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Working effectively and safely in an electrical environment
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This chapter describes the requirements that are essential to enable electrotechnical activities to be carried out safely and effectively within the parameters set by the current safety legislation and best practice related to the electrotechnical industry.
Laws and Safety Regulations
The construction industry is one of the biggest industries in the United Kingdom, although most workers are employed by small companies employing less than 25 people.
The construction industry carries out all types of building work from basic housing to offices, hotels, schools and airports.
In all of these construction projects the electrotechnical industry plays a major role in designing and installing the electrical systems to meet the needs of those who will use the completed buildings.
The construction process is potentially hazardous because of the temporary nature of the project and many construction sites these days insist on basic safety standards being met before you are allowed on site. All workers must wear hard hats and safety boots or safety trainers and use low voltage or battery tools. When the building project is finished, all safety systems will be in place and the building will be safe for those who will use it. However, during the construction period temporary safety systems are in place. People work from scaffold towers, ladders and stepladders. Permanent stairways and safety handrails must be put in by the construction workers themselves.
When the electrical team arrives on site to, let us say, âfirst fixâ a new domestic dwelling house, the downstairs floorboards and the ceiling plasterboards will probably not be in place, and the person putting in the power cables for the downstairs sockets will need to step over the floor joists, or walk and kneel on planks temporarily laid over the floor joists.
The electrical team spend a lot of time on their hands and knees in confined spaces, on ladders, scaffold towers and on temporary safety systems during the âfirst fixâ of the process and, as a consequence, slips, trips and falls do occur.
To make all working environments safer, laws and safety regulations have been introduced. To make your working environment safe for yourself and those around you, you must obey all the safety regulations that are relevant to your work.
The many laws and regulations controlling the working environment have one common purpose, to make the working environment safe for everyone.
Let us now look at some of these laws and regulations as they apply to the electrotechnical industry.
Statutory Laws
Acts of Parliament are made up of statutes. Statutory laws and regulations have been passed by Parliament and have therefore become laws. The City & Guilds syllabus requires that we look at seven statutory regulations.
1. The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974
- The purpose of the HSAWA is to provide the legal framework for stimulating and encouraging high standards of health and safety at work.
- The Act places the responsibility for safety at work on both workers and employers.
- The HSAWA is an âEnabling Actâ which allows the Secretary of State to make further regulations and modify existing regulations to create a safe working environment without the need to pass another Act of Parliament.
Key fact
There are seven statutory laws.
2. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989
- These regulations are made under the Health & Safety at Work Act and are enforced by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE).
- The purpose of the regulations is to ârequire precautions to be taken against the risk of death or personal injury from electricity in work activitiesâ.
- An electrical installation wired in accordance with the IEE Regulations BS 7671 will also meet the requirements of the EWR.
3. The Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002
- These regulations are designed to ensure a proper and safe supply of electrical energy up to the consumerâs mains electrical intake position.
- They will not normally concern the electrical contractor, except in that it is these regulations which set out the earthing requirements of the supply.
4. The Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999
- To comply with the Health & Safety at Work Act employers must have ârobust health and safety systems and procedures in the workplaceâ.
- Employers must âsystematically examine the workplace, the work activity and the management of safety through a process of risk assessmentâ.
- Information based upon the risk assessment findings must be communicated to relevant staff.
- So, risk assessment must form a part of any employerâs ârobust policy of health and safetyâ.
5. The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
- These regulations place a general duty of care upon employers to ensure minimum requirements of plant and equipment used in work activities.
- If an employer has purchased good quality plant and equipment, and that plant and equipment is well maintained, there is little else to do.
6. The COSHH Regulations 2002
- The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH) control peopleâs exposure to hazardous substances in the workplace.
- Employers must carry out risk assessments and, where necessary, provide PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) so that employees will not endanger themselves.
- Employees must also receive information and training in the safe storage, disposal and emergency procedures which are to be followed by anyone using hazardous substances.
7. The Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (PPE)
- PPE is defined as all equipment designed to be worn or held in order t...
