What to Include in Your Electrical Safety Checklist

Electrical incidents lead to approximately 1000 deaths annually in the US, with 400 deaths resulting from high-voltage electrical injuries. These incidents often take place in workplaces packed with electrical equipment that requires thorough inspections and constant upkeep to ensure functionality. With an electrical safety checklist in hand, you can ensure you carry out each task without missing any critical steps throughout the process.

Essential Elements of An Electrical Safety Checklist

An electrical safety checklist should include standardized items that may pose risks in your workplace. The list of items can be accompanied by a list of checkboxes, which can be ticked off every time a task is completed.

Perform an Electrical Equipment Inspection

An inspection of all the electrical equipment within a workplace can help identify issues such as frayed wires, loose connectors, charred outlets, worn components, and other early signs of a potential breakdown. After a professional inspection, you can identify and address any risks that may develop into complex issues in the long run. This proactive approach helps avoid downtime and workplace injuries.

Conduct a Outlet & Switch Inspection

Most electrical fires stem from faulty or charred outlets, which can create sparks and ignite flammable materials like nearby machinery or wires. Performing a visual inspection of the connected wires, plugs, and connectors can help avoid short circuits or arcing.

Run a Wiring Inspection

Wires are the main pathways of electricity. So, when they become exposed or start to fray, they can easily overheat, short-circuit, or become ideal starters for electrical fires. An inspection of the attached wires can help diagnose and replace them before any issues take place.

Check Grounding & Bonding

Grounding electrical systems makes them less prone to dangerous shocks, fires, and damage from lightning or voltage spikes. Combined with bonding the non-current-carrying metal parts to non-metallic compartments of an electrical system, it can create a robust electrical system that provides protection and reliability.

A generally recommended practice would be to ensure all the electrical equipment in your workplace is grounded and bonded efficiently. But that doesn’t mean the end of it, and regular upkeeps can ensure the functionality and reliability of such electrically charged systems.

Run a Grounding Test

Simply grounding your electrical systems isn’t the path to electrical safety. A ground test, or ground resistance test, is the process of determining whether the path with the least resistance meets compliance codes. Ensuring that all your equipment and appliances have a proper functional ground pathway can reduce risks to human life and property. The two types of grounding tests you can try are:

1. 3-point test
2. Induced frequency

Inspect Electrical Panels & Circuit Breakers

A regular inspection of electrical panels and circuit breakers can help mitigate hazardous issues in the workplace. Think of the electrical panel as the “central hub” of the electrical system, acting as the main distribution system to each point. This makes it the most common source of electrical issues, like arcing, overloaded circuit breakers, melted components, and more. Conducting regular inspections of your electrical panel is ideal for spotting minor issues before they escalate into major, complex ones.

Assess Electrical Equipment

Testing your electrical equipment is not just a legal obligation, but also leads to design improvement and boosts employee safety. With regular check-ups, personnel can prevent breakdowns that could lead to significant issues during use. Implement logout/tagout (LOTO) procedures to indicate that machinery cannot be used until the maintenance service period is completed.

Attached components and electrical appliances should be meticulously inspected for loose screws, frayed wiring, and other broken parts that pose a risk to human health or property, or both.

Have Emergency Procedures

Emergency procedures are a fundamental aspect of electrical safety. Being ready for potential issues or electrical emergencies can save lives and prevent the matter from escalating. When personnel are aware of all the potential accidents that can occur, they can take the right steps and, naturally, reduce the impact of electrical incidents in the workplace. Here are some key points to keep in mind:

• Labeling/Signage: Clearly label electrical panels and potential hazards.
• Lockout/Tagout (LOTO): Use tags and locks for maintenance to prevent unexpected energization.
• PPE: Wear voltage-rated tools and arc-rated clothing when working near energized parts.
• Shut-off Knowledge: Ensure all staff know the location of the main electrical shut-off.
• Fire Safety: Keep fire extinguishers easily accessible. Never Use Water: Water conducts electricity and will worsen the fire or cause electrocution

Ensure Electrical Safety With Creative Safety Supply

Having an electrical safety checklist acts as a guideline to ensure everything in your workplace is operating as it should. At Creative Safety Supply, we offer a free safety checklist, which consists of 16 essential steps for completing an electrical inspection. We also provide reliable products, like PPE, safety signs, and labels that meet OSHA standards. With us at your back, you’re building a workplace with electrical safety.