ELECTRICAL MAINTENANCE & TESTING

HAZARD IDENTIFICATION

Hazard Identification & Risk Analysis

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Product Name

Low Voltage Distribution Board / Control Panels

Supply Voltage:
Current Rating:

240V/3Ph/50Hz IP Rating:
63A

54

Form of separation:

System Fault capacity:

Accessibility for maintenance:

Diversity Factor:

Accessibility for cabling:

Operating condition (Temp, Humidity):

IP Rating:

Front
Front - Top
54

Product Photo

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Document Revision History
SN

Revision

Location of Change

Details of Change

First Issue

NA

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Hazard Identification & Risk Analysis

CONTENTS

Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 4

Hazard and Risk .............................................................................................................................. 4

2.1

Precautions ..................................................................................................................................... 4
2.2.1

Maintenance & Test areas ............................................................................................... 5

2.2.2

Precautions ....................................................................................................................... 5

2.2.3

Test equipment................................................................................................................. 6

Risk assessment .............................................................................................................................. 6

References ...................................................................................................................................... 8

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1

Introduction
This document contains specific advice about avoiding injury during any maintenance operation,
electrical testing of switchgear and control gear, including those with power electronic components
installed.
The guidance is for those who carry out maintenance or electrical testing on switchgear and control
gear.

Hazard and Risk

The most significant danger to people carrying out electrical maintenance and testing work is electric
shock. An electric shock can lead to serious, sometimes fatal, injury.
Any simultaneous contact by a part of the body with a conductor that is live at a dangerous voltage,
e.g. connected to the mains supply, while another part of the body is connected to an earth, will result
in electric shock.
There is a risk of burn injuries resulting from arcing when conductors are accidentally short-circuited.
In addition, injuries can occur when a person reacts to an electric shock, e.g. by falling or touching
another hazard.
Factors likely to increase the risk of receiving an electric shock include:

2.1

Testing, servicing and repair may be carried out at a work place / customers premises. In this
case, there is a particular, extra need to consider the safety of people other than the person
doing the work, e.g. the customers employees.

A lot of equipment will have large areas of earthed metal that is easily touched, increasing the
possibility of electric shock from contact with a live conductor.

High-voltage insulation (flash) testing can be particularly hazardous when several parts of the
equipment are simultaneously energised for a period of time.

The use of test instruments when taking measurements of dangerous voltages can increase
the risk of injury if they are used without the earth (protective) conductor connected. This can
result in the metal enclosure of the instrument becoming live at dangerous voltages. Such use
also defeats the equipment manufacturers primary protection concept should be
discouraged.

Precautions
You or your employer will have carried out a general risk assessment and identified precautions that
are necessary to carry out electrical testing work safely. You must follow these precautions, but be
aware that there may be more specific risks within the different premises that you are working at than
those covered by the general risk assessment. You will need to consider any additional risks and take
appropriate precautions to ensure that you work safely at all times. The following questions should
help you to determine if you can work safely before you start a job:

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Can the work be done with the equipment dead? Where possible, the law says work should be
done with the equipment dead. Otherwise, adequate precautions, which should be identified
in your risk assessment, must be taken to ensure safety.

Is it absolutely necessary for someone to be working on or near equipment that is live at

dangerous voltages or current levels.

Have you taken suitable precautions to avoid danger and prevent injury?

Are you competent (i.e. do you have the necessary knowledge, or experience) for that type of
work, or if not, are you adequately supervised?

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2.2

Managing testing
Follow work permit system at the work place as required by the customer or your superior. When
carrying out any maintenance / testing at a customers premises, agree the management of the testing
activity and its implications (e.g. downtime) with the customer. Preferably do this at an early stage,
e.g. when the work permit is raised. A copy of the work permit should be kept at workplace until it is
formally closed out. The person carrying out the maintenance / testing should, where possible, be
accompanied by supervisory staff provided by their employer or the customer.
The person carrying out the maintenance and testing must have received adequate training and, if
appropriate, be competent to make an on-site risk assessment. This should take account of the ability
of the customers employees to heed any warnings that might be given, in order to prevent
unauthorised people from approaching the unit under maintenance / test.
The following precautions should be considered as part of the safe system of working for electrical
maintenance / testing of switchgear and control gear.

2.2.1

Maintenance & Test areas

In a workshop, the maintenance / test area should be a separate, designated area where access by
unauthorised employees is prevented while maintenance / testing is in progress.
In a customers premises, temporary barriers should be used to form an enclosure within which
maintenance / testing work is to be carried out. The enclosure should be suitable to prevent
unauthorised people accessing the danger area. This arrangement should be discussed early on with
the customer.

2.2.2

Precautions
Where possible, the work should be done with the equipment dead. Otherwise, adequate precautions,
which should be identified in your risk assessment, must be taken to ensure safety. Be aware of the
following in carrying out your risk assessment:

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During any maintenance and or functional testing, the level of safety should be the same as
that provided for the user of the equipment after it is installed for service.

It may be possible to test equipment (if only partially) by energising it with non-hazardous
voltages and current levels. This should always be considered as the first option before
deciding to use dangerous voltages and current levels.

Local protection of exposed conductors, including earthed metalwork in the immediate

vicinity of the test area, should be provided where necessary. This may be in the form of
temporary insulation using, for example, flexible sheet material or transparent screens (with
apertures for applying test instrument probes). These may be purpose built so that they can
be reused.

Insulating rubber floor mats, e.g. in accordance with BS EN 611111 can be used to prevent earth
contact with the floor. However, they will not provide any protection if a person touches the
large metal areas of the control panel simultaneously with exposed live conductors which are
likely to be at earth potential and readily accessible.

Where practicable, the power supplies to the unit under maintenance / test and to the mains
powered instrumentation should include a residual current device (RCD) used as
supplementary protection. For personal protection the maximum rated tripping current of the
RCD should be 30 mA.

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2.2.3

Test equipment
Where possible, test equipment should be of a proprietary design. In this case the manufacturer should
have taken account of its safety performance during use. Where applicable, test equipment should be
manufactured to BS EN 61010.2 BS EN 615573 or BS EN 61243-3.4
Test equipment, leads and cables should be handled carefully to avoid injury. The following precautions
are recommended:

All leads and cables which can be energised at dangerous voltages should be robustly
insulated and properly terminated. All connections of conductors which can be energised at a
dangerous voltage should be electrically and mechanically robust to prevent conductors
becoming accidentally exposed. There should be no exposed conductors at dangerous
voltages at any purpose-built connectors or jigs into which the product is fixed for testing.

Test equipment connecting leads, probes and connectors should be sufficiently protected to
prevent accidental contact when being applied to and removed from live parts.

Where practicable, place the equipment under test into interlocked enclosures. This allows
connections to be made while the equipment is isolated.

Where practicable, apply test leads while the equipment is isolated and then energise it. To
make sure that the equipment is isolated, a suitable isolating device should be used which
must be:
-

appropriate and convenient for the intended use;

suitably located;

readily identifiable (e.g. by durable markings) as to which circuits or part of the test
area they serve; and

provided with adequate means to prevent the supply isolator being switched on
(either inadvertently, mistakenly, or by an unauthorised person).

Risk assessment
Risk assessment in electrical switchgear maintenance work is an evaluation process to assess the
likelihood of causing harms by the hazards and the severity of those harms. This provides the necessary
information for establishing the appropriate safety measures, safe working procedures and emergency
response procedures before commencing the maintenance work. The scale and depth of the risk
assessment depend on the working environment and the complexity of the work.
The basic steps in risk assessment include the following:

to identify the hazards;

to consider who may be affected and how;

to evaluate the risks arising from the hazards, and to consider whether the existing safety
measures are adequate or more should be done;

to record the findings; and

to review the assessment from time to time and to revise if necessary.

Risk assessment should be specific to the required task. Factors to be considered in assessing risks
associated with electrical switchgear maintenance work include, but not limited to, the following:

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the type of electrical switchgear to work on;

the type of work to be carried out;

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whether the electrical switchgear to work on is isolated, energised or partially energised;

the working environment, including

-

whether access to and egress from the workplace are safe, suitable and adequate;

whether lighting and ventilation of the workplace are sufficient and suitable;

whether the workplace is congested or restrictive;

whether working at height is necessary;

whether there are combustible/flammable materials nearby;

whether the workplace is hot, damp, dusty or the environment is corrosive, etc; and

The strength of the working team and the competence of team members.

The risk assessment should be conducted by a competent person with the appropriate knowledge,
experience and relevant training to enable him to assess the risks arising from the work. The person
should have good understanding of the work as well as good knowledge of the safe practices and
safety measures required.
Risk assessment should be reviewed regularly. Whenever there has been a significant change in the
working conditions, working environment or the particulars of the work, risk assessment should be reconducted.
3.1

Safety During Work

It is important to prevent unauthorized personnel from encroaching on the area of work, in particular
when the electrical installation is live or testing on the electrical installation is on-going.
It is not uncommon that during the course of work, part of the switchgear / Controlgear would be reenergised for testing or a voltage / current be applied to the switchgear / Controlgear for testing. It is
important that all workers should be informed of the test and kept off from the switchgear /
Controlgear during the test.
If the switchgear / Controlgear has been re-energised for testing, then after the completion of the tests
and before proceeding to further work on the installation, it is important to isolate the installation and
verify it is dead again using suitable testing equipment or voltage indicator before allowing the workers
to continue with the work.
If it is unavoidable to work on or near a live electrical installation, in addition to the other safety
precautions to be taken as described in this Guidance Notes, workers should also use protective
equipment, such as insulated gloves, insulated mats, insulated screens, insulated clothing etc., of the
suitable type and grade for the work. Hand tools for work such as spanner, screwdriver etc., should
also be of the insulated type.

3.2

Safety After Completing Work

Upon the completion of work and before re-energising the electrical switchgear / Controlgear and
putting them back to service, it has to ensure that:

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the equipment, meters, devices, etc. of the switchgear / Controlgear are restored to correct
working conditions and settings;

all tools, equipment and materials for work have been removed from the electrical switchgear
/ Controlgear;

all parts of the switchgear have been tightened and there are no loosened parts;

all covers, panels and doors of the switchgear / Controlgear are replaced properly and locked
tight;

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except the one who carries out the switching work, all persons should keep clear of the
switchgear / Controlgear before it is re-energised. It is desirable to have only minimal number
of workers staying in the switchroom during switching of the switchgear/Controlgear; and

no person except the work-in-charge should order for switching on the

switchgear/Controlgear and only the designated competent person should carry out the
switching operation.

In case tools or materials are found missing after the switchgear / Controlgear are energised, do not
try to re-open the switchgear doors/panels straight away to look for the missing tools/materials.
Report the incident to the supervisor immediately to arrange for shutting down of power supply to the
switchgear / Controlgear.
3.3

General safety and health training

All persons involved in the electrical switchgear maintenance work should be fully trained in the safety
and health aspects of the work under normal operation as well as in emergencies. The general safety
and health training should cover:

3.4

hazards in electrical switchgear maintenance work;

relevant legislation and responsibilities of the persons concerned;

equipment and safety devices for the work, including their uses and limitations;

safety measures, including the selection and use of safety equipment and personal protective
equipment, and their limitations;

general safe practices for the work;

emergency response and procedures including evacuation plan;

general examination and maintenance of equipment, pre-use and after-use equipment checks;
and

build up good co-ordination with other workers and the awareness of taking care of other
persons during their course of work.

Task-specific safety and health training

In addition to the general safety and health training in electrical switchgear maintenance work, taskspecific training should be provided to the workers for each and every electrical switchgear
maintenance work. This is particularly important if the workers are to carry out the maintenance work
at workplaces they are not familiar with. The training is to enable the workers to:

understand clearly that particular work task, the work programme and the safe systems of
work in place;

understand and identify all potential hazards in the working environment and the necessary
precautions to be taken; and

identify factors affecting their individual capabilities in the work, and etc.

References

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BS EN 61111 Live working. Electrical insulating matting British Standards Institution

BS EN 61010 Safety requirements for electrical equipment for measurement, control, and
laboratory use. Various publications for different situations (full document is in 11 parts) British
Standards Institution

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BS EN 61557 Electrical safety in low voltage distribution systems up to 1000 V ac and 1500 V dc.
Equipment for testing, measuring or monitoring protective measures. Various publications for
different situations British Standards Institution

BS EN 61243-3 Live working. Voltage detectors. Two-pole low voltage type. British Standards
Institution

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