News | 7th October 2020

Reasons to train in safe isolation procedures

Near miss and potentially deadly encounters with electrical systems are daily workplace realities, especially across the construction, facilities management and manufacturing industries. Tragically, system workers and users can become victims of shock or electrocution. Absence of, or failure to comply with, approved safe isolation procedures and practices is one of the main reasons for injury, disablement, and fatalities on construction sites and shop floors.

Complacency, ignorance, or lack of safe isolation training are factors that contribute to increased Health & Safety, legal liability, and moral risks. How would you defend your business, protect your liability, or speak to a worker’s dependents affected by an electrical injury? We believe that the safe isolation of an electrical system is best carried out by an experienced and qualified electrician. A qualified electrician is equipped with necessary baseline technical knowledge and is more likely to possess the required equipment to carry out safe isolation procedures. However, it is recognised that other workers, e.g. facilities management and extra low voltage workers, are often required to attend to electrically energised equipment when a qualified electrician may not be available. ETT’s safe isolation course will address the scope and limits of safe isolation for such workers.

Who Should Attend?

• Other operatives

Workers operating in the facilities management, building maintenance and on extra low voltage systems, e.g. Fire Alarm, Security, Lift and Escalator Industries are also likely to benefit from safe isolation training. ETT’s safe isolation training will help these workers develop additional skills and knowledge, helping to reduce risk and improve health and safety outcomes.

Please note: It is the employer’s responsibility to establish whether these workers are competent for the work to be undertaken. We recommend that the employer completes a personal development strategy, including an initial assessment of the employee’s suitability for the training. A periodic review by the employer of how well the training is being applied in the workplace should also be carried out.

• Qualified electricians

ETT’s safe isolation course will strengthen existing knowledge and practice for those already qualified and working in the electrical industry. Unfortunately, working live and unsafely is not uncommon in the industry. Complacency and pressures to get the job done quickly can lead to increase risk of injury or fatality.

What participants Learn

Course participants can expect to be brought up to date with current legislative requirements around electrical safety and become refreshed or informed about “best practice” steps towards protecting themselves, others, and property from the dangerous effects of workplace electricity.
We will demonstrate how to select, check, and operate safe isolation equipment within the scope of safe systems of work procedures.
At the end of the course, participants will be assessed to determine if they have understood the equipment’s operation and the application of the safe isolation procedure.