Safely Testing For Absence of Voltage A New Way To Improve Electrical Safety Programs WHITE PAPER
More Meaningful Connections De-energizing equipment, following adequate lockout/tagout procedures, and verifying the absence of voltage are key components to establishing an effective foundation for an electrical safety program. Even though there has been significant progress in bringing awareness to electrical hazards in the workplace and the importance of establishing a strong electrical safety program, the electrical injury rate remains stable.
More Meaningful Connections The Rate of Electrical Injuries Exposure to electricity continues to be a leading cause of injury and death among workers. Violations of electrical standards and lockout/tagout procedures were two of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) top ten most frequently cited standards in 2017.1 Data from the U.S.
More Meaningful Connections Testing for Absence of Voltage Using a Hand-held Device Verifying the absence of voltage is part of the process to establish an electrically safe work condition. Even after de-energizing equipment and following lockout/tagout procedures, workers must treat equipment as if it is energized until proven otherwise. The process to verify that equipment is de-energized is described in NFPA 70E.
More Meaningful Connections Human Error Devices that require workers to manually select settings and use interchangeable test leads are susceptible to user error. Not only could this produce erroneous readings, it may cause injury if the leads are not properly installed or applied to the correct test point. Rating of Test Instruments With portable equipment, it is important to ensure that the test instrument is rated for the application.
More Meaningful Connections the tester, during the test if the panel is not de-energized, and after the test when re-verifying the hand-held tester. Because an enclosure must be accessed while performing the voltage verification test with a hand-held test instrument, there is potential for significant risk of exposure to electrical hazards.
More Meaningful Connections VeriSafe AVT – The Safe, Efficient, Accurate Way to Verify The VeriSafe AVT safely, reliably, and efficiently verifies the absence of voltage before workers access potentially dangerous electrical equipment. This results in a significant increase in worker safety when verifying the absence of voltage in electrical equipment and can reliably be done in a fraction of the time compared to portable testers.
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