Introduction to Industrial Safety

Objective:

1- Understanding the requirements of electrical safety standards

2- Understanding types of electrical hazards to personnel at site.
3- Understanding the meaning of warning signs at workplace.

Introduction
Working with electricity can be dangerous. Engineers, electricians, and other
professionals work with electricity directly, including working on overhead lines, cable
harnesses, and circuit assemblies. Others, such as office workers and sales people, work with
electricity indirectly and may also be exposed to electrical hazards.

Electricity has long been recognized as a serious workplace hazard. Electrical standards
are designed to protect employees exposed to dangers such as electric shock, electrocution, fires,
and explosions.

Basic Hazards
Shock, Electrocution and Arc Flash. All are hazards involved in working around
electrical devices.

While electricity is useful, it can also hurt or kill you. Accidents from electricity happen
far more often than you would like to think. Electricity has long been recognized as a serious
workplace hazard, exposing employees to electric shock, electrocution, burns, fires, and
explosions.

Basic terms:
When current travels through your body ‐ Shock

When current travels through your body and KILLS YOU ‐ Electrocution

When a short circuit leads to an explosion ‐ Arc flash

Effects of current on your body:
▪ 50-150 mA: Extreme pain
▪ Respiratory arrest; cannot let go
▪ Death possible
▪ 1000-4300 mA: Ventricular fibrillation
▪ Muscular contraction; nerve damage
▪ Death likely
▪ 10000 mA: Cardiac arrest
▪ Severe burns, probable death

Causes of Electric Shock:

There are many ways that a person’s body can become part of an electrical circuit and get
shocked. You will get an electric shock if you touch a live wire and an electrical ground or if you
touch a live wire and another wire of a different potential. Many have been shocked at home, but
at the work place, voltage and current are much higher‐creating a greater chance of getting hurt.

Electrical safety tips:

• Obey warning signs

• Never put fingers or other objects in an outlet
• Keep metal objects out of toasters
 • Disconnect the power source before servicing or repairing electrical equipment.

• Treat all electrical devices as if they are live or energized. You never know.
• Use only tools and equipment with non-conducting handles when working on electrical
devices.
• Never use metallic pencils or rulers, or wear rings or metal watchbands when working
with electrical equipment. This rule is very easy to forget, especially when you are
showing some electrical part pointing with metallic pencil.
• When it is necessary to handle equipment that is plugged in, be sure hands are dry and
work with one hand only. also wear nonconductive gloves, protective clothes and shoes
with insulated soles, away from all conductive material. If water or a chemical is spilled
onto equipment, shut off power at the main switch or circuit breaker and unplug the
equipment. Very logical. NEVER try to remove water or similar from equipment while
energized. After all, it’s stupid to do so.
• If an individual comes in contact with a live electrical conductor, do not touch
the equipment, cord or person. Disconnect the power source from the circuit breaker or
pull out the plug using a leather belt. You must be very calm in order not to make the
situation even worse. Like in previous rules – Always disconnect the power FIRST.

So; before you turn electricity ON, make sure you say no to the following:

• Are outlets, motors or circuits overloaded?

• Are cords running near heat or water sources?
• Do I see sparks or smoke?
• Are my hands wet?
Personal Protective Equipment
Use electrical rated protective equipment when working in areas where there is an electric
potential.

1- Hand Protection

Can protect workers’ hands from chemicals, hot and cold temperatures, vibration and
sharp objects. Gloves must fit properly and be the right kind of material for the job.

Figure-1- Safety Gloves

2- Safety Shoes

Help protect workers from falling objects, sharp objects, wet and slippery surfaces, hot
surfaces, and electrical hazards.

Figure-2- Safety Shoes

3- Eye Protection

Selecting the most suitable eye and face protection for employees should take into
consideration the following elements:

• Ability to protect against specific workplace hazards.

• Properly fitting and reasonably comfortable to wear.
 • Unrestricted vision and movement.
• Durability and cleavability.

Examples of eye protection tools are:

Safety Eyeglasses
Impact resistant lenses

Goggles
Provides protection from impact, dust and
splashes

Welding Shields Provide protection against harmful light

radiation

4- Hearing Protection

Determining the need to provide hearing protection for employees can be challenging.
Employee exposure to excessive noise depends upon a number of factors, including:

• The loudness of the noise as measured in decibels (dB).

• The duration of each employee’s exposure to the noise.
• Whether employees move between work areas with different noise levels. Whether noise
is generated from one or multiple sources.
Examples of hearing protection are shown below:

Figure-3- Hearing protection Devices

Head Protection

Employers must ensure that their employees wear head protection if any of the following
apply:

• Objects might fall from above and strike them on the head
• They might bump their heads against fixed objects, such as exposed pipes or beams
• There is a possibility of accidental head contact with electrical hazards

Protective helmets or hard hats should do the following:

• Resist penetration by objects
• Absorb the shock of a blow
• Be water-resistant and slow burning
• Hard outer shell and a shock-absorbing lining that incorporates a headband and straps
that suspend the shell from 1 to 1 1/4 inches away from the head

Figure-4- Head protection Devices

Safety Signs
Safety Signs are crucial in any work environment. The primary importance of
displaying Safety Signs is to prevent injury and ensure staff and visitors are well aware of the
possible dangers and hazards ahead in certain situations and/or environments. Without
signs, many employees would lack the necessary direction in times of crisis, and employers
might find themselves in significant legal difficulties if any accidents were to arise as a result.
1. Warning Signs

Warning signs have intrinsic features:

(a) Triangular shape

(b) Black pictogram on a yellow background with black edging (the yellow part to take
up at least 50% of the area of the sign).

Here are some of the most common warning signs:

Warning, High noise levels

2. Mandatory signs

Intrinsic features:
(a) Round shape.
(b) White pictogram on a blue background (the blue part to take up at least 50% of
the area of the sign).

Here are some of the most common Mandatory signs:

3. Emergency escape or first-aid signs

Intrinsic features:
(a) Rectangular or square shape;
(b) White pictogram on a green background (the green part to take up at least 50% of the
area of the sign).
 Escape routes Escape routes Escape routes

4. Firefighting signs

Intrinsic features:
(a) Rectangular or square shape.
(b) White pictogram on a red background (the red part to take up at least 50% of the area
of the sign).

‘This way’ signs for

firefighting equipment
Laboratory regulations and safety rules
The following regulation and safety rules must be observed in all Laboratory

1. Be sure that all equipment is properly working before using them for lab exercises
2. Any defective equipment must be reported immediately to the supervisor.
3. Students are allowed to use only the equipment provided in the experiment manual or
equipment used for senior project lab.
4. Power supply terminals connected to any circuit are only energized in the presence of the
instructor.
5. Students should keep a safely distance from circuit breakers, electric circuit or any
moving parts during the experiment.
6. Avoid any part of your body to be connected to the energized circuit and ground.
7. Switch off the equipment and disconnect to the energized circuit and ground
8. Equipment should not be removed, transferred to any location without permission from
the lab.
9. Students are not allowed to use any equipment without proper orientation.
10. Smoking, Drinking use of mobile phones, computer games are strictly prohibited in the
labs.