Florida State University - Center for Advanced Power Systems
Electrical Safety Policy for Researchers – Revision 1
STATEMENT:
The purpose of this policy is to provide a safe work environment for personnel, students,
and visitors who work on or near electrical equipment. The policy is based on the
National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) – Standard 70E. The policy will establish
responsibilities and rules for safe guarding and working on or near electrical equipment.
Electrical work for research purposes includes all research related work performed by
personnel, students, or visitors. Work performed by maintenance personnel, such as
electricians in the facilities department, is not covered by this policy.
DEFINITIONS (as provided by NFPA 70E):
Voltage ratings are DC or AC-RMS.
Approach Boundary Designated area around that is established around exposed
energized parts. The approach boundary shall be accessible only to
qualified personnel.
Low Voltage
Operating at 50 volts or less (0-50V)
Medium Voltage
Operating between 50 and 600 volts (50V-600V)
High Voltage
Operating at 600 volts or more (600V and greater)
Energized Parts
Exposed Parts
Electrically connected to or having a source of voltage.
Capable of being inadvertently touched or approached nearer than
a safe distance by a person. Parts that are suitably guarded (i.e by
a proper cover, fence, or equivalent), insulated or isolated are not
considered exposed.
NFPA 70E
National Fire Protection Association standard that addresses the
electrical safety requirements that are necessary for the practical
safeguarding of employees.
PPE
Personal Protective Equipment
Personnel
Any CAPS employee, student, or visitor
Working Near Parts Working near an energized part means approaching an exposed
energized part closer than the approach boundary.
Qualified Personnel Personnel, students or visitors that have received Classroom AND
Job Specific Safety Training for a particular lab. Note: A person
could be qualified to work in lab A, but not lab B because they did
not receive job specific safety training for lab B.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
CAPS Administration and Safety Coordinator
The CAPS administrators and safety coordinator shall:
• Establish and maintain policies regarding electrical safety.
• Provide electrical safety training to CAPS personnel, students and visitors.
FSU-CAPS Electrical Safety Policy for Researchers – Revision 1 (August 31, 2007)
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Provide electrical safety equipment to CAPS personnel, students and visitors.
Enforce safety policies and work procedures applicable to electrical research.
Establish lab specific procedures for electrically safe work practices for each
CAPS laboratory where required.
Address any electrical safety issue brought forth by CAPS personnel, students or
visitors.
Supervisors and Principal Investigators
Supervisors and Principal Investigators shall:
• Understand and follow CAPS policies and required work practices regarding
electrical safety.
• Develop lab specific safety procedures for their lab areas if required.
• Ensure that appropriate personal protective equipment is available in their lab area
and is in good working condition.
• Ensure that their employees and students are trained on and understand CAPS
policies and required work practices regarding electrical safety.
• Ensure that their employees and students understand the electrical hazards
associated with work in their research lab.
• Ensure that their employees and students follow CAPS electrical safety policies
and lab specific safety procedures.
Personnel, Students and Visitor Responsibility
CAPS personnel, students, and visitors shall:
• Adhere to the electrical safety rules and work practices described in this policy.
• Follow electrical lab safety procedures posted in each laboratory.
• Communicate any electrical safety issues to their supervisor, principal
investigator, or safety coordinator.
LAB SPECIFIC SAFETY PROCEDURES:
Lab Specific Safety Procedure Postings
Lab specific safety procedures are a set of work procedures posted in each laboratory in
the CAPS building. The postings will set forth safe work procedures for all types of
hazards in the lab area, including rotating machinery, cryogenics, electrical, and any other
type of stored energy. The postings set forth electrically safe work practices as well as
detailed step-by-step procedures where required (i.e. for the shutdown and set-up of
electrical experiments or specialized equipment). The postings shall dictate what
personal protective equipment (PPE) is required and when to use the PPE. The postings
shall include emergency response procedures and laboratory contact and emergency
phone numbers. The postings shall be mounted on a wall or door in each laboratory area
and be in clear view and easily readable.
FSU-CAPS Electrical Safety Policy for Researchers – Revision 1 (August 31, 2007)
Creating Lab Specific Safety Procedure Postings
A work hazard inspection team shall perform a work hazard analysis for each research
laboratory. The work hazard analysis shall include inspections for electric shock, arc
blasts, electrical fire hazards, as well as non-electrical hazards, such as cryogenics,
rotating equipment or stored mechanical energy. The team will then establish and
document the general safe work practices and any necessary laboratory procedures. The
team will also evaluate the need for any personal protective equipment (PPE) and/or
special tools and ensure the availability in each laboratory.
The work hazard inspection team shall consist of:
• CAPS Safety Coordinator
• CAPS Senior Electrical Engineer or Senior Electrician
• CAPS Specialist for non-electrical hazard as required
• Principal Investigator/Supervisor for the research lab
Adherence to Lab Procedure Postings
The procedures and safe work practices described in the postings shall be followed by all
personnel, students, and visitors working in the lab area. It is the responsibility
PI/supervisor of the lab area to ensure that the personnel, students, and visitors are trained
on and understand the work policies set forth in the lab posting.
In the event that any personnel, student, or visitor found to be bypassing procedures or
not following electrically safe work practices, power to the research equipment will be
shut-off and locked out by the safety coordinator. That person’s access to the lab will be
removed. If the work practices demonstrated by the personnel, student, or visitor are due
to lack of understanding of lab safety procedures, they must be re-trained on the lab
procedures and general safe work practices before lab access to is restored.
ELECTRICAL SAFETY TRAINING
Required Types of Electrical Safety Training:
• Classroom Safety Training - CAPS personnel, students, and visitors who will be
working on or near energized electrical equipment for research purposes shall
attend the Electrical Safety Training provided by FSU-Environmental Health and
Safety office. The classroom safety training topics shall include general electrical
safety concepts, general electrical safe work practices required when working at
CAPS, basic hands on electrical skills, and emergency response procedures.
Contact the CAPS safety coordinator to schedule training.
• Job Specific Safety Training - CAPS personnel, students, and visitors who will
work on or near energized electrical equipment for research purposes shall receive
job specific training by their PI/supervisor or other qualified trainer as determined
by the safety coordinator. This training will cover the posted lab specific safety
procedures, including lock-out and emergency shut-down procedures. The trainee
shall demonstrate safe work practices and the proper use of personal protective
equipment (PPE). Upon completion of job specific safety training, inform the
CAPS safety coordinator.
FSU-CAPS Electrical Safety Policy for Researchers – Revision 1 (August 31, 2007)
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Subsequent training can entail either or both of the Classroom and Job Specific
Safety Training, as required by the safety coordinator and the person’s
PI/Supervisor.
Initial Training
CAPS personnel, students, and visitors who will be working on or near energized
electrical equipment for research purposes shall be:
• Trained to understand the hazards associated with electricity and trained on safety
related general work practices as given in the Classroom Safety Training.
• Trained on lab specific electrical safety procedures necessary to provide
protection from the electrical hazards associated with their work.
Subsequent Training
CAPS personnel, students, and visitors who will be working on or near energized
electrical equipment for research purposes shall:
• Receive subsequent training as deemed necessary by their PI/supervisor.
• Receive subsequent training if the person demonstrates a lack of understanding of
laboratory safety procedures.
• Receive additional lab specific training before working in a different lab area if
necessary.
GENERAL SAFE ELECTRICAL WORK PRACTICES:
The general safe electrical work practices described here shall be followed while working
in a CAPS research laboratory.
General Electrical Work Rules:
• Work practices shall conform to NFPA 70E – Standard for Electrical Safety in the
Workplace
Note: The following electrical work rules are in accordance with NFPA 70E.
• Only qualified personnel shall work on or near energized electrical parts.
• Personnel, students or visitors shall not work on or near exposed energized parts.
Qualified personnel may work on or near exposed energized parts only to test to
ensure that the parts are safe to be worked (i.e. to ensure that the parts are deenergized) on or to trouble shoot a circuit.
• When testing if parts are de-energized or trouble shooting a circuit, the qualified
person must wear appropriate PPE, use appropriately insulated tools, and follow
laboratory safety procedures.
• Parts are considered safe to be worked on when they have been physically
isolated from the voltage source (including stored energy devices) and have been
tested by adequate measurement devices to ensure they are de-energized.
• When working on or near energized parts, there must be at least two qualified
people working. In the case that one gets injured, the other can help.
• All exposed energized parts shall be made inaccessible to unqualified personnel.
FSU-CAPS Electrical Safety Policy for Researchers – Revision 1 (August 31, 2007)
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Approach boundaries shall be established where exposed energized parts exist
that could be accessible to unqualified personnel. Approach boundaries shall be
established according to NFPA 70E. Only qualified personnel are permitted to
work within any approach boundary. PPE must be worn when working within
approach boundaries.
Research lab areas that have exposed energized parts at any voltage level shall
post safety signs to warn other personnel about the electrical hazards in that lab
area.
Barricades shall be used in conjunction with safety signs where it is necessary to
prevent or limit access to work areas containing exposed energized parts.
When performing maintenance on, setting up or modifying electrical equipment,
the power source must be disconnected from the equipment and locked-out by a
qualified person. Each person who will work on the equipment must apply their
own lock to the power source. The lock-out procedure described in the following
section shall be followed. After de-energizing and locking out the equipment, a
qualified person shall test the equipment and verify that it is safe to be worked on.
No food or drink is permitted in lab areas.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE):
• PPE shall be worn in accordance with NFPA 70E.
• PPE shall be worn while working on or near exposed energized equipment. At a
minimum, personnel shall wear insulated gloves, long sleeve shirt, long pants,
close-toed shoes, and safety glasses. Clothing materials shall be made from nonmelting materials. More dangerous electrical hazards may require a higher level
of PPE.
• The work hazard inspection team shall analyze electrical hazards in each
laboratory and determine the required PPE to be worn. The necessary PPE shall
be included in the lab specific safety procedure posting.
• PPE shall be supplied by the CAPS safety coordinator or the laboratory
PI/supervisor.
• PPE shall be inspected for damage prior to each use.
Lock-out Procedure
• Electrical lock-out is a method to control the source of electrical energy so as to
minimize employee exposure to electrical hazards.
• The work hazard inspection team will determine the need for lab specific lock-out
procedures, develop the procedures, and include the procedures in the lab safety
procedures postings.
• Personnel, students, and visitors must understand and follow the posted lock-out
procedures in their lab area.
• Application of lock-outs shall include a tag indicating who applied the lock-out.
• Locks and tags for lock-outs will be provided by the safety coordinator or the
laboratory PI/supervisor.
• If any personnel encounter a piece of equipment that has been de-energized and
locked-out, that person shall not attempt to remove the lock/tag or attempt to
FSU-CAPS Electrical Safety Policy for Researchers – Revision 1 (August 31, 2007)
energize the equipment. This is to ensure the safety of the person(s) that applied
the lock-out.
EMERGENCY PROCEDURES:
• Lab specific emergency procedures shall be included in the Lab Specific Safety
Procedure postings.
• If someone experiences a serious electrical injury, resulting in a severe shock,
unconsciousness, serious fall, any type of burn, etc., the person should get
medical attention immediately. Call 911.
• Minor injuries, including shocks, may still need medical attention. Contact the
lab PI/supervisor or CAPS safety coordinator immediately.
• Personnel working in the lab area shall be qualified and have demonstrated
understanding of the lab specific emergency response procedures.
• The Emergency response procedures shall include:
o Proper equipment shut-down methods
o Emergency power shut-off
o Medical response methods
o Emergency contact numbers
• After an electrical incident, the personnel involved shall contact the lab
PI/supervisor and the CAPS safety coordinator.
• After an electrical incident, the work hazard analysis team shall conduct an
investigation of the incident, document the incident and findings, adjust
laboratory procedures, and determine the amount of retraining for the personnel
involved.
FSU-CAPS Electrical Safety Policy for Researchers – Revision 1 (August 31, 2007)