The purpose of an Electrical Safety-Related Work Practices Program is to protect workers from the hazards of exposed electrical circuits through training, procedures such as lockout/tagout and the use of personal protective equipment.
Scope and Application
If you have employees working near exposed electrical circuits that operate at 50 volts or more, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that Electrical Safety-Related Work Practices be followed.
Occupations generally affected by this regulation:
- Electrical and electronic engineers
- Electrical and electronic equipment assemblers
- Electrical and electronic technicians
- Electricians
- Industrial machine operators
- Mechanics and repairers
- Painters
- Riggers
- Stationary engineers
- Welders
- Supervisors of the groups listed above
Program Description
Under this rule, OSHA separates workers into two broad groups, “qualified persons” and “unqualified persons”.
Qualified persons are those who have been trained to avoid the electrical hazards of working with exposed energized parts. Unqualified persons have little such training. Supervisors should be aware that the training requirements differ for each group, as do the tasks each is allowed to perform.