Electrical Safety Programs:
The “Trilogy” of Standards (CSA Z460, Z462, and Z463) are intended to be used together and results in achieving the lowest risk to workers and highest reliability for electrical power systems.
Z460 Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) is used when someone wants the equipment isolated (or deenergised) and locked out to eliminate the hazards. QSR offers a procedural policy covering how to do that. We also offer record and audit forms, and training as needed.
Z462 establishes the Safe Work Practices policy needed when you cannot isolate or deenergise power for things like switching, testing and troubleshooting – and possibly a live repair or modification. A worker needs power to take measurements or to operate the equipment; safe work procedures are designed to control and minimise these risks, and covers:
- Quantifying the electrical hazard (arc-flash study is done every 5 years)
- Understanding electrical hazards, and
- Safe work practices (updated every 3 years)
- Worker Qualifications and training requirements (updated every 3 years)
- Temporary grounding
- Tools and test equipment
- Job planning & Risk assessments
- Maintenance requirements; these are just to name a few
Without documented Safe Work Practices it is very difficult to enforce worker safety training, and you would be relying on the worker to manage the electrical safety risks, and the pressures of the work environment. A policy approved by management is a step in the right direction for due diligence, injury prevention, and worker safety.
All companies must have an up-to-date electrical safety program and provide training on it, Qualify their workers (both electrical and non-electrical that operate equipment), perform field audits, and be managed by H&S. QSR trains the H&S department on their obligations to manage the program, and electrical workers how to use it.
Z463 aims to prevent inadequate or incomplete maintenance of electrical equipment and systems. CSA Z463 and CSA Z462 both require electrical power systems be properly designed, installed and maintained to be considered safe.
The electrical maintenance program consists of the following essentials that QSR can help support:
- Determining failure modes
- Determining maintenance strategies, tasks and frequency
- Planning of maintenance shutdown and prioritizing tasks
- Routine inspections
- Thorough review of the inspection reports so corrective measures can be prescribed
- Inventory of spare parts for critical components
- Electrical emergency preparedness
Maintenance is directly related to electrical safety, environmental protection, operational reliability and financial losses. While maintenance cannot totally guarantee an absence of electrical failures and incidents, an electrical safety program lays out the mandated framework for a compliant maintenance program to mitigate such failures.
Failure of electrical equipment may expose workers to the risks of shock and arc-flash hazards.
Safety critical breakers requires specific testing procedures. If these breakers take twice as long to trip (which may just be an extra 1/10 of a second), it now contains twice the heat energy – serious if your PPE is not rated for this.