Electrical Accident Prevention. Operation of Public and Private Electrical Installations

Articles [D 5 101] , [D 5 102] and [D 5 103], each in their own part, develop ways of understanding, analyzing and controlling electrical risk.

The first article [D 5 101] presents accident statistics to date and the fundamentals of electric shock and electric current passing through the human body.

The second article [D 5 102] sets out the rules for the construction and installation of electrical works and installations.

This article describes the operation of electrical structures and installations, i.e. all construction, maintenance, repair and dismantling operations, as well as fire prevention in these facilities.

The protection of personnel during construction, maintenance, repair and dismantling operations is now governed by European and French rules that employers must scrupulously respect. These are simple, common-sense rules that require everyone, at all times, to appreciate and assess the electrical risk at its true value, and to apply the rules set out in numerous publications. In addition to training, the employer is obliged to issue the appropriate authorizations for the operations to be carried out, as soon as there is an electrical risk.

This article presents the operating modes and procedures used in Europe, i.e. de-energized work, which offers the best safety since there is no risk of electric shock, work in the vicinity where protective measures enable work to be carried out in a safe area, and finally energized work where the permanent presence of voltage is managed by rigorous personnel protection measures...