It is hard to believe, but 2012 is almost over. Last November, I wrote on the Electrical and
Product Safety blog about the top safety mistakes that I observed in 2011. Instead of looking at mistakes in 2012, I am
going to look at both “good” and “not so good” observations related to
electrical and product safety.
In the not so good category, my observations are follows:
·
Not designing or purchasing equipment that
minimizes electrical hazards during operation or maintenance (repeat from last
year)
·
Not using basic statistical techniques to
determine equipment safety and reliability (repeat from last year)
·
Not using basic statistical techniques to
identify vendor performance – more of quality problem than a safety problem,
but still an important observation
·
Not fully understanding the design parameters
associated with equipment
·
Organizations struggling with defining and
implementing regular maintenance of electrical infrastructure equipment
·
Organizations struggling with management of
change processes
·
More people are aware of hazards associated with
working on or near exposed live (energized) equipment
·
More people are asking for their equipment to be
analyzed by safety experts
·
More people are participating in various type of
webinars or classroom training associated with all aspects of safety
·
More organizations are conducting shock and arc
flash hazard analysis of their electrical equipment
·
ElectricalProductSafety.blogspot.com has had a
large increase in readers
In 2013 I plan on branching out from the requirements of
NFPA 70E into other items associated with electrical and product safety. I plan on looking at the design of equipment
and applications. Some of the topics
will examine requirements from standards while others will be “best
practices”.
As you start thinking about your electrical and product
safety goals for 2013, I would like to leave with one thought from a
manufacturing colleague of mine from many years ago. That thought is “What gets measured, gets
done”.
When you make you safety goals for 2013 (or anytime), make
sure that these goals can be measured and do not be afraid to display your
metrics.
Have a Safe and Happy New Year!
