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| PPE requirements for electrical work |
Electrical PPE protect electricians from
Why is PPE necessary to do electrical work?
Assume that MCC panel is live but you need to take the current measurement of cable and no one is with you. What will you do? These kind of situations are hazardous. And hazard make an accident. So, there is a procedure of safety to do electrical live work with minimal risk. Electricity insulated safety shoes, helmet, arc flash shirt and pant or arc coverall, arc protect gloves, earplugs and transparent goggle are the mandatory PPE should have to wear before operating any electric panels.
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| Electrical PPE warning |
If there is any arc flash occurred in that switchgear room, arc clothe would be protect you. But to protect our face we need an electric face shield that will fight against arc. While turning on the panels into live we should have to wear face shield and cover complete body to prevent an arc flash skin damages.
Note : To do any operation in panels or work in live line you need a qualified certificate and respective work experience. There is an electrical courses in US, UK and Gulf countries which is needs to be done before to work in switchgears. Safety is first and electrical is not a rock and roll thing. Think before to touch anything.
Electrical PPE Requirements
🔰 Eye and Face Protection
Equipment used to wear that prevent any impact on eyes, chemical or liquid spills, toxic gases, vapors, chemical contact, thermal radiation, metal cutting, welding, light radiation and powder, fume, mist, dust, flying objects are called eye or face protectors.
🔰 Face shield
🔰 Safety Glasses
🔰 Transparent Safety Goggles
🔰 Earplugs
🔰 Hand Protection
Metal or mesh gloves are widely used to protect hands while working with sharp edge materials. You need to use leather gloves on rough surface areas. Padded cloth gloves are used when there is sharp edge, dirt and vibration condition.
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| Head, face, ear and hand protection |
Without gloves we would get cuts from sharp edges, chances of hand burns around heat areas. In any sites, worker has Stop Work Authority (SWA) to allowed to stop work if there is no proper PPE.
🔰 Safety Shoes
Footwear that protect the toes from 200 joules impact is a standard safety shoe as per UK standard. When it comes to electrical workers that we need to buy an electricity insulated shoes. For the electrical workers, it must be protect against accident and electricity.
🔰 Industrial Hard Hat
Electrical insulation helmet is a standard and safe hat for an industrial electrical worker. Industrial hard hat must be protect electricity for an electricians.
You can use safety helmets up to 5 years without damages. But once it’s damaged you should replace that immediately.
🔰 Arc Flash Clothing
Arc flash coverall or shirt and pant is used to protect against arc flash but it will not prevent flashover. When electrician operates LV, MV or HV panels need to wear it to energize or de-energize the panels.
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| Arc flash suit |
🔰 Fall Protection
To work above 1.6m height you must use safety harness or safety restraint. Safety restraint is used to prevent falling and eliminating the risk of work location. Electricians must ensure that the equipment are strong and safe in before use.
Conclusion
These are the main PPE that required for electrical work. PPE are the safety precaution but you need to be conscious when you do any operation in site. Don’t enter switchgear or substation room without proper personal protective equipment. Subscribe to E2Z to get new updates and learn electrical engineering.
