SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM PROCEDURE

08PR067C ELECTRICAL SAFETY

Brierty Ltd ABN 65 095 459 448

72 Melville Parade South Perth WA 6151
Locked Bag 2001 South Perth WA 6951
Telephone (08) 9267 8000
Facsimile 1300 735 152
info@brierty.com.au
ELECTRICAL SAFETY
SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM PROCEDURE

CONTENTS
1 Purpose ...................................................................................................................................................... 3
2 Responsibilities ........................................................................................................................................... 3
3 Definitions ................................................................................................................................................... 3
4 References ................................................................................................................................................. 3
5 General Information .................................................................................................................................... 3
5.1 Electrical Shock and its Consequences ............................................................................................ 4
5.2 Protection ........................................................................................................................................... 4
6 Procedure ................................................................................................................................................... 4
6.1 Qualified Personnel ........................................................................................................................... 4
6.2 Extension Cords ................................................................................................................................ 5
6.3 Inspection........................................................................................................................................... 5
7 General Electrical Requirements................................................................................................................ 6
7.1 Conducting Maintenance ................................................................................................................... 6
8 Overhead Powerlines ................................................................................................................................. 7
9 Underground Power ................................................................................................................................... 7

DOCUMENT CONTROL
Document ID Document Name Comment
08PR067C Electrical Safety

Date Version Description Originator Reviewer Approver

13/12/08 1 Safe Work Procedure T Thompson S Hart S Hart
21/01/10 2 Safe Work Procedure Upgrade T Thompson E Kelman S Hart
29/07/10 3 New Document Control Guidelines K Berridge S Hart S Hart
15/09/12 4 B Bryan T Thompson B Bryan
Included AS3000 Electrical wiring
rules

12/12/13 5 B Bryan T Thompson B Bryan

Included the new quarterly testing
dates

ABBREVIATIONS
Term Abbreviation Comment

Residual Current Device RCD

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1 PURPOSE
To provide interpretive guidelines to ensure a uniform approach to electrical related work practices.

These guidelines detail the necessary precautions that should be taken by all personnel to minimise their
exposure to electrical sources of energy.

2 RESPONSIBILITIES
Managers and Supervisors

Ensure that site specific risk assessments as required are carried out on the prescribed form.
Records of the assessment shall be kept.
Ensure the requirements of the appropriate Act and Australian Standards are complied with and all
recording and reporting functions are performed.
Ensure that contractors and/or subcontractors carrying out work for or on behalf of Brierty Ltd shall
fully comply with all Brierty Ltd Safety Procedures or have a safety system in place which meets with
the requirement of Brierty Ltd.
Ensure that only trained, qualified and competent people carry out work on electrical systems.
All electrical incidents to be reported in accordance with the Mines Safety & Inspection Act and
Regulations or Occupational Safety and Health Act and Regulations.
Employees

Employees must not do any electrical work except as a qualified person being the current holder of
an endorsed licence authorising its holder to do that work
Report any damaged or unsafe electrical equipment immediately.
Report any electrical incidents immediately.
Adhere to their duty of care to ensure their own safety and health at work and to avoid adversely
affecting the health and safety of any other person at work.

3 DEFINITIONS
Shall and should: The word shall is to be understood as mandatory. The word should as recommended.

Electrical Equipment: Electrical Equipment includes any items used or intended to be used to generate,
distribute, store, conduct, convert, measure or use electrical energy.

4 REFERENCES
Occupational Safety and Health Act 1984
Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 1996
Mines Safety & Inspection Act 1994
Mines Safety & Inspection Regulations 1995
AS3000 Electrical wiring rules
AS3760 In-service Safety Inspection & Testing of Equipment

5 GENERAL INFORMATION
The following information relates to the consequences of coming into contact with electrical power:

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5.1 ELECTRICAL SHOCK AND ITS CONSEQUENCES

The severity of electrical shock depends on:

Shock current taken by the victim

Time of contact with the live equipment
Path of current flow through the victim
Body resistance
Shock current and its effect:

Various researches throughout the world have established the following figures as being factual:

1-3 milliamps can be felt

10-15 milliamps hard to let go
25-30 milliamps chest muscles contract; unable to breathe
Above 50 milliamps heart affected; flutters and does not pump (fibrillation)
Above 5 amps current paralyses nerve centres in heart, heart is clamped, and resumes pumping
when current removed.
Note: A current as low as 20 milliamps can cause death.

Path of current flow in body:

The most critical path of current flow through the body is where the heart is in the path of this flow.

Note: The above figures are for contact from hand to hand, hand to foot or head to foot, where the current
path passes the heart and respiratory centres. Contact from foot to foot or other areas not involving the
heart is less severe.

5.2 PROTECTION
All electrical equipment shall be protected directly by a RCD.

All electrical hand tools and equipment shall be grounded or double insulated.

All electrical equipment shall conform to the relevant Australian Standard.

6 PROCEDURE
6.1 QUALIFIED PERSONNEL
Electrical repair work or diagnostic work on electrical equipment shall only be performed by personnel that
are qualified and licensed to perform this task.

Instruction manuals from manufacturer's detail what work can be performed by specific individuals, consult
the manuals for instruction.

Equipment that warns DO NOT REMOVE COVERS (PCs, typewriters, fans, pencil sharpeners, etc.)
should be repaired by those qualified to perform such repairs only.

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6.2 EXTENSION CORDS

Brierty stipulates that portable tools, portable equipment and extension cords/cord sets be tagged / coded to
indicate when they require re-testing. The user of such equipment and tools is responsible for ensuring that
the inspection dates are valid.

Extension cords in one office shall not be used to supply power to another office, building or adjacent offices.

Cords may not be run through doors, windows or ceilings.

Maximum chord length shall be 30 metres.

All flexible cords shall be 3 core with the plug being a moulded one part, non-rewireable or transparent type.

Household multi-outlet adaptors shall not be used outside of an office environment.

All electrical cords and cables are covered or elevated by approved devices to protect them from damage
and to eliminate tripping hazards.

Extension cords as well as equipment cords shall not be modified to fit a receptacle. Specifically, ground
prongs on cords shall not be modified, removed or fitted with adapters.

Extension cords that are frayed or have insulation tears, cracks or abrasions, with bent, broken or spread
prongs shall not be utilised. The equipment shall be tagged Out of Service and disposed of correctly.

6.3 INSPECTION
All electrical equipment shall be visually inspected prior to use by a person familiar with the piece of
equipment.

Electrical equipment shall be inspected, tested and tagged by a competent, qualified electrician at least
every three months.

Inspection colour coding could be;

RED Jan March

GREEN April June

BLUE July Sept

YELLOW Oct Dec

Or

RED Dec Feb

GREEN March May

BLUE June Aug

YELLOW Sep Nov

The colour coding date ranges will depend on internal and clients requirements and will be established at the
start of the project.

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A tip to remember the coding order is RuGBY without the u.

Site office (civil) electrical equipment is to be inspected and tagged annually in accordance with AS/NZS
3760.

Civil construction and maintenance sites shall have all electrical equipment tested and tagged by a
competent, qualified electrician at least every three months in accordance with AS/NZS 3760.

Records of the inspections shall be maintained by Brierty Ltd. and should include but not be limited to;

A register of all electrical equipment

A record of formal tests and inspections
A repair register
A record of faulty equipment

7 GENERAL ELECTRICAL REQUIREMENTS

Never handle electrical equipment or their extension cords when hands are wet or if the floor surface is wet.

Never use electrical equipment that has defective plugs or wiring. Cords that are frayed or have insulation
tears, cracks, breaks, or abrasions shall not be used. Any repairs made to such defective-equipment shall
be done by qualified electricians.

The equipment shall be tagged Out of Service while waiting to be repaired.

During the installation of any equipment, the electrical cord shall be visually inspected for defects. It is the
users responsibility to visually inspect the equipment or extension cords.

Temporary portable lighting used in damp and/or hazardous locations and confined areas with low ground
resistance must be operated at a maximum of 12 volts, unless protected.

Qualified electricians are the only employees authorised to repair electrical equipment. Field repairs or
tampering with any electrical equipment by unauthorised persons is not tolerated.

Distribution panels must be dead front type, covering hot terminals and properly constructed and grounded.

High voltage (600 volts or more) must be properly protected and identified using approved signs.

Water must not be used on electrical equipment fires. Whenever possible, de-energize electrical equipment
before fighting the fire.

Do not work on electrical equipment when clothing is wet or any part of the body is in contact with water.

Do not wear rings, watches or carry other metal objects such as lighters or keys when working on any
electrical system.

Use only explosion proof electrical equipment in flammable or potentially explosive atmospheres such as
confined spaces.

7.1 CONDUCTING MAINTENANCE

Electrical repair work or diagnostic work on electrical equipment shall only be performed by personnel that
are qualified and licensed to perform this task.

When performing maintenance on temporary electrical systems, lockouts and tag outs must be used.

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During the testing and commissioning process of plant / equipment, the lockout and tag out procedure will be
followed.

Only qualified electricians make electrical connections.

Be certain the circuit has been de-energized before the connection is broken.

Notify all personnel who may be affected when the power is turned off, and again before it is turned on.

Know the voltages and frequencies of circuits before any work is done.

Know the capacity of fuses and circuit breakers.

7.2 CONDUCTING ELECTRICAL TESTING AND COMMISSIONING

8 OVERHEAD POWERLINES
Extreme caution must be used when equipment is being operated near power lines. The lines should be de-
energized if possible.

DANGER ZONES

Power line of voltage less than 1000 volts = 1m danger zone

Power line of voltage less than 33 000 volts = 3m danger zone
Power line of voltage more than 33 000 volts = 6m danger zone
Where there is risk of entering the danger zone a spotter shall be used.

To enter the danger zone a permit shall be obtained from Western Power.

9 UNDERGROUND POWER
To excavate in the vicinity of electrical services you shall conduct a JHA and may have to obtain a permit to
dig prior to excavation from your site supervisor.

Remember to:

1. PLAN

Obtain all plans for all service locations

2. POTHOLE

Expose conduit to confirm weve got the correct service at the correct location plans are not
always correct!

3. PROTECT

Personnel and the electrical service at all times, mark out and protect the service (e.g. with bunting
and panel fencing) make it obvious to anyone who may work in the vicinity!

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4. PROCEED

Use a spotter when excavating and ensure only hand excavation takes place within 0.5m of the
electrical service

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