Case Study
A 30-year-old male electrical technician was helping a company service representative test the voltage-regulating unit on a new rolling mill. While the electrical technician went to get the equipment service manual, the service representative opened the panel cover of the voltage regulator's control cabinet in preparation to trace the low-voltage wiring in question (the wiring was not color-coded).
The service representative climbed onto a nearby cabinet in order to view the wires. The technician returned and began working inside the control cabinet, near exposed, energized electrical conductors. The technician tugged the low-voltage wires while the service representative tried to identify them from above.
Suddenly, the representative heard the victim making a gurgling sound and looked down to see the victim shaking as though he were being shocked. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was administered to the victim about 10 minutes later. He was pronounced dead almost 2 hours later as a result of his contact with an energized electrical conductor.
To prevent an incident like this, employers should take the following steps:
- Establish proper rules and procedures on how to access electrical control cabinets without getting hurt.
- Make sure all employees know the importance of de-energizing (shutting off) electrical systems before performing repairs.
- Equip voltage-regulating equipment with color-coded wiring.
- Train workers in CPR.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
1-6. To prevent electrocution, what should workers do before performing repair work on electrical systems?
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