Electrical Safety Equipment Click to open blank screen Good Afternoon. My name is Steve Wilson from Dofasco. Dofasco is an Integrated Steel producer located in Hamilton, about 40 minutes south west of here. Click I would like to spend a few minutes presenting a case study on Electrical Safety Equipment.

Why do we need Electrical Safety Equipment? The Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act says: “The power supply to electrical installations, equipment or conductors shall be disconnected, locked out of service and tagged before any work is done, on or near live exposed parts of the installations, equipment or conductors.” Why do we need electrical safety equipment? The legislation says that power needs to be locked out before anyone works on or near the equipment. Click

Why do we need Electrical Safety Equipment? “…if it is not practical to disconnect electrical installations, equipment or conductors from the power supply ….” We need the safety equipment because the legislation recognizes that it is not always practical to shut off the power. Click

Why do we need Electrical Safety Equipment? “The worker shall use rubber gloves, mats, shields and other protective equipment and procedures adequate to ensure protection from electrical shock and burns while performing the work.” The legislation itemizes some of the required equipment but leaves the door open for many other items. Click

Examples of Electrical Safety Equipment On the next few slides I have some items listed but before you look, lets see how many we can name and one of my cohorts from Dofasco will write them down. Click

Examples of Electrical Safety Equipment Rubber Gloves Mats Shields Safety glasses or face shield Non conductive hard hat FR clothing CLICK

Examples of Electrical Safety Equipment Rubber blankets Insulated tools Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters Locks Test equipment CLICK

Examples of Electrical Safety Equipment Procedures Design of equipment Labeling of equipment Documentation Audits of the Safety Program Training CLICK

Where the Safety Equipment did not work The following is from a news release from the Ontario Ministry of Labour. I would like to talk about a couple of cases involving the use of safety equipment The first is a case where the safety equipment did not do its job. In the second one the safety equipment protected the workers. CLICK

in the death of an employee. The Niagara Fall Hydro-Electric Commission was fined $200,000 for two violations of the Occupational Health and Safety Act that resulted in the death of an employee. CLICK

The deceased was moving cables through a small underground duct from one vault to another when he came in contact with alive 8000 volt conductor. CLICK The accident occurred when an insulating blanket moved. The blanket had been covering the energized conductors.

The commission was found guilty of 1. Failing to ensure that every reasonable precaution was taken to prevent a hazard to a worker from an energized conductor. 2. Failing to ensure that a worker used rubber gloves, mats, shields and other protective equipment and procedures adequate to ensure protection from electrical shock and burns while performing work. PAUSE Now I would like to talk about a case where the safety equipment protected the workers CLICK

They had a procedure to do the work and they were following it. Where the Safety Equipment worked. Recently at Dofasco a group of our High Voltage Electricians were doing some switching. They had a procedure to do the work and they were following it. CLICK

The workers were required to open this disconnect switch to isolate the downstream equipment. CLICK

CLICK This is how the switch should have looked when they opened it. The workers were not aware that the switch should be open this far so they though that … CLICK

… this was the open position. CLICK

The approved procedure that they were using called for the switch to be checked with a Live Line Indicator or “Hot Stick”. When they did they were amazed that one phase was still alive. Both the rubber gloves and the Hot Stick need to be regularly tested by an approved testing facility. CLICK

The equipment was isolated and grounded at the upstream breaker. CLICK

On inspection it was found that a pin which activates the arcing contact had fallen out and jammed the mechanism. CLICK

Electrical Safety Equipment can save your life or prevent injury. CLICK But only if it is used properly and routinely inspected.

With the properly maintained safety equipment we can hit the mark every time. CLICK

Thank You CLICK