We’ll get to the punch line first. Your personal safety relies on one person and one person only….and that person is you. Look in the mirror — that’s it.
Electricity is a powerful force — one that helps us each and every day in all that we do. With that power comes an element of significant risk: severe injury or even death. How much respect you show for the danger and the risk, and the personal choices you make to mitigate the risk every moment of the day, literally make all the difference in the world. You can’t just check the boxes during your workday; you are protecting your health, your future, and the things you care about the most.
Think about this. What are you planning on doing today after work? Going to your kid’s baseball game? Or to the lake to try and catch a few fish? Maybe just relaxing at home and catching up on a few chores. If you make it through the workday safe and injury-free, you get to do all that stuff, but just one lapse in judgment can all change in a flash (pun intended!).
It can be something as simple as not performing test-before-touch or not wearing the proper PPE. If you fail to do it just one time, everything could change for a lifetime by going from a normal day to a life-changing injury.
So how do we keep this from happening? Personal safety behavior is not something they usually teach you in school and may not be something your parents taught you. Depending on your work environment, it may not even be part of the company’s new employee orientation. So where do you go?
HUMAN PERFORMANCE AND WORKPLACE ELECTRICAL SAFETY
As electrical professionals, and more specifically as it relates to how we act and adhere to proper behaviors and to help us stay safe, one available resource is NFPA 70E Informative Annex Q Human Performance and Workplace Electrical Safety.
Informative Annex Q introduces the reader to the concept of human performance and how to apply it to electrical safety in the workplace. How does it do that? It is by emphasizing the importance of understanding human behaviors, limitations, and natural tendencies so we can do things in everyday life that ultimately reduce the risk of electrical incidents and accidents.
This morning, as you stand in front of the mirror getting ready for work (nice haircut, by the way), how will you behave and make decisions that will enhance your ability to follow safety procedures? What will you do to recognize potential hazards, avoid mistakes, and address personal factors like fatigue, stress, and training needs that you require to fully understand the hazards you are about to encounter at work?
The first thing you should do is remind yourself, once again, that YOU are responsible for your personal safety! Read Informative Annex Q, understand the content, and think about these seven things that are embedded within Annex Q:
- Human error as a critical factor. Annex Q recognizes that human error is a leading cause of electrical incidents and outlines strategies for mitigating errors. It suggests that understanding the causes of human error, such as poor communication, distractions, fatigue, or lack of training can significantly reduce safety risks.
- Systems thinking and human factors. The annex encourages a systems approach to human performance. This approach emphasizes that organizational systems and human factors must both be managed to reduce error and improve safety. Here’s an important point: No human performance strategy is foolproof, and risks should be continuously assessed.
- Pre-task planning. *Really Important!* To prevent human error, Annex Q highlights the importance of a thorough pre-task planning process. If you identify potential risks, set clear expectations, and develop contingency plans for unexpected events, you can greatly minimize errors during electrical work.
- Training and competency. You don’t know what you don’t know. The annex stresses the importance of ongoing training to ensure you have the necessary skills and understanding of the equipment and systems you are working on or near. Your basic competency and understanding of the risks involved with electrical tasks are crucial in reducing errors. Never stop learning!
- Error precursors and leading indicators. If you keep track of and understand conditions that increase the likelihood of mistakes, such as time pressures, distractions, high task demands, and lack of experience (short-service employees, for example), and do something with these precursors, it allows for proactive measures to reduce the impact. Step back and think about what these could be. It’s super important!
- Continuous improvement and feedback loops. Annex Q encourages organizations to implement feedback mechanisms to learn from past mistakes. By analyzing near-miss (or near-hit) incidents and close calls, companies can improve safety protocols and human performance strategies. Keep up with those bullets you dodge. It just might keep one from hitting the target.
- Leadership role. Your leadership is highlighted as essential in fostering a culture of safety, but not only you. Supervisors and managers must actively support human performance improvement by encouraging safety-conscious behavior, ensuring accountability, and providing resources for adequate training and risk assessment. It starts from the top, it starts from the bottom, and it starts from in-between. See the trend here?
CONCLUSION
We all deserve to live our lives fully, without being held back by an electrical incident at work that could have, or should have, been avoided. And even though you are looking in the mirror right now, it’s not just about you! In addition to your co-workers, your loved ones depend on you, and they want you to come home safe and sound.
By being careful and watching out for yourself and others, you’re making sure that you get to keep doing what you love, at work and at home.
Working safely around electricity is about respect — respect for yourself, for your family, and for the life you’ve worked so hard to build. Take the time, every time, to stay safe. Believe me, it’s worth it.
And hey, comb your hair before you walk away from that mirror.
Test before touch!
Ron Widup is the Vice Chairman, Board of Directors, and Senior Advisor, Technical Services for Shermco Industries and has been with Shermco since 1983. He is a member of the NETA Board of Directors and Standards Review Council; a Principal member of the Technical Committee on Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace (NFPA 70E); Principal member of the National Electrical Code (NFPA 70) Code Panel 11; Principal member and Chairman of the Technical Committee on Standard for Competency of Third-Party Evaluation Bodies (NFPA 790); Principal member and Chairman of the Technical Committee on Recommended Practice and Procedures for Unlabeled Electrical Equipment Evaluation (NFPA 791); a Principal member of the Technical Committee Standard for Electrical Equipment Maintenance (NFPA 70B); and Vice Chair for IEEE Std. 3007.3, Recommended Practice for Electrical Safety in Industrial and Commercial Power Systems. He is a member of the Texas State Technical College System (TSTC) Board of Regents, a NETA Certified Level 4 Senior Test Technician, State of Texas Journeyman Electrician, a member of the IEEE Standards Association, an Inspector Member of the International Association of Electrical Inspectors, and an NFPA Certified Electrical Safety Compliance Professional (CESCP).