The requirements of the factory concern, or, in a word, the satisfactory working of the several machines of a general nature and other things; at the same time being even more ticklish, and capable of doing weird vagaries and shock to the operator to the danger of the whole concern and serious injurious fire to building and property. A stop of the current in the factory will leave that whole factory in a woefully helpless state. The observance on the part of your men in charge of the electrical part of certain conditions of safety to themselves, and little embarrassment in keeping that superintended and polished machines and sidetracked thing will well repay.
We will group briefly a few special appliances for electric systems in factories. These apply to the installation, as well as to the periodic inspection that can be best adapted to securing a rounded complete protection of the apparatus itself.
- An Inspection of the Entire System Thoroughly.
See to it that all the system is gone over. That is, the powerpanels, circuits, wirings and lines, ground connections, fuses and other protective switches. Such inspections should be made by a competent electrician and should result in discovering:
- Loose connections that are liable to heat
- Free wires leading favouring short circuiting, and shocks, and
- Overloaded terminals favouring dangerous short circuits of burning out the entire factory system.
Corroded wiring that may break the contact.Starting out like this on the right road you will keep out of harm’s way and maybe not get put out.
Grounding/Grounding and Bonding
Grounding provides a “way out” for stray electric current so it doesn’t have to enter your body to return to the earth! Bonding electric interconnects all the metallic covers of your electrical appliances; if not connected electrically there’s a potential difference in voltage strong enough to shock you. In factories, Grounding and bonding shall comply with the national safety codes and shall be tested periodically for worthiness. Properly grounded electrical panels and machinery and equipment will quickly gather mischief in their cute little arms instead of leaving you to get the shock treatment.
Modernize Circuit Protection Devices
Old style circuit protection devices, fuse and dummy breaker, only do a shabby job of protecting against modern day hazards.
To. How do you make lemonade’s?
To. Automatic?
To. Guard against these hazardous situations, modernize with circuit protection devices:
Residual Current Circuit Breakers Cut Out: RCCC’s detect leakage currents and cut out the power when a fault is detected reducing the chance of electric shocks and fiery situations!
Miniature Circuit Breakers Cut to Occupy Minus: Fast acting MCB’s specially for overcurrent cut out use!
Surge Protection Devices (SPDs): Also protect electrical appliances from concentric spikes into the power that are occasioned by landing bolts, and surge power also preventing irreparable damage.While these kinds of devices do improve the factor of safety somewhat, they also reduce the glare when a whole battalion of monitors fire at once on a fault, because they respond to it a whole lot quicker.
Wiring Correctly, and Physics
Trailing leads not heavy enough for the load or too bad, leads in a ball of cable which sooner or later shorts if the lead is of low quality, overheats, and produces a fire.
Whatever cables are in use have been wired according to the national and, if applicable, international specifications and well insulated. But these two aren’t enough. Conductors
Correct weight per foot for load;
Quality cable. No crummy cable;
Good cable placement, that is, no mechanical wear or frayed cables and no breaking loose;
Separate all electrical and control wires to prevent interference with each other, and reduce the chance of fault in it.Check it periodically, safely ensuring no leads have become frayed and are not pulling apart from each other and out of, out of, or short into, the devices themselves. If you don’t have fault protection they will have to do a “Power to the People!” campaign in the plant.
Providing Adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
We’ve all heard of methods for making the electrical system more safe, but what about the PPE for the poor schmoes who have to work on it?PPE should be chosen in accordance with what type of dangerous electricity specifically must be guarded against at the factory; insulated gloves for sure, but all of the following seems wise to keep on hand according to circumstances.: - Arc flash suits, shields, anything that can protect bodies from the high temps and light flash of an arc at a dead line being re-energized.
- Safety goggles. Good to protect eyes from wires that fly off and foreign material that might get nervous while repair is going on.
- Rubber soled boots for gound device shock protection. Train employees in proper use and maintenance of PPE so they will be able to give themselves proper protection in electrical emergencies.
Conduct Regular Training and Safety Protocols
Training of employees is another area that is likely to be weaker than it should, be for factories to have electrical systems that are safe. Training protocols should include:
Safe work procedures in and around electrical equipment.
How to recognize risk like exposed wiring, overloaded circuits or malfunctioning electrical equipment.
Lockout/tagout or other procedure to insure equipment is not accidentally energized when being repaired or otherwise serviced.
Procedures to be followed in electrical accidents, including first aid for electric shock as well as flame/explosion hazards.Safety drills teaching the above procedures should be done at regular intervals so employees have the chance to be become familiar with them, and at ease. A presenting of all of these types of protocols, then reinforcing by way of training exercises by employees would help give a generalized feeling of safety.
- Install and Maintain “Continuous monitoring” Electrical Safety Monitoring Equipment
Besides training employees in safe practice and protocols, you might be able to improve electrical safety by installing “continuous monitoring” type equipment that will warn/cut walk-motion when things get out of hand.
Examples of electrical safety monitoring devices:
Power monitoring devices detect abnormal voltage, current draw, power quality
Thermal monitoring devices detect overtemperature in equipment and wiring
Leakage current detection look for dangerous electrical “leakage”
Be diligent as to maintenance and calibration of all monitoring devices. - Electrical Gear Regular Maintenance
For your factory electrical system to operate safely, electrical gear should be “serviced” on a regular basis. Transformer gear, circuit breaker gear, other switchgear. Keep inspection records. A sampling of maintenance/servicing items:
Electrical panels cleaned. Dust, dirt interferes with gear.
Insulation resistance tests. Wire/equipment not damaged or humid.
Lubricating moving parts of electrical switch gear.
Worn fuse or breaker pack changes out.
Spotting and fixing trouble before it happens in maintenance and servicing could mean the difference between lost time and lost money, and an accident to make it all happen in the first place, an electrical failure. - Compliance of All Electrical Gear, Heavy and Light
Finally, your factory system need comply with locally and internationally sanctioned law as well. Making compliance of your factory’s electrical system with local and international safety standards is no small feat. Thankful for those it protects, when they’re done, they ensure a safe working environment for workers, and help cover some of the mad bureaucracy fines for violations of laws which protect them. As a guide, do as standards promulgated by such organizations as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in this country, and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes. IEC sets standards worldwide.
Annual audits will be done by a certified safety officer, and manufacturers of equipment like world concern Westland Power and Light will duly produce legal statistics which will typify the state of the local environment in your factory.
