Electrical equipment's safety | Electrical Equipment Inspection and Testing

                           ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT SAFETY

Electrical Equipment safety

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT INSPECTION AND TESTING

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT TESTING, PORTABLE ELECTRICAL APPARATUS, ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE, INSPECTION, AND TESTING, ELECTRICAL TAG OUTS AND NOTICE SIGNS, ELECTRICAL ISOLATION, DE-ENERGIZATION

The Electrical equipment’s inspection testing.

1.       Check that all electrical equipment within the installation is following the required standards and has been properly installed and inspected of equipment.

2.       Check for visible signs of damage to equipment, tools, and cables.

3.       Check all connections of electrical conductors.

4.       Check that all conductors are properly identified.

5.       Ensure check routing and mechanical protection of conductors.

6.       Confirm correct electrical cables have been selected for current carrying capacity and volt-drop of electrical load.

7.       Check correct installation of single-pole devices for switching protection in line conductors only of electrical correct installation.

8.       Check the correct connection of electrical socket outlets and lamp holder connections.

9.       Check those live electrical components are protected against direct contact.

10.   Check that all equipment or tools are properly earth connected.

11.   Check that electrical equipment is appropriate and that isolating and switching devices are provided.

12.   Check under-voltage protective devices are provided where appropriate.

13.   Check those protection devices are provided and properly set.

14.   Check that circuits, fuses, switches, and terminals are properly labeled.

15.   Check that adequate access to equipment is provided.

16.   Check that circuit diagrams and instructions are provided where appropriate.

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT TESTING

Testing

The electrical equipment testing in a potentially explosive atmosphere, appropriate safety precautions following BS EN 60079.

1.       Check the continuity of protective earth conductors.

2.       Check the continuity of final circuit conductors.

3.       Check insulation resistance.

4.       Check polarity and phase rotation.

5.       Check earth fault loop impedance only when required to ensure the correct operation of protective devices.

6.       Check earth electrode resistance.

7.       Check operation of circuit protection devices including Residual Current Devices (RCD).

PORTABLE ELECTRICAL APPARATUS

The portable electrical equipment is movable, not permanently connected to the power system, which is supplied through a flexible cable and plug and socket or similar approved electrical connector. Portable electrical equipment is hand lamps, handheld power tools, fixed power tools, moving power tools, mobile lighting, fixed lighting, small mobile equipment, etc.

To ensure that electrical portable equipment is safe as it poses an ever-present hazard should there be a failure in the insulation or damage to the cable causing the casing to become live or exposing live conductors. As a minimum considered:

1.       Electrical portable tools and equipment shall be designed to operate at a rated voltage of 110V in the case of portable inspection hand lamps 24V. Non-interchangeable electrical plugs and sockets shall be used to ensure that a tool is connected only to a supply of the correct voltage and cannot be connected to a 230/250 Volt circuit breaker.

2.       Electrical portable tools and equipment shall be connected to the mains through safety isolating transformers having both: to more than 55 Volts concerning to the proper earthling.

3.       Electrically operated portable tools or equipment shall not be used in hazardous areas unless the use of the equipment is covered by the permit to work system.

4.       When a residual current device is to be used it shall have a rated residual operating current not exceeding 30 mA ampere and an operating time not exceeding 40 MS at a residual current of 150 mA, as provided by the BS IEC 1008 standard.

5.       The electrical tools, equipment, and cables shall be protected against overload and short circuits by electrical protection comprising of fuses or circuit breakers. The electrical socket outlet circuits normally are provided with residual current devices, such that the supply is interrupted in the event of an earth fault with a leakage current exceeding 30 mA ampere.

6.       The periodic check shall be performed every three months for the portable power tools as well as mobile equipment requiring electrical checks with the color-coded inspection. This periodic check shall be also repeated whenever the custodian report damage to the mobile equipment or portable tool.

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE, INSPECTION, AND TESTING

The equipment maintenance ensures that appropriate inspection, maintenance, and testing arrangements are in place for all electrical systems. The development of a register of all physical assets which require to be maintained and a series of maintenance, inspection, and test activities based on documented risk assessment.

Electrical equipment’s Inspection, testing, and maintenance:

1.       Risk levels related to the equipment in question

2.       Equipment criticality safety and reliability

3.       Previous failure modes, experience, and maintenance history

4.       Manufacturers’ recommendations

5.       Frequency

6.       Inspection

ELECTRICAL TAG OUTS AND NOTICE SIGNS

Tag out available as per the following:

·       DANGER: The danger means if the danger is not avoided, it will cause death or serious injury. Color coding shall be the red background.

·       WARNING: The warning means if the warning is not heeded, it can cause death or serious injury. Color coding shall be the amber background.

·       CAUTION: The caution means if the precaution is not taken, it may cause minor or moderate injury. Color coding shall be the yellow background.

ELECTRICAL ISOLATION, DE-ENERGIZATION                           

All electrical equipment shall be regarded as being live until properly isolated and proved to be dead.

Before equipment maintenance, repairs, alterations, cleaning, or testing on electrical equipment the equipment shall be isolated and de-energized from its power source. Electrical equipment Isolation is the disconnection from live by an open isolator or adequate physical gap from all sources of supply to prevent electrical equipment from being made live in error isolation.

The operation of switching out a circuit and making it dead from all sources of supply does not by itself provide proper isolation of that circuit.

Isolation padlock lock-out devices shall be applied to points of isolation for electrical equipment to prevent de-isolation or unexpected start-up until the isolation padlock lock-out device is removed.

Caution notices tag, log out tags out shall also be attached at all points of isolation from live sources of supply, to warn personnel not to interfere with such points of isolation, as work or testing may be taking place on electrical equipment or tools.

Electrical equipment isolation padlocks lockout device at points of isolation:

·       Removal of fuses

·       Racking out of circuit breakers or contactors

·       Disconnecting of circuit conductors

Before work is done on equipment that has been isolated, test equipment shall be used to verify that the circuit elements and equipment parts are de-energized or de isolation. The test shall also determine whether any energized condition exists as a result of inadvertently induced voltage or unrelated voltage back feed even though specific parts of the circuit have been de-energized. The approved test equipment shall be checked immediately before and after use to make sure it is working correctly.