Certain industries carry risks to the workers within them, but they are needed for the basic function of society. This mainly includes trades work and is especially true with electricians. These workers are responsible for the installation, maintenance and repairs of electricity in businesses, homes and public sector buildings.
When working with electricity, however, you bear the risk of being electrocuted which can sometimes be fatal. With 142 people killed in work accidents in 2020/21, you’ll want to make sure this doesn’t happen to you in the future too.
To ensure you are as safe as possible when working with electricity, here are some top tips to reduce the risk of danger when completing a job.
Reduce the risk
Before any work can commence, you MUST complete a risk assessment. Assess the job at hand and consider the following:
- What precautions have you made to reduce the risk?
- What is the level of risk?
- Who is in danger?
- Is the area you’re working on safe? E.g. is there water around a socket?
By creating a risk assessment, you will be able to create a safe plan of action for the job. This will also help you to know what to do if an accident does occur which may save your or someone else’s life.
Restrict access
Only trained personnel must be allowed near the job. There are potentially a lot of factors to go wrong when working with live wires so don’t leave it to chance. Restrict the access of anyone who doesn’t need to be on the scene and get the job done.
Training
Yours and other electrician’s training should be as up-to-date as possible. If it is not, then you leave yourself vulnerable when working. For experienced workers, you may become complacent due to several years working in this trade. This may lead to laziness on the job and a slip in safety standards.
Ensure training is completed from junior level to management level and expand knowledge so you are all able to deal with any issue that arises.
Use personal protective equipment (PPE)
Prepare for the worst-case scenario by protecting yourself from the dangers. Wearing PPE may save your life so it’s imperative that you wear it. Alongside your PPE, get reliable tools such as multifunction testers that will assist you on the job. Faulty tools and a lack of PPE may put your life in danger.
The UK has many regions that are suffering from an electrician shortage. Don’t make this issue worse by getting injured on the job. Take these precautions and enjoy a long and prosperous electrician career.