Important Point #2: DE-ENERGIZE EQUIPMENT AND USE LOCKOUT/TAGOUT. It is always best practice to eliminate the need for electrical safety by removing the electricity (SO SIMPLE…). Moving or performing maintenance on equipment can be hazardous with a live electrical current, so remove the hazard by turning off the breaker or using those funny looking red locks to “LOCKOUT/TAGOUT” the machine. I won’t go into the lockout/tagout process as that would require a whole blog to itself, so we’ll save that story for another day. But understand that it aids in ensuring that the machine does not get accidentally turned on while people are working on it.

Important Point #3: ENSURE SAFE USE OF ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT: This ties back into having qualified personnel handing equipment. Training and facilitating is the best way to help keep everyone safe and alive. Never have an unqualified person using equipment that they do not know how to use (hence “unqualified”). Also, refreshing your people on any equipment updates or just to make sure that the qualified person still maintains their knowledge is another great strategy for safety.

Important Point #4: INSTALL PROPER PHYSICAL BARRIERS AROUND ELECTRICAL HAZARDS: If you have to use electricity, a literal wall is the best deterrent. Let’s just pretend that you or your people are toddlers and you are child-proofing the work space; little hands try to go where they are not supposed to go. Well, adult humans can be the same way. DO NOT GIVE THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRACTICE THEIR TESLA COIL IMPERSONATION. Ties back in to point #1: ELECTRICAL SHOCK CAN BE DEADLY.

Important Point #5: BEWARE OF CONDUCTIVE TOOLS AND CLEANING MATERIALS AND USE EXTREME CAUTION WITH FLAMMABLE MATERIALS. This was originally two different points, but I combined them as they work together so perfectly. Water and many metals are amazing conductive materials for electricity. DO NOT USE THEM AROUND ELECTRICITY. I do not care if you are trying to be Thor with a hammer that spews lightning, POINT #1. I understand that things can get pretty gross if you do not clean them, just ensure that you are using cleaning solutions designed to clean the item or surface and that it is COMPLETELY DRY (Water=BAD). Same thing with the tools you may be using to clean and repair, a non-conductive tool set might be the best way to go. If there are none of these around then refer to point #2: DE-ENERGIZE & USE LOCKOUT/TAGOUT; Remove electricity from the equation entirely.