Only 29 percent of employees believe that most employers offer adequate electrical safety training. Most others feel their companies don’t do enough to mitigate different safety hazards. They claim they don’t know how to prevent accidents and how to handle injuries. So, what can your company do to cover this safety information gap? Read on to discover the essential components of an effective electrical safety training program.
Comprehensive Understanding of Electrical Hazards
The foundation of an effective electrical safety training program is in-depth coverage of electrical hazards. Employees should be educated on dangers associated with electricity and electrical equipment. These include, shocks, burns, electrocutions and arc flashes.
The program must cover both direct contact with electrical sources and indirect exposure. Boost understanding by using real-life examples.
Compliance with Regulatory Standards
Enhancing workplace safety requires adhering to industry regulations and standards. Your electrical safety training program should cover these things. It should educate employees on safety bodies like OSHA. They need to learn the role of these organizations and how complying with their regulations enhances electrical safety.
Some of these organizations also have various safety training programs. Consider borrowing training ideas from them.
Identifying and Assessing Electrical Risks
An effective electrical safety training program should educate workers on identifying potential hazards. They need to build skills in recognizing work-out equipment, faulty wiring, ungrounded outlets and overloaded circuits. They need to know the proper actions to take after identifying these dangers.
The goal is to caution them against ignoring potential electrical hazards, as this can lead to accidents.
Lockout Tagout Procedures
One common electrical danger companies face is accidental energization of electrical equipment during repairs or maintenance. Your electrical safety training program should tackle this hazard. It should introduce employees to lockout tagout procedures. They need to learn how to lock out electrical systems, place appropriate tags, and verify that the energy source is de-energized.
Employees who properly adhere to these procedures prevent accidents, enhancing workplace safety.
Use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Your company can improve safety by investing in personal protective equipment (PPE). Unfortunately, without proper training some employees might feel the PPE are unnecessary. Others may not know the right way to use them. Your electrical safety training program should have a section that focuses on PPE.
It should guide employees on their importance and the proper way to use them. Once workers learn that PPE can save their lives, they are more likely to use it. Besides, they can educate new employees on their uses, enhancing electrical safety at your workplace.
Emergency Response and First Aid
Many employees do not know what to do after an electrical accident. They often do things that endangers their lives. So, when developing an electrical safety program, dedicated a section for emergency response and first aid.
Carry out drills to reinforce the training and equip workers with hands-on skills.
Conclusion
You can create an effective electrical safety training program by adding all the above components. Take things a step further by consulting a professional organization. Request them to review your program and guide you on ways to improve it.