8 Tips to Improve Electrical Safety during Construction

Regardless of whether you are tearing down a structure or building something from the ground up. To keep your workers and workplace safe, every construction site is exposed to various levels of electrical hazards. Hence, everyone should adhere to all safety precautions across the site to prevent any electrical-related accidents. Below are several workplace electrical safety tips and practices designed to improve the electrical safety at construction sites.

8 Tips to Improve Electrical Safety during Construction

1. Wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Personal protective equipment (PPE) should come first as compared to any other piece of safety equipment as it directly protects you against electrical mishaps. The amount of personal protection required is based on your potential exposure to electricity. Use electrical gloves and footwear while handling electrical materials as they provide basic safety. Take extra precautions like using a face shield, fire-resistant helmet, protective eyewear, and earmuffs while working with wiring or if you are in close contact with electrical equipment.

2. Conduct comprehensive risk assessments

Of the electrical safety topics, risk assessments are one of the most important for preventing accidents and reducing overall risk. Before any work begins on-site, your workers should survey the working area and conduct risk assessments of all the potential electrical hazards. Taking such precautions will not only inform your workers of the present dangers on the site, but it also establishes safety plans and procedures to prevent any mishaps.

By identifying the potential electrical hazards. It helps to ensure that suitable control measures are in place to prevent them from causing harm to workers. It is important to familiarize yourself with the results of the risk assessment to understand which hazards you need to look out for.

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3. Highlight electrical hazards

In addition to a risk assessment, all workers on-site should be informed of the exact locations of each electrical hazard identified on the job site.  An efficient way of keeping track of all on-site hazards is by using a project management software. This is one of several electrical safety tips at work that can save you both time and money. 

When inspecting the site, workers should photograph and highlight all hazards in the area and take important notes regarding proper safety precautions. Once completed, the information will be automatically saved to the cloud for workers across the job site to view and share, informing all on-site workers of the exact dangers and how to avoid them.

4. Use testing equipment

When it comes to electrical safety in construction, testing equipment is key. To prevent shocks and other potentially fatal electrocutions, remember to use approved electrical power testing equipment. This allows you to properly assess the risk level of an operation. Don’t leave your life, or the lives of your employees, up to chance. Test all wiring to double-check whether it is grounded, dead, or requires additional safety equipment. Acquiring and using high-quality testing equipment should be the first step in your electrical safety plan. Such testing devices can include voltage detectors, clamp meters, and receptacle testers.

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5. Ensure employees have proper training in electrical equipment

This might seem like an unnecessary workplace electrical safety tip to bring up because your employees are professionals, but this can be often overlooked. As with any industry, when workers use the same equipment every day, it can lead to bad habits and improper usage. Hence, it’s important that your workers have the correct training to carry out their duties safely. Workers also need to know how to properly use every tool, especially when engaging in direct electrical work.

6. Never work in wet conditions

As you should know, water and electricity do not mix well. The presence of water significantly increases your chances of getting electrocuted when working with electrical equipment, especially if the equipment is poorly insulated. Wet electrical equipment should be inspected by a qualified electrician before turning the power back on to ensure complete worker safety. Eliminating wet working conditions should be part of the electrical safety plan.

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7. Use voltage regulators and circuit breakers

Utilizing both voltage regulators and circuit breakers is one of the many electrical tips presented that can be crucial to ensuring safety on the job site. Circuit breakers are great tools for shutting down power during an emergency, and voltage regulators help to prevent equipment damage during electricity surges. These are critical pieces of safety equipment that curb the problem before it gets worse

8. Use cord protectors

It is important to use safe extension cords and outlet strips when working with electricity. Cable covers and cord protectors are another good way to practice safety when conducting electrical works at the construction site. Floor cord protectors should be installed too to not only protect the cables running across a space, but also to prevent workers from tripping over loose cables.

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Conclusion 

Remember: “Leave no electrical safety topic unchecked. It could save your life.” 

The above-mentioned are safety tips that should be implemented when working at site surrounded with electrical hazards. If followed, it can help prevent injuries, accidents, damages, and other liability concerns.

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