Safety Measures while Working with Electrical Machines

When operating electrical machines for the first time, the operator or user should be careful to avoid accidents.

Based on the experience of many experts, some rules and regulations have been made for handling electrical appliances. In industry, an inquiry is normally ordered for an electrical accident. Items carrying electricity should be properly insulated. The aging of insulation reduces its withstand capacity and should not allow it to leak current. Switching contacts and point contacts should be checked periodically for sparking and point heating.

Electrical machines safety

Important Preventive Measures to Avoid Electric Accidents:

1. All metallic parts, externally accessible, must always be earthed.
2. No inflammable materials must be kept near electrical appliances, electric line wires, or electric control panels.
3. Electric safety devices like fuses and circuit breakers that trip too often must always be used wherever required.
4. All defective and worn-out electric fittings must be replaced in a timely manner.
5. Untrained persons should not be allowed to repair electrical faults of a machine or device.
6. The electrician must use safety belts, helmets, rubber gloves, boots with rubber soles, and other safety items while repairing, dealing with, or working with high voltage. All electrical mechanics should be provided with these appliances.
7. Overloading of an electrical circuit must be avoided.
8. When not in use for a long time, the electrical appliances must be disconnected from the main supply.
9. The main power supply should always be switched off during maintenance work. Only an authorized person should be allowed to switch the power supply on and off.
10. One should avoid touching the metal case of any electrical apparatus when it is in operation.
11. The proper type of wiring should always be provided in all locations.
12. Electrical inspection should be done periodically to detect any damage.
13. Always avoid overloading at any single point.
14. Good standards of safety items must be maintained as per norms.

Even though, while following the above preventive measures while working with electrical machines, a person might receive an electric shock due to some kind of negligence, the following steps must be taken to save a victim's life from an electric accident.

If a victim stops breathing after the electric shock, one should remove all sorts of obstructions from the mouth of the victim. Then, he/she should sit on his/her knees near the head of the victim and keep both hands on his/her collarbone in such a way that the thumbs of both hands touch each other and the fingers remain open. He/she should press the back of the patient slowly, release the pressure on the back, and move up to the shoulders by sliding palms. Then, the victim should be pulled upward by holding the patient’s arm between his elbows and shoulders. This process is repeated until the patient starts breathing himself. By following the above steps, a victim’s life can be saved from electric accidents.