Mind Your Safety

To Hell in a Handbasket

Do you ever think that when we make our plans we always base them on things going perfectly instead of to hell in a handbasket?

Before you place your body close to an energy source, you need to do a risk analysis. Ask yourself: Is this new equipment or some beat-up piece of crap? Is it well maintained, or has it been ignored for years? NFPA 70E uses the term ‘Hazard/Risk Category’, which is a really good way to look at any situation—electrical or otherwise.

I was once tying into a 600V main panel at a facility on Lake Ontario. I took off the front outer covers then started to remove the final plate (which was also covering the main lugs). This plate was held in place by four standoffs. I removed two of them. Then, when I took off the third, the plate started falling into the main lugs because someone hadn’t installed the fourth standoff.

You know when people talk about their lives flashing before their eyes? Well, I didn’t experience that, but as the plate fell into the lugs, I remember thinking: Here goes my head. It all happened so fast that there was no getting out of the way. I expected that plate to blow straight out into my face.

The plate hit the lugs with a clunk and... nothing happened. I couldn’t believe it! I took out the plate and discovered I had been saved by the manufacturer’s foresight: the back of the plate was insulated. Thank you Federal Pacific! You saved me from both someone else’s stupidity and my own expectations that everything will go right.

A journeyman in one of my classes told me he once took off a subpanel cover when a ground wire came loose and hit a lug. He thanked God the subpanel cover was still in his hands when this happened because it acted like a shield, taking most of the blast. Nonetheless, the journeyman got really painful burns to his fingers.

So how do you plan your tasks? Do you think nothing will ever go wrong or do you think that there’s a ground wire waiting to pop loose behind every door? When you always prepare for the worst (which is the driving concept behind NFPA 70E), an accident may still knock you flat on your back, but then you’ll strip off your PPE and find out you’re okay.

But PPE (personal protective equipment) is your last defence. Your first defence is good planning. Each and every time you bring your body close to an energy source, make sure you’ve planned for everything going to hell in a handbasket.

And the bigger the job, the more carefully you have to plan, because now you’re dealing with more people and, often, multiple trades. After all, your outfit might have a superior safety program and stellar record, but what do you know of the other firms or individuals you’re working with? The electrical safety requirements of NFPA 70E Article 110 are intended precisely for these situations.

Plan for the unexpected on each and every job. Make sure everyone is following the safety plan, and get your PPE shields in place to protect you.

Until next time, be ready, be careful and be safe.