Electrical Safety Management

This paper is based on the premise that the most effective design and implementation of an electrical safety program can best be achieved through a collaborative effort of a multidiscipline team. The breadth of expertise should include: electrical specialists expert in design, construction, operation, maintenance and demolition of electrical equipment and systems; safety professionals knowledgeable in safety management systems; financial managers responsible for bid assessment and purchase of equipment; and business managers responsible for goal setting, resource allocation, and business systems integration. This collaboration can help ensure proven safety management principles and practices applicable to any hazard in the workplace are appropriately incorporated in an electrical safety program. This paper discusses ANSI Z10–2005, Occupational Safety & Health Management Systems (harmonized with CSA Z1000–2006, Occupational Safety & Health Management and other internationally recognized safety management systems standards) as the framework for benchmarking existing programs and for designing and implementing a state of the art electrical safety program. It outlines the critical importance of incorporating within this framework the requirements of industry standards, such as NFPA 70E– 2009, Standard for Workplace Electrical Safety and CSA Z462–2008, Workplace Electrical Safety and other recognized industry standards to achieve a comprehensive program based on proven safety management principles.