Your thoughts required on industrial production qualifications and tests

[JSSE]

Hi Guys,

I work for a international packaging company and we have had a death of an engineer in South Africa. He was changing a motor on a strapping machine and electrocuted himself, further details are not for coming yet.

It has raised questions as follows and i was looking for your thoughts.

I'm 58 and have my original C&G electrical installations qualification and the 17th edt of the regs. I work mostly on the the control systems of high speed production machines and PLCs.

As an engineering department we do of course install lighting and supplies to machinery etc as well.

We also operate a comprehensive permit to work system.

Our Safety manager has indicated we will have to do more! but has not said at this moment what.

We have fixed wiring tests and emergency lighting tests done by outside contractors.

Most of our work in control systems on machinery.

I could not do most of my fault finding if i was required to power down a machine before working on it.

What systems, tests, qualifications do you have in your place of work if its an environment like mine.

 

[Pete999]

Risk Assessments
Method Statements
Permits to work
Safe Isolation Procedures
Tag in and out Systems
Proper Safety equipment provided to all engineers
Proper Training and follow up procedures
Health and Safety Statements
Health and Safety Policy
There will be more, but all these items MUST be in place to ensure Safe working, sounds like the poor Guy who was electrocuted wasn't supervised properly and the Safety guidelines were not suitable

 

[westward10]

If he was changing a motor and electrocuted himself surely the permit, method statement or whatever was not adhered to.

 

[Stspark]

Live work is live work and should always be avoided. However there is difference between changing a motor and fault finding/testing. The control measures will be different for each situation, a risk assessment would identify this.
Sounds like isolation was seriously overlooked in the case you describe.

 

[Cbuk2k2]

In my experience most large companies run an internal competency scheme where you have to demonstrate to a supervisor you are competent to perform your role.
You will also find a lot of companies use a special limitation of access permit where live work must be undertaken.