OSHA TIP

OSHA objective

1.To secure the safety, health and welfare of persons at work against risks to safety or health arising out of the activities of persons at work

2.To protect persons at place of work other than persons at work against risks to safety or health arising out of the activities of persons at work

3.To promote an occupational environment for persons at work which is adapted to their physiological and psychological needs.

4.To provide the means whereby the associated occupational safety and health legislations may be progressively replaced by a system of regulations and approved industry codes of practice operating in combination with the provisions of this Act designed to maintain or improve the standards of safety and health.

Control hazard:Create a safe work environment andUse safe work practices (Do’s and Don’ts)

-Do plug power equipment into wall receptacles with power switches in the Off position.

-Do unplug electrical equipment by grasping the plug and pulling. Do not pull or jerk the cord to unplug the equipment.

-Do not drape power cords over hot pipes, radiators or sharp objects.

-Do check the receptacle for missing or damaged parts.

-Do not plug equipment into defective receptacles.

-Do check for frayed, cracked, or exposed wiring on equipment cords

-Do check for defective cords clamps at locations where the power cord enters the equipment or the attachment plug.

Extension cords should not be used in office areas. Generally, extension cords should be limited to use by maintenance personnel

-“Cheater plugs”, extension cords with junction box receptacle ends or other jury-rigged equipment should not be used.

-Consumer electrical equipment or appliances should not be used if not properly grounded.

-Employees should know the location of electrical circuit breaker panels that control equipment and lighting in their respective areas. Circuits and equipment disconnects must be identified

-Temporary or permanent storage of any materials must not be allowed within 3 feet of any electrical panel or electrical equipment.

-Any electrical equipment causing shocks or with high leakage potential must be tagged with a Danger tag or equivalent.

How do you create a safe work environment?

1.Lock out and tag out circuits and machines.

2.Prevent overloaded wiring by using the right size and type of wire.

3.Prevent exposure to live electrical parts by isolating them.

4.Prevent exposure to live wires and parts by using insulation.

5Prevent shocking currents from electrical systems and tools by grounding them and using GFCI’s.

6.Prevent too much current in circuits by using overcurrent protection devices.

Types of accidents arise from electrical systems

1)Electrical shock

Direct contact – touched live conductors

Indirect contact – touched exposed conductive part

2)Electrical burns

Electrical contact burns

- electric shock cause minor burn at the point of contact

- small blisters at the entry and exit points

Arc burns

- also known as flashover injuries

- commonly during fault finding and testing activity

- equipment is being added to existing live equipment

- injuries: burns to the face, neck and

chest, backs of the hand

- deep and extensive to be fatal

3)Fires

Wiring faults

-Fires in building, often blamed to faulty wiring where the cause is unknown

-Sometimes wiring was old and need replacing

-Some causes are bad connections, overloading, overheating etc.

Convector heater fire

-Badly resistance wire element

-Coils touched and overheated, fell on the carpet – set the fire

Ceiling luminaire fire

4)Explosion

Difficulty in differentiate explosions and flashover-type incidents

Explosions –

-Underground cable being struck

-Ignition of flammable atmospheres by arcs and sparks

-Oil-filled control and switchgear

First aid & the aims of first aid

First-aid includes the provision of first-aid facilities, services and personnel required for the initial treatment of persons suffering from injury or illness at a workplace.

The aims of first aid are to:

-Preserve life

-Prevent illness or injury from becoming worse

-Reduce pain

-Promote recovery

-Care of unconscious.