Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Report for Massachusetts: Two 11th Grade Students Shocked in Separate Incidents in the Same Electrical Technology Vocational School Program

摘要

Within a nine month timeframe in 2010 and 2011, two 11th grade students enrolled in an Electrical Technology program in the same Chapter 74 approved public regional vocational technical high school education program sustained electrical injuries in two separate incidents. One of the two students was assigned a task of using an existing de-energized wire located in a ceiling as a snake to feed a new higher voltage wire. While standing on a ladder, the student mistakenly grabbed a wire that was energized, resulting in an electrical shock. The second incident involved a student who was shocked while feeding wire into a piece of metal conduit, a task that reportedly went beyond the assigned scope of work; the wire was live and caused the metal conduit to become electrified shocking the student. In both cases, the students were being supervised by an instructor, but during the actual time of these incidents the instructor had stepped away to check on other Electrical Technology program students. The school nurse was called for both injuries and performed an evaluation of the students and then called for Emergency Medical Services (EMS). EMS responded to each incident within minutes and transported the students by ambulances to local hospitals. Both students were released from the hospital on the same day they were injured. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health concluded that to prevent similar occurrences in the future, schools with vocational shops should: (1) Develop comprehensive safety and health plans, as required by Massachusetts regulations, to protect both students and school personnel by ensuring that schools are providing conditions that, at a minimum, meet occupational safety and health standards set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); (2) Conduct a job safety analysis (JSA) for each assigned task to ensure proper practices and procedures are implemented enabling the task to be performed safely; and (3) Routinely review and enforce lockout/tagout programs and provide relevant training to students and school staff. Schools with vocational shops that also provide in-house skill building opportunities for students should: (4) Develop guidelines for these opportunities to ensure that: (a) students have a clear understanding of the tasks they are being asked to perform; and (b) appropriate levels of supervision are provided.