Page 12 - Occupational Health & Safety, December 2018

ELECTRICAL SAFETY
Workplace Safety Saves Lives and Money. Is Your Facility Prepared?
Workplace safety and operational performance are critical factors to protect all of your assets: your employees, facilities, and financial interests.
BY JAY SMITH
OSHA requires employers to protect employ- ees from electrical hazards, including arc flash. Yet OSHA does not specifically explain how to comply with these regulations. NFPA
70E is the bridge between OSHA regulations and com- pliance. It is the consensus standard for electrical safety in the workplace, referred to by OSHA on numerous occasions. NFPA 70E 2018 states that safe work prac- tices need to be used to protect employees from injuries while they are exposed to electrical hazards.
The total cost of safety cannot be underestimat- ed. Those direct costs add up rather quickly. There area costs such as workers’ compensation, medical and legal expenses, and indirect safety costs such as training, accident investigation, implementation of corrective measures, and lost productivity. Not only does an electrically induced injury occur within sec- onds, causing severe and sometimes lethal injuries; it subsequently results in unscheduled interruption, expensive repairs to equipment and facilities, and regulatory fines. It is also known that workplaces with safety concerns tend to have lower employee morale and productivity.
As the electrical safety industry evolves to being
technology-driven, workplace safety programs should adapt, as well. Equipment and safety devices are con- stantly improving. Industry 4.0 is focusing on the transition to smart factories, where machines, devic- es, sensors, and people will interact via the Internet of Things (IoT), predicting failures and triggering main- tenance processes autonomously. Job automation and the number of computers and robots in the workplace will only continue to increase.
How do you prepare for these workplace safety challenges? There are five critical areas that must be addressed in order to drive a comprehensive and ef- fective safety approach within your facilities. In this article, we will focus in on the safety of employees who are exposed to electrical hazards arising from the use of electricity in regard to NFPA 70E. The same ap- proach can be used in the context of other hazards, such as combustible dust and others.
1. Electrical Safety Program
First and foremost, the employer is required to estab- lish a company-wide, all-encompassing safety pro- gram. NFPA 70E Section 110.1 requires an Electri- cal Safety Program, a written document that directs
12 Occupational Health & Safety | DECEMBER 2018
www.ohsonline.com
LEWELLYN TECHNOLOGY