effects
50 Hz. rms
Below 10 mA Mild sensation but no effects

40 mA to 80 mA Rapid, uncoordinated series of contractions of heart

muscles causing irregular heart beat and possible
death ( 3 Sec. to 10 Sec).

AC is more dangerous than DC. Ac wave frequency

matches with frequency of human heart.

AC voltage has higher peak than DC ( Peak 220 V rms = 311 Volts)
 SEVERITY OF ELECTRIC SHOCK

☼ Magnitude of the current

☼ Waveform of current (DC or AC )
☼ Path of current
☼ Time duration
☼ Wheather body is thrown off or gets attached

The effect of electric shock depends

upon the voltage, current and duration
and the path of flow. The current
through heart is most dangerous.
 BURN

Persons in coming in contact with the electric

arc / flash due to short circuit/grounding gets
severe burn injuries and electric shock. The
clothes of the person catch fire and add to the
injuries
 OCCURRENCE OF ELECTRIC SHOCK

☼ When part of human body bridges

☼ Two phase wires by direct contact
☼ One phase and earth, two phases and earth, by
direct contact.
☼ Two points of same phase at different potentials, by
direct contact.
☼ Two points having potential difference across them
(Due to supply voltage or induced voltage or
charged voltage)
☼ Flash over involving part of human body.
 SHOCKS DUE TO FLASH OVER
• Failure of air gap during pf. over voltage, switching /
lighting surges at / between stretched points such as
- Sharp corners
- Low clearance

• Two commonly observed failure modes

-Failure along insulator surface (int. & ext.)
Failures accelerates by surface moisture and dust.
Use of grading ring, increased creep age length and
preventive maintenance eliminates such problem.
FLASH OVER (contd.)
• Failure through the gap :-
Failure accelerates by
- Sharp corners on metal surfaces
- Very non uniform electric field around conductors.

Use of grading rings and increased gap length

together eliminates the problem.
Causes of accidents ::

Lack of knowledge & Non observance

the electrical safety rules / set procedures
and statutory regulations
Poor co-ordination and communication
among the working agencies.
Poor workman ship. Overloading
By passing
of safety
devices.
Poor performance of protective
devices.

No provision of safety devices

Poor performance of electrical

insulation and equipment
 SCOPE OF ELECTRICAL SAFETY

The protection program should envisage

safety to :-

a) Users or Occupants or Workers

b) Electrical machines; equipments;
conductors; switches etc.
c) Fire hazards associated with short
circuit etc
APPROACHES TO PREVENT ACCIDENTS
ELECTRICAL SHOCK PREVENTION

Two types of defense are used to prevent shock

1. Insulation
2. Earthing
 INSULATION :

• Insulation used in all electrical machines are in the form of

organic compounds. they are covalent or ionic. Insulation
gets dehydrates and oxidize under high temperature.
• Becomes brittle and disintegrates

• Insulation gets damaged from impact, abrasion, vibration,

environmental condition
• Effect of electrical stress. Effect of abnormal voltage
EARTHING
Leveling of earth
pit by filling
gravels
 EARTHING

a. Equipment earthing- It is associated with

the earthing of non –
current carrying metal
parts of the equipment getting
accidentally charged.
b. System earthing – It implies the restriction of
the voltage of live
conductors
w.r.t. the potential
of general mass in
conformity with insulation
level. Example – Earthing of
neutrals in substations and
Powerhouses.
 ADVANTAGES

1. Reduction in touch voltage, if earth

conductor has low impedance /
resistance
2. Facilitates the operation of earth fault
protection system
3. carrying the fault current without fire or fire
hazards.
4. Higher equipment stability.
5. saving of human life from electrical shock
 SAFE WORKING SYSTEM
(PREVENTION OF SHOCKS)
1.Testing of all protective devices in each equipment

2.Checking of Earthing stations & earthing leads

3.Testing of all hand tools & testing equipment

* Visual inspection of tool, cable, carbon
brushes etc.
* Insulation resistance of the apparatus
* Earthing wire inspection
* Lead inspection
 SAFE WORKING SYSTEMS
• 4.Testing of electrical apparatus

• 5. Shock Prevention Measures

a. The polarity of installation is correct through
out.
b. Enclosures and barriers are complete & safe
c. Earth wires are large enough to protect fault
current and will open the protective system
quickly.
SAFE WORKING SYSTEMS
• Earth wire should be mechanically and electrically sound
• All electrical insulations are in good condition and is
effective.
• Conductors should be Insulated/ Enclosed / Not
accessible
• Person should wear safety insulating shoes and
insulating hand gloves.
• Live line working should be avoided.
• Conductors should be touched only after making dead
and discharged.
SAFE WORKING SYSTEMS
• All earthing station should be in order and to be tested
periodically as per IE rules.

• All final circuits are to be inspected regularly.

• Training of Electrical staff and training of non –electrical

employees on basic electrical knowledge.

• Enforcements of Electrical Safety Rules and Acts in the

forms of Dos AND DON’Ts.
• Safety Management approach
Formulation & Implementation of Safety by

 Policy
 Planning
 Organizing
 Fault Investigation
 Auditing
 Co-ordination
 Safety documentation & Work permit
Engineering analytic approach
 Total
Quality
Management
 An integrated management approach.
 Co-relates Quality with safety.
 Ultimate in safety management.
 Safety is ensured at various stages by :-
►Quality assurance.
►Quality control
GROUND CLEARANCE S & SECTION
CLEARANCES
• Clearance denotes the clear distance between two
conducting points along a stretched string.
• Important clearances are
- Phase to Earth
- Phase to Phase
- Work Section (Maintenance section) &
Section Clearance (Dist. between Work
Section and nearest live parts +one
stretched arm length of the Maint. person
- Ground Clearance( Min. 2.55m)
 Electrical fire & explosion :–
• Electric Arcs, Flashovers, Short Circuits

• Loose connections resulting in sparks.

• Corona discharge /Arching grounds at sharp low

clearance points.

• Arcs due to static charges

• Hot Resistors

• Bursting of Capacitor cans

Electrical fire & explosion :–
• Fires and Explosions in oil filled Equipment
Hot spot temperature of transformer winding and oil
should not exceed following limits-
Max. Permissible winding temp.: 80 deg C
Max. Permissible oil temp. : 65 deg C

• Switching surges –
Capacitor switching with re-strike in C.B
Inductive current switching with current chopping in
C.B

• Internal arching in Metal Clad Switch gear.

 Electrical fire & explosion
(Prevention)
 Maintenance of Protective devices ( Fuses and Relay
actuated Circuit Breakers) – Preventive Maint. Schedule
 Earthing
 System design- As per tested standards
 Equipment design – Environmental aspects
 Installation Erection- By well experienced erectors
 Good House keeping
 Training
 Fire Fighting Facilities- Fire Extinguishers, Fire Hydrant,
Auto Fixed Fire Fighting system.
 GENERAL ELECTRICAL SAFETY RULES
(Dos & DON”Ts)

• Do not work on live lines

• Do not work wet on electrical equipments

• Never attempt to repair or adjust electrical equipment by

yourself. Repairs are an electrician's job.

• Always check for defective cables, plugs or sockets. If

found, do not use,

• Switch off and attach the warning tag then report

electricians to repair.
• Never overload electrical equipment.

• If a fuse blows, report it. Do not fit makeshifts.

• Switch off and disconnect any equipment that

sparks or stalls. Report to electricians.

• Do not have any unsafe temporary connections

• Have your portable electric equipment inspected

regularly.

• Don't use lighting circuits for portable tools.

• Disconnect electric equipment when not in use, but
don't pull the cable to disconnect: pull the plug.

• Do not just operate any switch unless you know the

consequences.

• Avoid kinking, twisting, binding or crushing cables.

• Keep all electrical equipment clean and dry.

• Don't use portable electric tools near flammable

vapours or gases.
• Don't stand on a wet area when using
electrical equipment.

• Never make temporary repairs to electrical

cables: if damaged replace them.

• Portable generators should be fitted with

Earth Leakage Circuit Breakers (ELCB).
• Earthing strips must be used in areas where
sparks could lead to fire because of lighting..

• Do not use water on electrical fire.

• Do not crowd things near electrical mains/panels

• Do not take short cuts. Follow safety rules.

Safety procedure while working on High
Voltage equipments / HT Lines etc.

► Safety clearance notice / Work permit

System.

► Safety tag system.

► Safety key procedure.

► Safety documents.
 Safety Documentation system

• Written instruction & guidelines are available

and followed, is an essential part of safety
management system.
 WORK PERMIT SYSTEM

► Work permit system is the most important safety documents

► Work permit is issued by authorised person after de-enrgising

the plant/equipment, opening the circuit breaker, opening the
isolators, locking the isolators and earthing the system.
 Work Permit System

A “ T A G ” is small piece of board loosely attached /

hang to the main equipment or plant to indicate the shutdown
has been taken and nobody by mistake operates switches
Positive Locking System for Electrical
Doing job in a safe manner is more important
than such things as saving time, avoiding
effort, increasing convenience or increasing
production
Requirements For Isolators-
Isolators should –
1.Ensure a definite break of all live conductor
2.Be designed to prevent in advertent closing
3.Have definite indication of present status
open or Close
4. Have adequate clearance from contacts
5. Be installed at suitable height for easy
operation
6.Have Locking facility.
 Work Permit System

Positive
Isolation

’Safety key” system ensures that a third party does not switch on
the supply while the work is in progress.
Scissor Locking Device
THANK YOU