Support
• A victim may require cardio-pulmonary resuscitation ( CPR ) – only if you are trained to administer this .
• If the victim is breathing and has a heartbeat , give first aid for injuries and treat for shock .
• Ensure the victim gets medical care as soon as possible .
• Stay with the victim until help arrives .
• Provide medical personnel with information on voltage level , shock duration & entry / exit points . It is of great value for the physician to have detailed specific information to properly diagnose and care for the victim .
BASIC ELECTRICAL SAFETY RULES
There are two very important basic rules : The first is not to work on live circuits . The second point is that even after the power has been turned off , you still should treat the circuit as live . After a circuit has been turned off and locked out you should always test to make sure that the electricity is in fact off .
The safest way to avoid electrical incidents is then to deenergise the conductors to be worked on or near , and , assure that they cannot be turned back on and verify that the power is off . This is then an electrically-safe work condition and should always be your first consideration .
An electrically-safe work condition will be achieved and verified by the following process : 1 . Determine all possible sources of electrical supply to the specific equipment . 2 . After properly shutting off the load current , isolate source .
3 . Visually verify that isolators / circuit breakers are off or fuses removed . Test operation of electrical instrumentation / testing equipment and confirm electrical isolation .
4 . Apply lockout devices in accordance with a documented and established policy .
5 . Verify isolation at load . ( for example , check for power at motor ).
6 . Where the possibility of induced voltages or stored electrical energy exists ( capacitors ), ground the phase conductors or circuit parts before touching them .
If at all possible , do not attempt to work on live circuits . If your situation is such that working on a live circuit cannot be avoided , extreme caution is required . Testing , fault-finding , or the impracticality of shutting down some continuous industrial processes are examples of where one may have to work on live circuits .
Working on electrical conductors or circuit parts which are or may become live shall only be done by trained employees who can identify electrical hazards and have the knowledge to avoid injury by using safe practices , precautionary techniques and protective equipment .
Johann , I will continue with the second part of your question with regards to electrical safety whilst using an electric arc welder . Keep safe out there . RACA
Thank you for all your questions . Send your problems ( and sometimes your creative solutions ) to acra @ netactive . co . za with ‘ Solutions Page ’ in the subject line . You may include pictures .
References : 1 . ACRA
" It is good practice when developing a safe work environment to have policies and procedures in place which provide the necessary guidelines and rules for employees to work safely ."
www . hvacronline . co . za RACA Journal I January 2021 59