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Safety in the electrical and electronic laboratory, as everywhere else, is a matter of the knowledge of potential hazards, following safety precautions and common sense.
Observing safety precautions is vitally important due to pronounced hazards in any electrical electronic engineering laboratory. Death is usually certain when 0.1 ampere or more flows through the head or upper thorax and have been fatal to persons with coronary condition. The current depends on body resistance, the resistance between body and ground, and the voltage source.
If the skin wet, the heart is weak, the body contact with ground is large and direct, and then 40 volts could be fatal. Therefore, never take a change on “low” voltage. When working in a laboratory, injuries such as burns, broken bones, sprains, or damage to eye are possible and precaution must be taken to avoid these as well as the much less common fatal electrical shock.
Always observe the following safety precautions when working in the laboratory.
Do not work alone on energized electrical equipment.
Power must be switched off whenever an experiments or project is being assembled, disassembled, or modified. Discharge any high voltage points to ground with wellinsulated jumper. Remember that capacitors can store dangerous quantities of energy.
Make measurements on live circuits with well insulated probes keeping one hand behind your back. Do not allow any parts of your body to contact any parts of the circuit or equipment connected to the circuit.
Don’t operate (power-on) any circuit or equipment before consulting your instructor.
Never use uncovered wires,if part of the wire is uncovered never touch it while power on.
Do not leave the unused equipment and wires in operation.
Never touch electrical equipment while standing on a damp or metal floor.
Never leave unused probes connected to the equipment.
Never handle wet, damp, or ungrounded electrical equipments, make sure all AC/DC motor, generator, transformer and other electrical machines is grounded.
Make sure that the instruments plugged in and wires are properly fitted.

Organize your circuit set-up and wiring. If possible use different colors for the hot lines or ground lines and plug in the equipment to the proper outlet voltage.
Never plunge for a falling parts of a live circuit such as leads or measuring equipment.
Never touch two pieces of equipment simultaneously.
Never touch even on wire of a circuit it my be hot.
Avoid heat-dissipating surfaces of high wattage resistors and loads because they can cause severe burns.
Never open field circuit of D.C. motors because the resulting dangerously high speeds may cause a “mechanical explosion”.
Do not be rough in connections of wires; this may damage the inputs terminal of the equipment.
Always in measurement device start with the highest scale (range) and move downwards.
Always choose the appropriate for the job. (Ohmmeter for resistance, ammeter for current, etc).
Do not move or transfer any instrument without the instructor’s permission.
Foods and drinks are not allowed in the lab.
Always wearing shoes in the lab.
Wearing a ring or metal watch can be hazardous in an electrical/electronic lab since such items make good electrodes for the human body.
Horseplay, running or practical jokes must not occur in the laboratory.
Report any damaged equipment to instructor.
Keep clear of rotating machinery, when using rotating machinery, place neckties or necklaces inside your shirt or, better yet, remove them.
Keep your eyes away from arcing points, high intensity arch may seriously impair your vision or a shower of molten copper may cause permanent eye injury.
Never use water on electrical fire. If possible switch power off, then use CO2 or dry type fire extinguisher. Locate extinguisher and read operating instructions before emergency occurs.

Never operate the main circuit breakers on the main panels.
In an emergency all power in the laboratory can be switched off by depressing the large red button on the main breaker panel. Locate it. It is to be used for emergencies only.
IN CASE OF ELECTRICAL SHOCK, SWITCHED OFF THE POWER SUPPLY
FROM THE MAIN PANEL OR DEPRESSING EMERGENCY RED BUTTON FIRST, or knocking the casualty’s limb clear of the contact with a non-conducting implement.
Remove the casualty from the circuit without endangering yourself. If the casualty is unconscious, check breathing if it has stopped, begin mouth-to-mouth ventilation immediately continuing until he/she is revived and have someone dial 999 for assistance, while waiting for ambulance treat the victim for any wounds.
Report any electrical casualty to instructor or the person in charge the laboratory.
Emergency number to contact.
IIUM Clinic: 03-6196 4444
IIUM Security Guard: 03-6196 5555
Dean Office: 03-6196 4407
Ambulance: 999
Police:
Fire Brigade:
JPA 3:
999
994
991
Mohd Khairil Hisham Bin Ab Rajak
Technician
Electromechnical System Laboratory
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering,
Kulliyyah of Engineering
International Islamic University Malaysia.
03-61964000 Ext 3369