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ELECTRICAL SAFETY

Preface

Each one of us comes in contact with electricity and electrical equipment on

every day basis. Major difference between any other work and electrical work
is one between “seen” and “unseen”. Electricity cannot be seen but felt and
used. You can see effects of use of electricity. However this “feel” can be
dangerous and fatal if proper care is not taken. There is no second chance
with electricity hence proper care needs to be taken while not only handling
equipment but also during design and installation.

We will like to put forward a thought. Precautions taken for safety in any
work executed should not be limited to avoiding any harm to one self but it
should be such that system is safe for anyone working there any time
afterwards.

We can split the safety precautions in three parts

1. Precautions that need to be taken in new works.

2. Precautions in existing system.
3. Electrical fire.

We will deliberate on first two points here. However electrical fire is also an
important aspect and is covered separately.

I. NEW PROJECTS

When you are dealing with new projects proper attention should be given
to main points listed below
1. Design
2. Material & Equipment
3. Workmanship and methods of installation.
4. Earthing.
5. Pre commissioning Tests.
6. As built drawings and documents.

Page 1 of 7 Author: Mr. Vinayak A. Vaidya

Principal Consultant
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Now we will deal with each of above points separately.

1. Design: For work to meet safety standards basic design of system

should be correct. One should observe correct ratings of equipment,
provision of proper protection systems, correct sizing of cables and
switchgear, proper clearance inside and around equipment, care for
ventilation and heat dissipation.
2. Material: All material / equipment used in the work should be of good
quality and as per specifications. Substandard material can
compromise safety of otherwise correctly designed and executed
system. Hence material should be checked for basic quality, voltage
rating, current rating, physical damage etc.

3. Workmanship & Methods of installation:

One should adopt correct methods of installation during executing
work. No shortcuts should be adopted and workmanship should be of
highest quality. If one adopts proper methods of installation and take
care of workmanship there will be no possibility of any untoward
incident or problem in the system.
Avoiding damage to the insulation of cable, avoid twisting of cables
while laying cables, laying cables at appropriate depths, providing
necessary protection, using lugs and ferrules, gland while connecting
cables and wires, using proper methods, providing proper support to
the cables are many aspects one needs to look at while executing cable
work. You can list many such points in each work.

Let us take example of ELCB, ELCB’s are used for avoiding shocks and
leakage faults. However many times ELCB’s are removed from circuit
because they trip. Actually when ELCB’s trip they are doing their job.
One should try to find out cause of ELCB tripping i.e. Leakage current
and rectify it. Removing ELCB from the circuit is not correct way. Many
times neutral mixing can cause ELCB or relay tripping. Such things can
be avoided by adoption of proper methods and correct workmanship.

4. Earthing: Earthing provides major avenue of safety in electrical

systems. We have already dealt with earthing separately in details.
Hence you know importance of earthing in electrical system safety.

5. Pre-commissioning Tests:
Once the system installation is completed pre commissioning tests as
recommended by manufacturers or IS / IEC should be done to ensure
correctness of installation and health of equipment.
These tests can bring out flaws in installation and avoid damages and
losses in equipment and system that can happen once system is
charged.
Page 2 of 7 Author: Mr. Vinayak A. Vaidya

Principal Consultant
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These tests are particularly important in substation. Pressure tests,

insulation resistance. Earth resistance, relay testing and setting, phase
sequence etc. should be tested. It will be advisable to execute such
testing by separate test house / agency.
Do not avoid testing to save time. It may lead to larger time wastage
and monetary loss also.

6. As Built Drawings:
Making and preserving as built drawings is as essential as executing
work correctly. These can help in all further expansions to plan
correctly. To give an example, in a large hospital in Pune major
expansion was undertaken. Clearance to do some excavation work was
given after checking the as built drawings. Inspection during
excavation revealed H.T. cables passing thro same area which were
not shown on as built. It was a miracle that crowbar did not hit any
cable during excavation otherwise it would have been fatal.

II. Safety Precautions in existing Installation.

When work is to be done in an existing working installation, almost care
needs to be taken. One should not take any shortcuts or hurry things to
save time. First check following -

1. Make sure you have correct drawings available.

2. Make sure earthings are active and properly connected.
3. Make sure proper protection is available for all circuits.
4. Make sure supply to the area where work is carried out is
disconnected. It is advisable to lock handle of switch in OFF position.
5. Put proper instruction board about ongoing work.
6. Check possibility of back feeding.
7. If you are working in substations make sure all isolators are OFF.
Short phase and neutral with earth on use earth switch.

Once work to be done is completed.

1. Make sure all connections are in place and tightened.

2. Remove all tools, unused material and scrap from work area
particularly from panels and DB’s, transformer cable boxes.
3. Check earthing connections.
4. Remove phase neutral earthing
5. Take all tests required for the installation. Restart supply only if all
tests give correct results.

Page 3 of 7 Author: Mr. Vinayak A. Vaidya

Principal Consultant
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ELECTRICAL FIRE

PREFACE
: For any fire in Residential, Commercial or in Industrial
premises cause of fire unless identified specifically to
any other means, is attributed to short circuit in
electrical wiring. This assessment is generally
accepted without any objection or doubt even by
common people as fire due to electrical faults has
become so common and known. Precisely because of
this one should understand causes of electrical fire
and try to prevent it through proper installation and
also preventive maintenance.

Page 4 of 7 Author: Mr. Vinayak A. Vaidya

Principal Consultant
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CAUSES OF ELECTRICAL FIRE:

Electrical fire is mainly originated due to:

a) Short Circuit / leakage faults in wiring / cabling or equipment.

b) Excessive heating of electrical equipment either due to

continuous over load or loose contacts.

c) Mechanical / electrical failures of switching equipment.

a) Short Circuit / Leakage Faults:

This mainly happens due to improper installation and testing of wiring

/ cabling installation where either

i) Cables / wires insulation is damaged during installation.

ii) Cables / wires are of poor quality leading to leakages.

iii) There is unnoticed inherent fault in cables / equipment.

Most of our installations are with PVC insulated cables and wires. PVC
propagate fire moment there is heating due to leakage current or fault
due to failure of insulation.

b) Excessive heating of equipment or wiring installation can happen due

to either continuous over loading of installation or due to loose
contacts in switch gear or at terminals, improper cable termination.
This is very dangerous as such fault brew slowly and heat surrounding
equipment, wires, cable etc. Due to overheating either metal parts
start fire or failure of insulation cause fault to start fire.

c) Mechanical / electrical failure of equipment can also cause faults due

to improper operations due to failure. Such failures particularly related
to switchgear contacts and insulation degradation go unnoticed if the
system is in operation but erupt when switching is done.

d) Air conditioning of buildings is another cause of concern as central AC

system ducts can propagate fire from one area to other area very fast
unless proper care is taken.

Page 5 of 7 Author: Mr. Vinayak A. Vaidya

Principal Consultant
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Quenching of Electrical Fire:

Each fire has specific characteristic and specific methods need to be adopted
for quenching electrical fire. Generally first method is to use CO2 or Dry
chemical powder extinguishers in the electrical fire. Water for obvious
reasons is used only after it is confirmed that the supply is disconnected in
the fire area.

In modern buildings, fire detection system is used with automatic flooding

system using agents like FM 200 or inert gases in addition to employing
extinguisher. These are employed in high electrical fire risk areas like server
rooms, labs etc. where high value equipment are also used.

Precautions to be taken for avoiding electrical fire:

Any fire causes immense loss of properly and life hence due care should be
taken to minimize risk of fire so as fire does not start. Same is true in case of
electrical fire. If due care is taken while selecting equipment and installation
methods, possibility of electrical fire can be reduced very much.

1. PROPER MATERIAL:

Selection of good quality and proper material is essential as cheap and

low quality material may not have good electrical & mechanical
properties. These can lead to faults. Also new fire retardant, fire
retardant, low smoke. Halogen free fire resistance cables, wires are
available. These can be used in high density areas. These material emit
lower smoke and also resist propagation of fire.

2. PROPER INSTALLATION METHODS:

Employing proper installation methods also play important role use of

specific type of conduits in specific wiring installation proper end
terminations, proper tightening of joints, high quality workmanship, to
avoid damage to insulation, providing proper mechanical protection to
electrical equipment add to safe installation.

Page 6 of 7 Author: Mr. Vinayak A. Vaidya

Principal Consultant
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3. ELECTRICAL PROTECTION:

Use of proper electrical protection to avoid and restrict electrical faults in

form of over load, short circuit protection, gas operated relays, over
voltage protection, proper earthing & surge arrestors, earth leakage
relays etc.

Necessary protections as demanded by IS standards need to be employed

at every level right from substation. Proper selection of switch gear, EF
and OC relays, relay settings, proper rating in terms of current carrying
capacities & breaking capacities of MCCB’s & MCB’s, exact OC relay
ranges for motor feeders, Earth leakage detection devises where ever
required should be employed.

All these protections either preempt the tripping before actual disastrous
faults or restrict the electrical faults there by restricting damage to
equipment and avoid fire.

4. Elaborate Pre-commissioning testing:

Pre-commissioning testing of entire electrical installation including

continuity, insulation resistance. Insulation strength, physical and
functional checks, earthing resistance need to be done properly and as
recommended. Faulty material and installation can be detected prior to
commissioning in most cases if proper testing is done. This avoids
accidents both electrical & fire.

5. Preventive Maintenance:

Electrical system has equipment with moving parts, connections, and

joints. These need regular checking and preventive maintenance to keep
the installation fit. Preplanned preventive maintenance can detect chink
in the system where up keep and replacement can be planned to avoid
possible faults. Electrical properties along with mechanical like insulation
resistance, contact capacity, earthing resistance etc. need regular
checking and necessary action.

By adapting to these measures we can minimize risk of electrical faults,

accidents and fire, there by protecting property and life.

Page 7 of 7 Author: Mr. Vinayak A. Vaidya

Principal Consultant