With electricity’s many wonders, jobs that usually take hours to finish can be accomplished in a matter of minutes. You can do anything from ironing clothes to washing dishes to preserving food.

In worksites alone, electricity can be indispensable. It is used to drill holes, transport devices, weld metals, process food and heat chemicals. We could go on and on writing on this web page yet the space won’t be enough to list the many uses of electricity in the workplace.

But with its efficiency comes great danger. Many times electrical hazards have become the cause of injuries and fatalities in the workplace. It’s actually one of the leading causes of accidents in construction sites.

Like other serious hazards, electrical shock is not inevitable. What sets it apart, though, from other workplace perils is that it is often the beginning of a series of accidents. Its final injury may be a burn, cut, broken bone or a fall. The most common among these is burn and it may come in the form of electrical burns, arc burns, and thermal contact burns.

First Step, One Big Precaution

The first step towards electrical safety is controlling or eliminating factors in your workplace that pose electrical hazards. Ground fault electrical shock happens to be the most common electrical hazard in construction sites.

OSHA’s standard requires that employers provide ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) for receptacle outlets. Another is providing assured equipment grounding conductor program. Either of these methods can eliminate hazards in ground fault electric shock.

Training, training and more training

Workers play a big part in eliminating and controlling electrical hazards in your workplace. You can make sure that they use safe work practices by providing them with appropriate training. This includes giving them copies of safety meetings and emergency plans for electrical hazards.

Workers should also be reminded that only “qualified” persons should work directly with exposed energized parts. High voltages, grounding, electric current, arcing and the lack of guarding are among the inherent hazards of electricity these “qualified” persons should be familiar with.

Electrical protective equipment should always be used every time you work where there are potential electrical hazards. Specialized PPE may consist of rubber insulating gloves, sleeves, hoods, matting, line hose, blankets, and industrial protective helmets.

For additional information about safety equipment and hazards in the workplace, just click on the following links:

• PPE and How It Can Save Your Life – Part 1
• PPE and How It Can Save Your Life – Part 2
• Learn Safety with the Professionals
• Remember Your Safety Gear