Two out of the 10 most frequent Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) violations are related to electrical safety. While this is serious for every industry, this can be particularly dire for industries like healthcare. Healthcare facilities make uptime particularly necessary when it is related to patient care and must test and maintain their infrastructure in case of emergency, like a natural disaster.
When violations occur, not only are employees put in jeopardy, but an unsafe workplace can directly impact the bottom line. In 2016, businesses spent $170 billion on workplace injuries and illnesses — expenditures that come straight out of company profit. Critical facility owners are realizing the depth of consequences they face when there are gaps in their electrical safety compliance program.
Following these best practices will help you avoid the repercussions of non-compliance and reap benefits well beyond your safety organization.
Know what OSHA requires
Because regulatory requirements are ever-changing and new ones continue to be developed, we often hear from customers how staying abreast of it all is a challenge, especially when the responsibility for compliance is dispersed among different departments, sites, and geographic regions. Having disparate requirements for what may be disconnected systems can lead to costly and dangerous oversights.
While best practice is to partner with regulatory experts who can support your electrical safety compliance program, there are a few key standards from the National Fire Protection Association with which all owners and operators should be familiar: National Electrical Code (NFPA 70), Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace (NFPA 70E) and Recommended Practice for Electrical Equipment Maintenance (NFPA 70B).
OSHA looks to the prescriptive-based requirements of these and other standards to fulfill the performance-based requirements included in its standards.
Assess the status quo
Developing a plan to ensure electrical safety compliance is nearly impossible unless you know the current state of your business. A comprehensive assessment will allow you to identify areas of risk or non-compliance.
This assessment should go way beyond just taking inventory of equipment. Along with understanding all the assets of your electrical distribution system, the condition of those assets and the design of the system should be reviewed. Additionally, you may want to connect with key site personnel to thoroughly understand the standard operating procedures and maintenance practices of each facility. Information collected from this type of assessment can then be used to develop a plan for achieving electrical safety compliance.
Mitigate arc flash
With critical facility operations seeing higher system voltages and higher available fault current, a major portion of any electrical safety compliance effort will include working to protect employees from the dangers of arc flash. Not only can arc flash incidents cause severe injury or death, but they can also disrupt business, damage equipment, lead to legal liability, increase insurance premiums, damage a company’s reputation, and result in regulatory fines. An arc flash risk assessment is paramount to electrical safety and is, in fact, a requirement of NFPA 70E.
Perform preventive maintenance
Regular inspection and testing of your electrical system ensure system integrity and optimal operation, and it is required. NFPA 70E stipulates that equipment owners are responsible for maintaining electrical equipment per manufacturers’ instructions or industry consensus standards. Furthermore, electrical equipment maintenance must encompass protective devices to ensure they can adequately withstand or interrupt available fault current. These maintenance activities must be documented and maintained.
Empower employees
To protect themselves, their coworkers, and the overall business, employees must be empowered through effective training. They need to understand the existence, nature, and causes of electrical hazards and the methods for preventing them.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports nearly 1,800 electrical injuries in 2016, many of which can be mapped back to insufficient training, which fails to follow appropriate procedures or take necessary precautions on the job. Additionally, inadequate worker knowledge remains a key contributor to unnecessary equipment failures and unplanned shutdowns.
Training employees is not just a good idea for improving safety, it is required by OSHA and NFPA. Both groups guide the type and frequency of training required to ensure electrical workers are qualified.
Get it in writing
Utilizing full knowledge of the pertinent NFPA documents, along with IEEE standards, develop a concise plan for your electrical system that includes permit information, safety checklists, standard operating procedures, lockout/tagout plans, and emergency protocols. Having all the documentation ready for your employees helps ensure everyone is aligned.
Don’t stop
The shifting and ever-changing regulatory environment around health and safety are causing owners and operators to adopt new strategies to ensure electrical safety compliance. Especially for larger organizations with complex infrastructure, it has become clear that compliance isn’t a project with a start and finish. It is an endless responsibility.
Compliance efforts need to be ongoing, align with organizational goals, and become part of the fabric of your business. When they do, you’ll see benefits beyond just the safety organization. Financial benefits alone include fewer legal fees and fines, reduced healthcare insurance costs, and a better ability to forecast operational expenses.
A well-managed compliance program also bridges the gap between maintenance, engineering, and environmental health and safety (EHS). All teams are better equipped at mitigating business liabilities. They can minimize the burdens of occupational injuries or other disasters that generate negative public relations, thus creating an improved image and culture over time.
Find a partner
Developing and managing an ongoing electrical safety compliance program takes expertise, and in many cases, dedicated resources. These types of resources aren’t always available internally, especially for organizations that face continued pressure to do more with less.
Ideally, you’ll want to find a partner that not only stays abreast of changing codes and regulations but one that has the breadth of services needed to manage all your electrical safety compliance needs. A single-source for program management eliminates the risk of missed compliance deadlines and ensures continued compliance that creates a safer environment for all employees regardless of geography.
