Do you know that making an office and business establishment safe is part of staff wellness? Every day, employees are facing the risks of potential accidents and disasters like fire incidents. The malfunctioning of appliances and equipment is the top cause of most fire incidents in the U.S.

The government has regulations legislated in 1989 that provides health and safety among workers. This article will tease-out the regulatory mandate of every business establishments.

Overall, the establishment shall be able to;

Build, install and maintain their electrical systems to keep away from dangers and risks
Ensure that employees will do nothing that can cause danger in the aspects of operations, utilization, maintenance and working near the electrical system
The company shall provide safety equipment to protect people from hazards from the electrical system.

Categories of safety and precautionary measures

Strength and capability of electrical equipment

You must avoid the excessive use of any electrical device that is beyond its power and capacity

Hazard and risk environments

Build electrical equipment that is resilient to the following;
- Mechanical damage
- Extreme weather condition
- High temperature and pressure
- Water, dirt, and corrosion.
- Any flammable and explosive substances
It is recommended to place insulators, protection, and conductors to prevent accidents
Make sure that people working in the high exposed areas are going through a proper orientation

Earthing of cables and conductors

You must prevent conductors from charging by earthing them or employing another similar method

Quality of referenced conductors is a top priority

You must earth any electrical-supplied circuits that can potentially break electrical circuit continuity to prevent possible dangers

Integrity of Connections

Ensure that every joints and connection of the electrical system is suitable for its purpose.

Means for protecting from the excess current

It is vital that office devices and equipment have efficient and quality empro shunts to protect them from an excessive current that can potentially damage the supplies and cause an accident.

Provide protocols for cutting off the amount and for isolation when an emergency happens

Ensure that the establishment will provide protocols in cutting off electricity supply to any electrical equipment and isolate when danger and accident happens. It includes proper orientation and awareness among employees.

Exercise precautions when turning the equipment to run and off

You must take precautions in preventing electrical equipment that turned-off to force from turning it back to run without professional inspection and technical support.

Avoid working on or near live conductors

Make it a rule that nobody should be working on or near any live conductor not unless if the material has insulation. However, if it can never be avoided, the following precautions must be taken into consideration:
- If it is unreasonable for the conductor to be turned-off, appropriate safety gears must be in use by the personnel.
- The personnel must have adequate awareness and precautions to prevent injury or death.

Provide appropriate working space, access, and lighting

Your office must provide proper and adequate working space, enough access, and sufficient light or and around any electrical equipment every time the personnel will be working and using the equipment. It is a way of preventing injuries.

Personnel must be competent to prevent danger and injury

It must be a policy in the office that every person shall undergo proper training and orientation when working with the electrical systems. It is a way to prevent injury and cause danger.

Basic Do’s and Don’ts of the electrical system

DO’s

Use only equipment that is earthed or double-insulated
Switch off the machine when not in use
Conduct regular inspection of cables and equipment and report any faults immediately
Disconnect equipment before carrying out any repairs or servicing procedures
Power modules must have surge protection
When the machine is feeling hot, stop, and turn it off.

DON’T