![]() Personal protective equipment: Protect the worker with PPE.Administrative controls: Change the way people work.Engineering controls: Isolate people from the hazard.Not all hazards can be eliminated, but the closer you get to the top, the safer a facility will be. The hierarchy starts with elimination-the most effective-and moves down to the least effective safety measure, PPE (see Figure 1). Using this approach, facilities must use the highest feasible level of control. The hierarchy of controls is a fundamental and well-established approach for managing hazards in facilities. 1 Electrical Safety: Controls To Manage Hazards “A substantial amount of work is inappropriately taking place on or around electrical sources that are energized, that stringent guidelines for personal protective equipment are frequently flouted, and that administrative controls, such as training and pre-job planning, are implemented or practiced haphazardly,” according to the Fire Protection Research Foundation (FPRF). This unawareness may be of the hazard itself, the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) that must be worn in that facility, or even how much time has passed since the worker last familiarized themselves with safety standards (such as NFPA 70E).Ī corporate case study examining electrical injury reporting and safety practices found that 40% of electrical injury incidents involved 250 volts or less and were indicative of a misconception of electrical safety as a high-voltage issue. These incidents are often due to a lack of awareness. Facility operations tend to speed up to meet work demands and yet, an up-to-date knowledge of safety standards and practices often fails to keep pace.ĭespite the steady decline of electrical injuries in every industry other than mining, these are still a substantial cause of worker injury and fatalities, and accounted for almost 2,000 fatalities and over 24,000 non-fatal injuries in the U.S. The hierarchy of controls is the pinnacle to all facets of workplace safety-especially for anything that involves arc flash because it helps engineers and facility management determine and prioritize which methods are best to ensure protection. The survey results-coupled with industrial electrical safety research-suggest that when it comes to safety, there is a stark difference between perception and reality. Earlier this year, my firm, Littelfuse, surveyed 255 people whose work plays a role in a facility’s electrical safety. ![]() This article will go over the hierarchy of controls to help stakeholders understand how to prioritize different safety measures and where facilities often go wrong. Figure 1: With the most effective practice at the top, this hierarchy is an established framework for managing electrical hazards. The pyramid graphic that represents the hierarchy of controls (See Figure 1) is even featured on the cover of the 2017 NFPA 70E. This framework has been a cornerstone to established occupational safety and health practices and standards, ANSI/ASSP Z10, Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems, and was adopted as a key concept in the 2017 edition of NFPA 70E, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace. The hierarchy of controls is the core occupational safety and health approach for preventing injuries and fatalities, as well as to protect equipment.
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