safety against electrical hazards 3

[engeeneer]

hello

electrical engineers and others who work with/close to electrical hazards:

how safe do you feel? are you aware of the accident statistics and are you worried about them?

everyone can make a mistake at work, but when dealing with electricity, a mistake can be deadly

do you think you can be 100% safe?

thanks

 

[debodine]

In a universal sense it is impossible to ever be 100% safe. A natural disaster could wipe you out anywhere. But that is not really your question. So starting with the premise that there is no such thing as 100% safe, it sounds like you really want to know can you be safe enough to work around electrical hazards? Can you be safe enough to feel that you have done all you can to mitigate the risks and give yourself the best possible chances of survival?

That depends on several things: How safe do you have to feel to go to work every day without failing to do your job due to fear; how much information can you gather about the hazards; do you have access to personal protective equipment to increase your safety; is the work environment designed to provide reasonable safety if you keep your wits about you; how susceptible are you to mistakes of others that you can't predict but could place you in danger; and how much about the hazards can you not know due to deliberate withholding of information by others? The last, of course, is the old "not knowing what you don't know" as in the four cases of knowledge:

--1 Knowing that you know what you need to know (I have all the information I require...only a theoretical state unless you are God, but you have enough information to proceed safely)

--2 Knowing that you don't know what you need to know (I don't have all the information I require, but I know generally what that missing information entails so I can go get it)

--3 Not knowing what you need to know (I know I am missing some important information but I have not identified yet the scope of what that information entails)

--4 Not knowing what you don't know (I am not even aware that I am missing critical information..this is a theoretical state...you can't be in it if you know you don't know)

I doubt I have helped you at all because your question was so general and I likely missed what is really troubling you.

 

[MacGyverS2000]

Waking up in the morning isn't 100% safe, so what makes you think working with high voltages is?

These threads you're starting are getting tiresome... dump or get off of the pot. You have stated over and over you want an "easy" job, a cush job... engineering isn't for you. Take some steno classes and learn how to answer phones.

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[TheTick]

In the US navy, the #1 cause of death in peacetime is electrocution.

 

[ctopher]

Never 100& safe. There is always human error.
I once saw a guy get zapped by 1000v just by going near an opened power box, wearing a gold watch.
The watch melted to his wrist. He ended up being OK, but permanent burn marks on his arm.

Always remove jewelry when near high voltage.

Chris
SolidWorks 13
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion

 

[IRstuff]

Wear rubber soled shoes and always keep at least one hand in your pockets.

Seriously, though, I suggest you consult a mental health professional. Your obsession with safety is on the verge of making you non-functional. You've posted 6 times, and every thread eventually spiraled into some sort of discussion about safety.

Do you worry about accident statistics when you get in your car or on the bus? LIFE IS A RISKY PROPOSITION. When your mother had you, did she worry about maternal or infant mortality? Get over it, and move on, and get a life.

TTFN
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[zdas04]

Kenat,
Are you replying to a post that was deleted?

David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering

"Belief" is the acceptance of an hypotheses in the absence of data.
"Prejudice" is having an opinion not supported by the preponderance of the data.
"Knowledge" is only found through the accumulation and analysis of data.
The plural of anecdote is not "data"

 

[KENAT]

Yep Zdas, just like you;-).

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[berkshire]

I think it is time this poster sat down with an advisor who can handle the series of questions he/she has posed over the past few months.
Maybe high school or pre college .
B.E.

You are judged not by what you know, but by what you can do.

 

[MacGyverS2000]

Dangit... flagged the followup post, not the original, so that's the one that was removed... <facepalm>

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[zdas04]

KNEAT,
I wasn't responding to the OP, I was just trying to make sure I understood your post. It looked like there was something missing.

 

[KENAT]

Some pruning was done, and stars were lost:-(.

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(probably not aimed specifically at you)
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[1gibson]

You may want to try your hand at designing large plastic bubbles to safely protect people from all hazards of the outside world. I can already think of one guaranteed customer

 

[IRstuff]

Too late, that's already been invented

TTFN
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[ivymike]

Hehehe...just got done installing a TV antenna on my 2nd story roof during a rainstorm. No sweat...was much easier than when I installed tarps over a hole in the same roof during a hurricane! I do winder whether I am really cut out for the safety team at work though (yep, I'm in it).

 

[MikeHalloran]

Yeah, I was drilling and screwing down some new fiberglass roofing on my old shed, as a hurricane was arriving, when it, er, hit me, that a 'double insulated' drill with a plastic shell can still give you a pretty good tickle when it gets very wet...



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[graybeach]

Do some research into how the utility industry handles this. We have elaborate procedures for lock out/tag out of energized equipment prior to performing work. I have seen people who deviate from them get written up or fired. This is taken very seriously, and heads would roll if an injury occurred.

 

[IRstuff]

Obsessing about getting shocked to the point of not getting your job done will probably get one fired, as well.

TTFN
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[Jboggs]

engeeneer,
(If you're still reading this forum) I have a suggestion for you - try to understand that ANY decision you make at this early point of your career is going to change. No matter where you start, you will move on to other things, other areas, other work environments, other organizations, other priorities, etc.

The only way you are going to make above average money is to do things that most people are either unable or unwilling to do. Working at some clean, quiet, easy job with no possibility of injury to person or reputation is not going to get you where you want to go. You will be just another mindless bureaucrat waiting for 5:00 every day. Your rewards will not be larger than your risks. Placing too many limits on yourself at this early point in your career effectively also places limits on how far you can go in the future. If that's what you want, so be it. If not, jump out on faith and try something.

You must understand two things: (1) the real value in whatever you end up doing at this early point in your career is the knowledge and experience you will gain from it, and (2) nothing is forever. You will change and move on, based on your desires and plans at the time.

 

[BillPSU]

No one has talked about working on power lines live. I worked for a company which built aerial devices which attached to power lines live. Normally the units were tested at 100,000 volts and then certified to work at 70,000 volts per ANSI specification. We also built some special units which were certified up to 350,000 volts. These were equipped with corona rings to dissipate the corona effect from going down the boom.

Electical non-conductivity was measured in air gap. Three feet for 70,000 volt machines and larger gaps for higher voltages.

These machines could go up to 102' in the air when I was there. They now go higher. Now tell me if you feel safe 100 feet in the air attach to a 200kVa powerline. Now have a 10-15 mph wind blowing.

Bill