Personal Safety
Personal Safety
Personal Safety
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.
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.
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.
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).
Wearing a ring or metal watch can be hazardous in an electrical/electronic lab since such
items make good electrodes for the human body.
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.
Report any electrical casualty to instructor or the person in charge the laboratory.
Ambulance: 999
Police: 999
Fire Brigade: 994
JPA 3: 991