Specifications

Safety_Book.doc
ELECTRICAL SAFETY
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. PREVENTION
PREVENTION must be the primary goal of any occupational safety program.
However, since contact with electrical energy occurs even in facilities that
promote safety, safety programs should provide for an appropriate emergency
medical response.
2. SAFE WORK PRACTICES
No one who works with electric energy should work alone, and in many
instances, a "buddy system" should be established. It may be advisable to have
both members of the buddy system trained in CPR, as one cannot predict which
one will contact electrical energy.
Every individual who works with or around electrical energy should be familiar
with emergency procedures. This should include knowing how to de-energize an
electrical system before rescuing or beginning resuscitation on a worker who
remains in contact with an electrical energy source.
All workers exposed to electrical hazards should be made aware that even "low"
voltage circuits can be fatal, and that prompt emergency medical care can be
lifesaving.
3. CPR AND ACLS PROCEDURES
CARDIOPULMONARY RESUSCITATION (CPR) and first aid should be
immediately available at every work site. This capability is necessary to provide
prompt (within 4 minutes) care for the victims of cardiac or respiratory arrest,
from any cause.
Employers may contact the local office of the American Heart Association, the
American Red Cross, or equivalent groups or agencies, to set up a course for
employees.
Provisions should be worked out at each work site to provide ADVANCED
CARDIAC LIFE SUPPORT (ACLS) within 8 minutes (if possible), usually by
calling an ambulance staffed by paramedics. Signs on or near phones should give
the correct emergency number for the area, and workers should be educated
regarding the information to give when the call is made. For large facilities, a
prearranged place should be established for company personnel to meet
paramedics in an emergency.
Adopoted from a document published by OSHA on the internet, http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/85-104.html?
“Preventing Electrocutions of Workers in Fast Food Restaurants”
NIOSH ALERT: December 1984 - DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 85-104