Electrical Safety: State of the Art in Technology, Work Practices and Management Systems

摘要

The safety professional s role is critical to improve the safe use of electricity. Electrical incidents dornnot have to result in injury or death. Every health effect, including death, amputation, burn, crush,rnblast, blindness, hearing loss, brain injury, is unnecessary. Engineering, scientific, and record-keepingrnexperience over the last 10 years has shown that electrical incidents are not random or rare.rnOccupational safety professionals are uniquely positioned to respond to every unintentional workplacernexposure to electrical energy as a potentially fatal or environmentally threatening scenario. Tornenhance the fund of knowledge and resources available for professionals implementing safe electricalrnwork practices, we present a historical overview of electrification and electrical safety management,rnfollowed by a survey of recent developments to reduce the frequency and severity of electricalrnincidents and their consequences. Opportunities to transform advances in standards and technologyrninto a real and broad reduction in electrical incidents are identified. In the worlds of business,rnmanufacturing, engineering, behavioral safety and regulatory compliance, the financial case forrnimproving electrical safety can be justified through measurable improvement by preventing injury tornpeople, minimizing energy and raw materials waste, preventing process safety and environmentalrnincidents, protecting capital investment from damage, and increasing uptime of operations.