Electrical Safety

The abundant usage of electricity in the day to day activities by an ndividual either at home, office or place of work, be it an industry or a public place is associated with a certain degree of risk to life and property. As electrical energy strikes without warning, vigilance is necessary pre-requisite to avoid accident. Since potential danger from electricity cannot be seen, heard or smelt, it is most essential that knowledge on the extent of damage it could cause is known, so that preventive measures could be initiated in every premises and instance of such electricity use.

Do you know

• Nearly one third of home electrical fires begin with ignition of wire or cable insulation.
• Overloaded circuits are potential FIRE Hazards
• A flammable Item that is too close to a light fixture or bulb is the leading factor contributing to electrical fires.

Causes of Electrical accidents and electrical fire

• Use of old tools and cables which are prone to cause earth leakage due to their inadequate insulation resistance.
• Use of undersized wires and cables.
• Dragging of metal plates/Street sections/equipment over cables which may result in insulation damage/failure.
• Repairing electrical equipment/hand tools with power ON
• Dropping tools to live busbars accidentally.
• Excavating buried cable route which may contain live cables.
• Not providing route markers for buried cables.
• Scaffolding/crane boom touching overhead lines.
• Haphazard way of taking power from distribution board without proper plug sockets or with multiple twisted joints.
• Not using proper fuse wires or use of conductors as a fuse wire in emergency.
• Use of bare fuse wire in High Rupturing Capacity (HRC) fuse carriers.
• Entry of moisture into switch boards.
• Assuming low voltages to be safe.
• Use of earth/structure as neutral or return path for glowing a bulb or operating hand tools.
• Use of protection devices with higher ratings
• Wrong design of the electrical installations
• Inadequate protection scheme
• Insufficient clearance for cooling and maintenance of transformer
• Lack of preventive maintenance of electrical equipment
• Insufficient fault isolators amounting to wrong selection of circuit breaker/load break switch
• Improper bus ratings
• Not providing proper earthing to electrical equipment
• Improper stringing of the Over Head lines without adequate clearance between phases and between phase & earth
• No provision of anti-climbing devices on towers/ poles
• Improper termination/ jointing of cable
• No provisions of LT Kiosks/LT cut outs
• Improper location and not providing fencing the oil filled transformers
• "Chalta-hai" attitude.

Dos and Dont's for electrical safety

Dos

• Get all the electrical work done only by a qualified electrician. 
• Transformers should be fenced adequately.
• DO ask for help when you need to use electrical equipment.
• DO have safety caps on all unused electrical outlets.
• Display single line diagram, shock treatment chart, emergency contact phone numbers etc. in electrical switchgear room.
• Fix danger/caution boards on conspicuous positions.
• Keep a good first aid kit at easily accessible place and check / replace contents at regular intervals.
• Adopt colour coding of wires. Green colour should be used only for earthing.
• Always follow good housekeeping.
• Ensure availability of proper protection device (ensure correct rating) in each circuit.
• Use only three pin plugs in single phase circuits.
• Clearly mark circuit breakers & switches to indicate the load/circuit.
• In high current and inductive circuits, switches should be provided and operated before fuses.
• Ensure overhead lines are switched off before movement of cranes in their vicinity.

Dont's

• DO NOT renew a blown fuse, until the cause is identified and rectified.
• DO NOT close any switch unless you know why it was kept open.
• DO NOT Touch or tamper with any electrical equipment or conductor, unless you have made sure that it is DEAD and EARTHED.
• DO NOT Work on live circuit without the permission of the supervisor. Make sure that All safety precautions have been taken and you are accompanied by a second person competent to render first aid.
• DO NOT disconnect earthing connection or by-pass safety gadgets installed on mains and apparatus.
• DO NOT open or close switch or fuse slowly or hesitantly. Do it quickly.
• DO NOT Touch an electrical system or circuit when your hands are wet.
• DO NOT use wires with poor insulation.
• DO NOT disconnect a plug by pulling flexile cable when the switch is on or off.
• DO NOT work on energised circuit without taking extra precautions, such as use of rubber gloves.
• DO NOT throw water on the electrical equipment in case of fire.
• DO NOT allow visitors and unauthorised persons to touch or handle electrical apparatus or come within the danger zone of high voltage apparatus.
• DO NOT touch circuit with bare fingers.
• Open Distribution box, junction box, street box, etc. should not be there in places of public movement.
• Never use single pole switch or fuse in neutral.

First Aid

• A person getting electric shock needs to be disconnected from the source of electrical power. The disconnecting switch/breaker should be identified and turned off
• Unfortunately, if the connected device cannot be located, the victim can be pried or pulled from the circuit by an insulated object such as a dry wood board, piece of non-metallic conduit, or rubber electrical cord
• Immediate medical response should be provided to victims i.e. check for breathing and pulse, then apply Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) as necessary to maintain oxygenation
• If a victim is still conscious, he needs to be closely monitored and cared for until trained emergency response personnel arrive
• The victim should be kept warm and comfortable to avoid danger of physiological shock

Source : SACHET Electrical Safety Handbook - Central Electricity Authority