OSHA requires you to train employees to prevent lockout/tagout (LO/TO) accidents in the workplace (1910.147). This standard covers the servicing and maintenance of machines and equipment in which the unexpected energization or start up of the machines or equipment, or release of stored energy could cause injury to employees. This standard establishes minimum performance requirements for the control of such hazardous energy.

Employees must be trained in accordance with 1910.147(c)(7) . Here are 5 areas which are considered a must part of any Lockout/Tagout training program.

1. Failure to stop equipment. Sure, this sounds like common sense, but there’s much more involved. Some workers value productivity above safety and others feel that their age or experience with equipment make them immune from risk. “Taking the trouble” to properly safeguard energized equipment is essential in all cases.

2. Failure to disconnect from the power source. When working with and around electric equipment, some workers believe that simply operating the on/off switch will ensure their safety. They ignore the fact that the switch may be defective or that power may find its way through a short circuit or other source.

3. Failure to drain residual energy. There’s a reason that televisions carry warnings about trying to open the case even if the set is disconnected. That’s because many electrical devices store power in a capacitor or battery. Even unplugged, the risk remains. A compressed spring, hot pipe, pressurized tank, or heavy object hanging overhead can store energy even when the initial source of power is disconnected.

4. Accidental restart of machinery. Even if an employee knows how to shut down equipment before working on it, his or her co-workers may not. In too many instances, unknowing employees cause injury to their co-workers.

5. Failure to clear work areas before restarting. Restarting machinery must be performed as carefully as shutting it down and locking it out. A repair tool left in the works can fly out, or a restart while a co-worker remains in the path of danger represents as great a hazard as not locking out the machine at all.

Work-related accidents tend to peak in January, so the safety agency recommends making preparations now
History has a tendency to repeat itself. And as icy conditions return, so do the expectations for winter accidents.

Falls, spills, cuts and numbness in appendages result when Jack Frost comes nipping, resulting in setbacks to construction schedules and more workers’ compensation claims. But according to the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the best time to plan for really bad weather is December.

According to OSHA safety records, January consistently sees a spike in work-related accidents. OSHA Safety Manager Sam Drill attributed the peak to workers and managers not changing their work habits to fit the changing weather patterns.

“Part of (staying safe) is slowing down (and) having a greater awareness and attention to the things we wouldn’t normally do,” Drill said. “Here you are (during winter) on a slick surface when normally you are not.”

Falls and automobile accidents account for the majority of injuries during the winter, when surfaces get coated with a thin veneer of ice.

Sometimes the accidents seem innocuous.

Last January, for example, a vineyard worker slipped and fell while crossing a driveway at work. He fractured his hip and stayed in a hospital overnight.

In the same month, a truck driver slipped in a parking lot. She fell backward onto her tailbone and cracked open her battery-powered headlamp. She was taken to the hospital with a concussion and muscle strain.

Other times, the accidents are more severe.

In 2005, a worker at a lumber yard fell 11 feet off an icy ladder and later died of head and neck injuries.

“(Winter) accidents probably could have been even worse,” said Melanie Mesaros, OSHA’s public information officer.

In the construction trades, perhaps more than most, that appears to be the case.

Michael Moore is the safety manager for Max J. Kuney Co. He said that at his company there isn’t necessarily a greater emphasis of safety hazards during the winter months – the company emphasizes safety year-round – but he does see a “different type of awareness.”

“You can’t just come in skipping around all the time,” Moore said, and he makes sure his workers understand this.

It’s awareness, Moore said, based on seasonal shifts: Because it tends to be wetter during winter, for example, workers must stay vigilant in grounding all electrical devices to prevent electrocution. They must also stay on top of weather reports because they can’t expect the weather to stay the same every day.

But there’s also a psychological effect that’s often overlooked. The dark winter months tend to accentuate depression and anxiety, often tied to financial concerns stemming from the holidays.

“You also have people with other things on their mind, like they’re grieving for someone or they have bills,” Moore said. “It’s a real interesting time of the year.”

He expects this winter, with the slowdown in the construction industry, to be especially bad on workers’ psyches.

Nonetheless, common sense can reveal safety solutions that are easy to achieve as long as workers and managers stay focused. Moore said that slowing the pace, assessing all work conditions and dressing in layers are the keys to staying safe.

Although bundling up may be accepted universally as a way of staving off frostbitten fingers and hypothermia, there’s no consensus on how bundled up one should be, said Chris Miller, the safety and loss control expert for the Oregon-Columbia chapter of Associated General Contractors.

When someone bundles up, Miller said, that person is constricting his or her movements.

“You don’t want to wear gloves when you’re working with a drill, for example,” she added.

She tells chapter members that the first half of December is an ideal time to discuss safety, before either wintertime blues or the full-blown doldrums of the season take hold.

“Winter is dreary, and you’re waiting out there for the sun to come out,” she said. “And it’s typically a slower time of the year, so people tend not to focus on what they are doing.”

Shock, electrocution, arc flash, and arc blast are responsible for one worker death per day and 3,600 disabling injuries per year on average in the United States. Now NFPA 70E–the Standard developed for OSHA–is revised to address safety gaps and increase electrical worker protection, while helping companies comply with OSHA 1910 Subpart S and OSHA 1926 Subpart K. Major changes recognize new hazards and address safety gaps.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) protects personnel and can significantly reduce the risk of injury in an arc flash. To help electrical engineers calculate incident energy–the vital first step in determining the correct type of PPE for a given task–revised Annex D consolidates all equations, adds new tables, and offers more options to detailed calculations.

Improved work practices reduce risks.

•A new requirement for Fire Rated clothing for H/R Category 1 precludes the use of cotton clothing. This change reduces the risks for second-degree thermal burns.
•An expanded Table in Article 130 covers added tasks such as thermographic imaging, and new equipment including arc-resistant switchgear.
•Added Article 350 provides first-time requirements for the protection of electrical personnel in R&D labs.
•A new exception verifies that 240 V and less power systems fed by a single transformer less than 125 kvs no longer require an arc flash hazard analysis.
•Expanded requirements for multi-employer relationships address potential areas of oversight.
•New recordkeeping requirements for training and safety program audits answer OSHA’s need for records.
Annexes expand knowledge about electrical safety.

•Understand the Hazard/Risk evaluation procedure with clarification and sample worksheets in Annex F.
•Evaluate layering of PPE with new Annex M–Layering of Protective Clothing and Total System Arc Rating
•Follow safe work practices with new Annex N–Example Industrial Procedures and Policies for Working Near Overhead Electrical Lines
Engineers, designers, risk managers, maintainers, safety directors, contractors, and owners need the 2009 NFPA 70E to improve worker safety and avoid citations, rising insurance fees, and increased workman’s comp costs.

Here are the last set of answers.  I hope you did well.  Let me know (info@thecrcenter.com or use the comment area below) how useful this quiz was.  How did you use it and would you like more of these.  

Answers to Electrical Safety Quiz Part-2
11.    b./Are capable of being accidently approached nearer than a safe distance.

12.    a./If they are not locked/tagged out

13.    c./Is familiar with the construction and operation of the equipment and the hazards involved

14.    a./Must be done by a qualified person

15.    d./Both a. and b

16.    c./No one is allowed to stand near the grounding location

17.    a./Must be inspected before use on every shift

18.    d./The area contains exposed energized parts

19.    c./Use a non-conductive ladder

20.    b./It must be determined that it would be safe to reenergize the circuit before the circuit breaker can be re-set
 

Here is part 2 of the Electrical Safety Quiz.  The answers will be posted next.

11. Exposed energized parts:
    a. Are enclosed
    b. Are capable of being accidentally approached nearer than a safe distance
    c. Are usually insulated
    d. Are always guarded

12. Exposed parts are considered to be energized:
    a. If they are not locked/tagged out
    b. If they are insulated
    c. If they are locked/tagged out
    d. If you can’t see that they are disconnected

13. A qualified person:
    a. Is automatically considered to be qualified to work on all electrical equipment
    b. Must be a licensed electrician
    c. Is familiar with the construction and operation of the equipment and the hazards involved
    d. All of the above

14. Lockout/tagout:
    a. Must be done by a qualified person
    b. Can be done by an unqualified person
    c. Must be done by a supervisor
    d. Can be done by anyone

15. If you are working under unguarded, energized overhead lines:
    a. The clearance distance is 10 feet for voltages of 50 kv or less to ground
    b. The clearance distance is 10 feet plus 4 inches for every 10 kv greater than 50 kv to ground
    c. The clearance distance is always 10 feet
    d. Both a. and b

16. When a vehicle is intentionally grounded because its elevated parts could possibly come into contact with energized overhead lines:
    a. An employee must stand near the grounding location to warn other people to stay away
    b. A qualified employee must stand near the grounding location to warn other people to stay away
    c. No one is allowed to stand near the grounding location
    d. The grounding location must be locked/tagged out

17. Portable cord- and plug-connected equipment:
    a. Must be inspected before use on every shift
    b. Should be inspected each morning
    c. Must be inspected annually by a licensed electrician
    d. Only needs an inspection if you notice a problem

18. When electrical hazard warning signs are posted and a barricade limits entry into an area:
    a. You must use the buddy system to enter the area
    b. A written entry permit must be posted near the space
    c. Non-qualified persons need special permission before they work in the area
    d. The area contains exposed energized parts

19. If you need to use a ladder while working near electrical parts:
    a. Use a conductive ladder
    b. Use a metal ladder
    c. Use a non-conductive ladder
    d. The ladder must be intentionally grounded

20. If a circuit breaker trips and deenergizes the machine you are using:
    a. You can just manually re-set the circuit breaker and continue to use the machine
    b. It must be determined that it would be safe to reenergize the circuit before the circuit breaker can be re-set
    c. You must immediately lock out the machine
    d. You must install a new circuit breaker

The Compliance Resource Center has an electrical quiz for you to use with your training (or we can do the training).  This is PART 1.  PART 2 will be published next week along with the answers to PART 1 and then the following week we will publish the answers to PART 2.  Confused yet?  Just try an answer the quiz.

ELECTRICAL SAFETY QUIZ – PART 1

1. A live wire without insulation or guarding is:
    a. Exposed
    b. De-energized
    c. Open
    d. Close

2. A worker who knows how to avoid the hazards of working on or near an exposed electrical part is:
    a. Authorized worker
    b. Unqualified worker
    c. Affected worker
    d. Qualified worker

3. Workers who are not qualified should have a clearance distance of _____ feet between energized 50 kv overhead power lines and themselves:
    a. 14
    b. 25
    c. 10
    d. 20

4. A flexible cord should be inspected for the following defects:
    a. Pinched outer jacket
    b. Missing or damaged outer jacket
    c. Damaged insulation
    d. All of the above

5. When using portable electric equipment, you should do all of the following except:
    a. Remove the ground pin on the plug so the plug matches the two prong receptacle
    b. Use adaptors that do not affect the equipment grounding connections
    c. Remove from service equipment that deformed plugs
    d. Use dry hands to plug and unplug equipment

6. Fuses can be used to open or close a lighting circuit.
    a. Never
    b. Always
    c. Only in emergencies
    d. None of the above

7. One safe work practice while working around electrical equipment is:
    a. Wear jewelry
    b. Use conductive ladders
    c. Use insulated tools
    d. Wear keys or keychains on your clothing

8. Exposed deenergized parts are parts that have:
    a. Their energy state at zero
    b. No electrical power source attached
    c. Their conductors and parts of the electrical equipment de-energized and locked out and/or tagged out
    d. None of the above

9. To alert you of exposed energized parts, you might see the following:
    a. A sign warning of shock hazard
    b. A barricades surrounding the electrical hazard area
    c. An attendant to warn you of the hazard
    d. All of the above

10. Flammable materials should be:
    a. Always be stored near electrical equipment that may cause a spark
    b. Not be stored near electrical equipment that may cause a spark
    c. Only stored near electrical equipment when precautions are taken to prevent the development of a hazardous condition
    d. Either b or c
 

 

Think you need eye protection?  Everyone does, including people who talk about baseball.  You never know when a ball is coming your way.  Proper safety glasses provide protection for a variety of reasons. 
When dealing with wire installation tools, it is important to protect yourself. You are mistaken if you think a hand tool cannot bring damage to your face. According to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) about 1,000 eye injuries happen in American workplaces each day. And about 70 percent of eye injuries on the job are caused by flying particles in which the particles are smaller than a pin head. When tugging on wires there is plenty of opportunity for your eyes to become injured. Make sure you wear eyewear that meets American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and OSHA requirements so you know you are being well protected. About 90 percent of eye injuries can be avoided with proper eye wear, according to OSHA.
ANSI Z87.1-2003, the American National Standard for American National Standard for Occupational and Educational Personal Eye and Face Protection Devices, establishes performance criteria for eye and face protection. This standard was developed by the Accredited Standards Committee Z87, and approved by ANSI in June 2003.
The draft revised ANSI standard for eye and face protection is available for public comment.  Accredited Standards Committee Z87, administered by International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA), is seeking review and comment on a revision to ANSI/ISEA Z87.1, American National Standard for Occupational and Educational Eye and Face Protection Devices.  The review period closes August 4.
With the new PPE standard that requires employers to pay for THE PROPER safety equipment, everyone should have safety glasses that are protective and comfortable to wear.