Job Site Safety: Do You Know the Most Common Causes of Electrical Accidents on Job Sites?
There’s no way around it: Construction can be a dangerous industry. While a wise construction company will take a number of steps to keep their workers healthy and safe, today we’re going to focus on electrical injuries and how to avoid them. After all, they’re in the top four types of accidents that lead to fatalities on the job.
At Grove Hardware, we know how important safety equipment is and we know how important safety protocols can be. That said, we also know that it can be hard to keep up on the them. That’s why we’ve taken some time to look closely at OSHA’s recommendations. According to their research, there are three main situations in which electricity can make a job site dangerous: damaged tools, water, accidental shorts due to live wires installed, and overhead power lines. Let’s take a closer look at each one.
Keep your tools in good condition
It doesn’t matter if it’s due to an internal short that results in power arcing out and into the worker, or if a frayed cord shocks the worker or others around them, tools in bad condition are an accident waiting to happen. Get those tools off your job site now. Replace the tools or have them repaired. It may be as simple as changing out an old plug, or you may need the manufacturer to repair it. Either way, remember that an employee injury isn’t worth saving a few dollars by not replacing tools.
Shorts caused by installed wires
OSHA requirements are in place to prevent this from happening, but those requirements can sometimes be ignored. Sometimes it’s because a company wants to try out a new circuit or system. No matter what, if you have an electrician testing circuits on your job site, require them to either follow the appropriate lockout procedures or have them in stall the fixtures necessary to prevent accident shorts.
Water conducting electricity
No matter what you do, it’s likely that your job set isn’t as water tight as you’d like it to be. That said, it is 100% vital that water doesn’t come into contact with circuits. If there are parts of your work site that could potentially get wet due to bad weather, then you must use exterior electrical boxes or you must cut all power to the circuits until they’re completely dry.
Overhead power lines
Both at home and at work, this is a relatively common issue. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a cherry picker, crane, or on a ladder, any contact with conductive material and power lines can result in serious damage and even death. Just don’t do it
If you have questions about how to get the right safety equipment, how to replace your current tools with safer tools, or just job site or construction site materials in general, then we look forward to talking to you. Call Grove Hardware at 909-544-4331 or stop by our location today.
