Monday, November 17, 2008

Electricity Kills

Modified from MSHA’s Safety Alert 3
¢ $afety $ense ¢
ELECTRICITY CAN KILL YOU - Work Smart!

Improper identification
Unplugging the wrong circuit…
Not locking and tagging out the visual disconnect…
Not using a meter to ensure there is no power

Every year a fatality or serious injury can be attributed to one or all of the above failures. The most recent involved unplugging the wrong circuit for a pump, resulting in serious flash burns. Victims convince themselves that they have a good excuse right up to the time of the accident. We’ll all heard excuses like:
"It’ll just take a second to fix this; we don’t need to remove the power"
"Hey go and pull the power on this so I can work on it"
"The power is OFF, so there’s no need to lock it out"
"We don’t need to lock it out…Come on…who’s going know?"

I’m sure you have heard others, but don’t get sidetracked with shortcuts!
Remember, electrical safety laws were put in place after the same failures were committed by long gone miners (and other workers)…………please don’t make the same mistakes!
Positively identify the equipment you are going to work on
Be sure the breaker, plug and receptacle are properly identified
Remove the power – you must physically do this yourself...don't rely on others
Lock and tag out the visual disconnect
Check the circuit with a properly rated meter to ensure there is no power
Yes, it does take a few minutes to work safely …
But, only a fraction of a second to lose your life!
Work SMART/Work SAFE…
and LIVE WELL!!!!!!!!!!

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