Working Effectively and Safely in an Electrical Environment

When the electrical team arrives on site to, let us say,
‘first fix’ a new domestic dwelling house, the downstairs
floorboards and the ceiling plasterboards will
probably not be in place, and the person putting in
the power cables for the downstairs sockets will need
to step over the floor joists, or walk and kneel on
planks temporarily laid over the floor joists.
The electrical team spend a lot of time on their hands
and knees in confined spaces, on ladders, scaffold
towers and on temporary safety systems during the
‘first fix’ of the process and, as a consequence, slips,
trips and falls do occur.
To make all working environments safer, laws and

safety regulations have been introduced. To make yourworking environment safe for yourself and those
around you, you must obey all the safety regulations
that are relevant to your work.
The many laws and regulations controlling the working
environment have one common purpose, to make
the working environment safe for everyone.
Let us now look at some of these laws and regulations
as they apply to the Electrotechnical Industry.

Statutory Laws
Acts of Parliament are made up of Statutes. Statutory
Laws and Regulations have been passed by Parliament
and have therefore become laws. The City and Guilds
Syllabus requires that we look at seven Statutory
Regulations.
1. The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974
◆ The purpose of the HSAWA is to provide the legal
framework for stimulating and encouraging high
standards of health and safety at work.
◆ The Act places the responsibility for safety at
work on both workers and employers.
◆ The HSAWA is an “Enabling Act” which allows the
Secretary of State to make further regulations
and modify existing regulations to create a safe
working environment without the need to pass
another Act of Parliament.

2. Electricity at Work Regulations 1989
◆ These Regulations are made under the Health &
Safety at Work Act and are enforced by the
Health & Safety Executive (HSE).
◆ The purpose of the Regulations is to “require
precautions to be taken against the risk of death or
personal injury from electricity in work activities”.
◆ An electrical installation wired in accordance
with the IEE Regulations BS 7671 will also meet
the requirements of the EWR.
3. The Electricity Safety, Quality and
Continuity Regulations 2002
◆ These Regulations are designed to ensure a
proper and safe supply of electrical energy up to
the consumer’s mains electrical intake position.
◆ They will not normally concern the electrical
contractor, except in that it is these Regulations
which set out the earthing requirements of the
supply.
4. The Management of Health & Safety at
Work Regulations 1999
◆ To comply with the Health & Safety at Work Act
1974 employers must have “robust health and
safety systems and procedures in the workplace”.
◆ Employers must “systematically examine
the workplace, the work activity and the
management of safety through a process of
risk assessment”.

◆ Information based upon the risk assessment
findings must be communicated to relevant staff.
◆ So, risk assessment must form a part of any
employer’s “robust policy of health and safety”.
5. Provision and Use of Work Equipment
Regulations 1998
◆ These Regulations place a general duty of care
upon employers to ensure minimum requirements
of plant and equipment used in work activities.
◆ If an employer has purchased good quality plant
and equipment, and that plant and equipment is
well maintained, there is little else to do.
6. COSHH Regulations (2002)
◆ The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health
Regulations (COSHH) control people’s exposure
to hazardous substances in the workplace.
◆ Employers must carry out risk assessments
and, where necessary, provide PPE (Personal
Protective Equipment) so that employees will
not endanger themselves.
◆ Employees must also receive information and
training in the safe storage, disposal and
emergency procedures which are to be followed
by anyone using hazardous substances.
7. Personal Protective Equipment Regulations (PPE)
◆ PPE is defined as all equipment designed to be
worn or held in order to protect against a risk to
health and safety.

◆ This includes most types of protective clothing
and equipment such as eye, foot and head
protection, safety harnesses, life jackets and
high visibility clothing.
◆ Employers must provide PPE free of charge and
employees must make use of it for their
protection.
◆ Figure 1.1 below shows the type of safety signs
which might be used to indicate the type of PPE
to be worn in particular circumstances for your
protection.
Working Effectively and Safely in an Electrical Environment 7
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