177 Healthcare: Electrical Safety

Other OSHA Standards

There are many other relevant OSHA Standards for electrical safety in the healthcare industry:

Here are examples to illustrate OSHA’s electrical safety standards:

• Access and Space Around Equipment (29 CFR 1910.303(g)(1))

  Example: In a hospital maintenance room, a circuit breaker panel must have a clear area of at least 3 feet in front of it to allow workers to safely operate and service the panel without obstruction.

• Grounding Electrical Equipment Near Water (29 CFR 1910.304(g)(6)(vi))

  Example: In a healthcare facility's patient bathroom, an outlet near the sink must be equipped with a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) to prevent electric shocks in wet conditions.

• Training on Plugging/Unplugging Energized Equipment (29 CFR 1910.334(a)(5)(i))

  Example: Healthcare workers must be trained never to unplug a medical monitor if their hands are wet from washing, as this could result in electric shock.

To learn more about electrical safety in the workplace, check out OSHAcademy courses 115 Electrical Safety for Employees: Basic, 615 Electrical Safety: Hazards and Controls, and 715 Electrical Safety for Technicians and Supervisors.

Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.