hello and welcome to our electrical
apprentice and supervisor safety
presentation this film is for our
electrical apprentices like me and for
our trades person who are supervising
apprentices to raise awareness of the
dangers present in electrical work and
what you need to do to stay safe the
electrical industry is vast in its scope
and begins with the generation of
electricity
it continues through transmission
distribution and then in individual
installations which is where most of you
will be working this film looks at how
you can stay safe at work it reminds
apprentice supervising trades persons of
the importance of leading a culture of
safety so that everyone gets to go home
at the end of the day safe work
practices are essential if you don't
know how to do something ask this
includes supervisors
we want to make it absolutely clear that
the apprentice must be supervised at all
times by an electrical worker licensed
to perform the work it's the employers
responsibility to ensure the level of
supervision is appropriate for the
apprentice this includes the type of
electrical work to be performed and the
adequacy of the apprentices training and
competency each year in Queensland there
are a number of serious electrical
incidents and tragically some of these
are fatal we want to make sure this
doesn't happen to you or someone under
your supervision the impact on you your
mates and your family would be nothing
short of devastating so for every job
that you do make sure it's safe and seek
guidance when you need to supervising
trades persons must be proactive and
lead safety by making sure workers are
performing their work in a safe manner
identify isolate and test the isolation
point of the circuits or equipment that
you're working on must be identified the
correct circuit or equipment must be
isolated tested and then proven to be
de-energized
this is very important for your safety
and the safety of others around you you
could save your life and theirs if you
have any doubts ask questions say no if
you need to always discuss any
electrical safety issues or concerns
with your supervising trades person or
employer if you still feel your concerns
have not been addressed
contact the Electrical Safety office as
an electrical worker you will likely
need to enter domestic commercial or
industrial sealing spaces get under
floors go into other building cavities
and high-risk environments to perform
work
several serious incidents have occurred
in sealing spaces over the last five
years and you must be aware of the risk
of electric shock contact with damaged
or expires love wiring or equipment can
lead the serious injury or even death
unprotected and poorly installed
electrical cables can easily be damaged
by being walked on having objects
dragged over or placed on them or by
being chewed by vermin this can damage
the cable insulation and expose live
conductors in older installations the
cable may have perished making them no
longer electrically safe or they may
contain equipment with exposed live
parts the incorrect and unsafe
installation anyone entering the ceiling
space is then at risk of electric shock
either through direct contact with live
parts or coming into contact with
structural metal work that has become
live the best way to control this risk
is to isolate and effectively lock out
all circuits that are located within the
space prior to entry it is also very
important to consider all circuits
within the space as there is often
multiple sources of electricity all
circuits that cannot be isolated from
the switchboard such as the consumer
mains solar or battery systems a risk
assessment needs to be performed and
controls put in place to ensure your
safety
the employer must insure an apprentice
with less than six months training does
not work in the immediate vicinity of
any energized high voltage exposed part
or anywhere there is a risk that could
come into contact with an energized
low-voltage exposed part this includes
testing a supervising trades person must
be readily available to the apprentice
at all times whether this is in the
immediate vicinity or contact able
through other means such as phone
depends on the skill and competency
level of the apprentice as an apprentice
supervisor you must prove that the
equipment the apprentice is working on
is not energized before the work starts
as an apprentice this is a skill that
you'll learn during your apprenticeship
all electrical workers must be licensed
and competent for the work they perform
there is a basic ABC for licensed trade
people working in our industry when it
comes to isolation of electricity I
assume nothing be believed no-one and C
check everything
never assume a circuit or equipment is
not live do not trust anyone that tells
you something is not energized and check
it always use a voltmeter or multimeter
to test and confirm the equipment you're
working on is not energized a volt stick
or detector is not suitable for testing
and should only be used as an indicator
device always confirm your test
instruments are functioning correctly
before and after proving your isolation
any equipment containing electrical
wiring can become energized at any time
if there is a fault or if someone has
not done their job properly unexpected
situations can occur when you least
expect it so it's vital you test before
you touch and find out if it's safe to
work on the equipment
as an example this is a domestic water
pump located on a farm in Victoria
moisture entered the electrical
terminals of the pump motor which caused
the frame of the pump to be live at 246
volts a person died when he touched this
water pump don't let this be you always
test before you touch another industry
basic is don't work on or near energized
parts you may hear the saying don't work
live quite often in our industry
performing work on energized parts is
not allowed in Queensland unless you
meet the strict requirements of the
electrical safety laws if you isolate a
switchboard at the main switch but do
not remove the service fuse you'll be
working on a switchboard that still
contains energized parts this is a
switchboard where the main switch is off
but there is still power to one side of
the main switch so we recommend that the
service use is removed your supervising
trades person can do this if they are
authorized by the supply authority and
follow the required safety procedures so
let's look at some examples of what can
happen if these steps aren't followed
this electrician was working on a
switchboard that contained energized
parts and he did not isolate or take
adequate precautions three years later
he still does not have the full use of
his hand this could happen to you if you
don't work safely and take the necessary
steps to isolate the equipment you are
working on or near these next few images
detail a severe electrical incident that
involved a young electrical worker who
was working in this electrical
switchboard compartment the isolator was
turned off in this compartment however
the terminals on one side of this
isolator were still energized just as we
saw earlier in the other switchboard the
electricians pliers came into contact
with the live parts causing a large
electrical explosion to occur
the arc from the explosion caused severe
burns to the electrical worker the
electrical worker his supervising trades
person and the employer all failed to
eliminate the risk by following the
basic procedure of isolating the
equipment the compartment could have
been isolated upstream to eliminate the
hazards of working near energized parts
the reason given for not isolating
further upstream was this would have
affected production this is never an
excuse to work unsafely electrical work
must not be carried out on electrical
equipment while energized simply because
it is merely convenient for the
electrical equipment to stay energized
while the work is being performed the
explosion also caused a loss of
production but also add to the cost of
replacing and repairing the switchboard
compartment and the devastating ongoing
impact of this injury to the young man
his family and colleagues the short clip
demonstrates what could happen if a
fault is applied to a switchboard this
explosion was performed under control
conditions and demonstrates what can
happen when the rules are not followed
when you don't follow the rules you're
at risk of electric shock arc flash
burns and serious injury so how do you
make sure you and your workers can work
safely to make sure the circuit or
equipment are safe you must lockout and
tagout this is known in the industry as
lockout tagout with the following steps
consult with the person with management
or control of the workplace and notify
any other affected people identify the
circuits requiring isolation and
associated control device to be isolated
switch off or otherwise isolate the
identified circuit lock the isolating
switches and tag the switching points
where possible to provide general
information to people at the workplace
test to confirm the relevant circuits
have been de-energized
and any other relevant conductors in the
work area
retest as necessary for example if the
person carrying out the work temporarily
leaves the immediate area checks and
tests must be carried out on their
return to ensure that the electrical
equipment being worked on is still
isolated and safeguard against
inadvertent reconnection by another
person supervisors you must ensure that
when you're supervising an apprentice
with less than six months of training
they cannot be in the mediate vicinity
of an energized high voltage exposed
part or anywhere there is a risk they
could come into contact with an
energized low-voltage to the exposed
part this includes testing and neutrals
are always considered to be live parts
every circuit you work on must be
switched off by isolating the circuit
breaker or removing a fuse cartridge a
lockout device must then be attached and
padlocked with a completed danger tag
attached never remove someone else's
lock or tag without their permission and
always check with your supervising
trades person before reenergized
Australian standard a s and Zed us for
836 safe work on or near lv electrical
installations and equipment provides
further guidance on making your working
environment safe we recommend you get
yourself a copy or have your employer
provide you with a copy and follow the
guidance given in it these next few
images depict a fatality that occurred
in 2015 a 25 year old electrical worker
was repairing this air conditioner after
isolating and carrying out his repairs
he energized the air conditioner to
check if it was working properly once he
confirmed the air conditioner was
working correctly
he did not isolate again before
finishing the eternal electrical work
and replacing the covers he continued
working on this equipment while the
electrical control panel was energized
this electrical worker was killed when
he made contact with the energized parts
within the air conditioner control panel
isolating the air conditioner unit would
have prevented this young electrical
workers
remember to always lockout and tagout
every circuit you work on every time
always remember treat all cables is life
not just actives this is a photo of a
socket outlet installed in the roof
space for a light an electrical
apprentice had turned off the light
switch but not turned off or locked out
the circuit at the switchboard there was
a broken neutral at the socket outlet
the broken neutral was live the
apprentice did not test before touching
the neutral the 22 year old apprentice
was killed where was his supervisor if
you were the supervisor could you live
with an incident like this occurring to
someone under your guidance or
supervision an apprentice must be
supervised at all times by an electrical
worker who is licensed and competent to
perform the work it is the
responsibility of the employer to ensure
the level of supervision is appropriate
for the apprentice so in summary
don't forget always ensure the correct
supervision is being performed and
remember to always test before you touch
don't work on or near live parts and
make every circuit you need to work on
safe by isolated after isolating lockout
and tagout to ensure no one turns on the
supply while you are working on the
circuit treat all cables as live not
just the actives if you have any doubts
ask questions and say no if you need to
always discuss electrical safety issues
or concerns with your supervising trades
person or employer if you still feel
your concerns have not been addressed
contact the Electrical Safety office for
further information visit Electrical
Safety dot QLD govt au or call 1300 362
one to eight
you