Electrical dangers and hazards

• Confined spaces
• Hazardous areas
• Working at heights
• Working in and around dug-out spaces
• High fault currents

Electricity cannot be seen, heard or smelt making hazards hard to detect.

The three most common electrical hazards and causes of injury are:

• electric shock, causing injury or death
• arcing, explosion or fire, causing burns
• toxic gases from burning or arcing, leading to illness or death.

These three hazards may be present individually or together as in this example.

A fault occurs in the main switch-room of a large shopping centre. It 's possible that the ground may become live as a conductor. There could be an explosion. Burning of PVC and epoxy resins may create a hazardous atmosphere.

The three hazards can occur in the following circumstances.

Confined spaces

You need to ensure that even in confined spaces you have enough room to move freely without unintentionally exposing yourself to a live part.

For example, the involuntary movement caused by a sneeze could put you at risk.

Also ensure you have adequate ventilation.

Warning: live parts exposure in lift control

Cramped conditions typical of lift motor rooms and the associated difficulty in accessing equipment can increase the likelihood of electric shock hazards when performing lift maintenance.

Hazards may also exist from unguarded pulley, chain and cable drum movements.

An incident involving a worker accidentally touching exposed bare terminals connected to hazardous voltage while performing lift maintenance has prompted a safety warning from the Electrical Safety Office.

This particular installation involved an older-style OTIS I-SOB model.

The Electrical Safety Office warns that other makes, models and vintages may have dangerous exposed terminals or parts.

The safety warning says all lift installations should be reviewed and control measures put in place to minimise electrical, mechanical or other hazards.

Suitable controls may include enclosures and guards, complying with Electrical Safety Regulation 2002 (PDF File, 1.02 MB).

Hazardous areas

Hazardous areas are where flammable materials are generated, prepared, processed, handled, stored or used, posing potential danger.

Read about the correct maintenance and installation of luminaires in hazardous areas.

Standards for hazardous area equipment

Australian Standards (AS/NZS 2381 Electrical equipment for explosive gas atmospheres (non-Queensland Government link)) stipulate that all equipment used in hazardous areas must be certified with 'AUS Ex ' or 'IEC Ex '.

The 'IEC Ex ' standard replaced the 'AUS Ex ' certification scheme for electrical equipment in December 2003.

This is not the same as 'ATEX certified '.

ATEX is a manufacturer self-certification scheme to support the sale of electrical equipment used in potentially explosive situations in the European Union.

ATEX certification by itself does not satisfy Australian Standards nor does it meet obligations established in the electrical safety laws.

Electrical contractors should specify use of conforming equipment. If supplied equipment is only ATEX-certified, a written assessment from a suitably qualified person is needed; indicating whether the standard the equipment was manufactured to aligns with equivalents demanded by Australian Standards.

Working at heights

• Working with ladders, scaffolds and portable platforms
• Working with elevating work platforms (EWPs)
• Working on or from poles and towers

Working at heights and with electricity makes work doubly risky.

General workplace health and safety requirements relate to working at heights as well as specific electrical safety requirements.

Working with ladders, scaffolds and portable platforms

Ladders, scaffolds and portable platforms are used a lot in carrying out electrical work.

The three common hazards of electric shock, burns and toxic gases may all be met.

Control measures

Some ways to implement a safe system of work include:

• using equipment that is fit for purpose, like non-conductive ladders
• identifying if there are exposed live parts nearby
• if there are exposed live parts nearby, taking necessary precautions like de-energising, fitting covers or using a safety observer (electrical)
• employing work practices such as:
  • two or more people carrying long devices in switchyards and switchrooms in a position below shoulder height
  • two people handling extension ladders in windy condition
  • restraining ladders using head ropes or foot ropes, or both.

Appendix B 2.3 of the Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2010 - Electrical Work (PDF File, 740.7 KB) sets out detailed guidelines for carrying out electrical work using elevating work platforms.

Working with elevating work platforms (EWPs)

Elevating work platforms including scissor lift and boom type machines are used widely throughout the electrical industry.

The Code of Practice for Electrical Work sets out detailed guidelines for carrying out electrical work using elevating work platforms.

You also need to be aware of Workplace health and safety provisions using EWPs.

Safe operation of an elevating work platform (PDF File, 945.7 KB)  

This guide covers the basics that trainees, supervisors and employers need to know for the safe operation of elevating work platforms.

Remember to check the safety observer danger zones.

Warning on single operating lever elevating work platform

The Electrical Safety Office has been made aware that the design and operation of a particular elevating work platform could pose unsafe situations for workers.

The Versalift truck-mounted boom lift can perform up to three different movements simultaneously. In particular it can retract the boom telescopically while raising the boom arm angle.

This possibility may be exacerbated by the arrangement of the deadman switch in the operating handle. The deadman switch is under the operating handle. Pressure to engage this button is in the same direction as what is needed to raise the boom.

This could result in the boom arm angle being mistakenly raised leading to a net upward movement that may not be immediately obvious. It could be dangerous.

Working on or from poles and towers

Always inspect poles before commencing electrical work.

Think about:

• the pole 's structure, is it wood, steel, concrete
• if the pole is owned by a supply entity or not
• if the work is to be done from the pole or from another device, such as an elevating work platform.

Appendix B 2.4 of the Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2010 - Electrical Work (PDF File, 740.7 KB) details what to look for and what tests to conduct on poles in establishing a safe system of work.

Working in and around dug-out spaces

General workplace health and safety requirements for working in or around trenches, pits and underground ducts and you may encounter electrical hazards such as:

• live cables, damaged by excavation or hole boring equipment
• exposed live parts
• earthed situations in which conductive materials like metal pipes or liquids such as storm water create an electric shock path
• spark generations in an explosive atmosphere like areas with LP gas.

Control measures

Some ways to implement a safe system of work in these situations include:

• perform electrical and associated work only on de-energised parts
• use mats and eliminate or avoid liquids to remove the risk of an earthed situation
• if parts of a cable are exposed, treat the cable as live high voltage until you can determine otherwise
• remove cables from conduits before work or disconnect power supply to cable before work begins.

For more details on working around trenches, pits and underground ducts, refer to Appendix B 2.1 of the Electrical Safety Code of Practice 2010 - Electrical Work (PDF File, 740.7 KB).