Page 44 - IEC Insights Mar-Apr19

SAFETY CORNER

Human Performance

and Electrical Safety

By Thomas Domitrovich, P.E.

he fact is that if we were to that which we can’t see, feel or touch, 70E ANNEX
look at a photo of a team of is often a root cause of incidents.
electrical workers performing OVERVIEW
work, many aspects of safety I have had personal experience and
Tare quite visible from the have heard of examples of accidents Before we get too deep into this subject,
personal protective equipment (PPE) that occurred as part of the last task in I want to direct your attention to the
they are wearing to the cleanliness of the last few hours of the job. It’s easy in Informative annex materials of NFPA 70E.
the general working area and working those moments to let the mind drift to Many may overlook the value packed
space. There is one aspect of that photo the weekend or to thinking about getting into the informative annex material
that is important to safety but not the kids or even just the thoughts of of that document. There are a total
visible; their state of mind. Each of those getting a head start on the weekend. of 17 Informative Annex sections that
electrical workers carry with them a The fact is that the brain doesn’t do as should be read by anyone interested in
state of mind that can and probably will good of a job as many assume in multi- electrical safety. Section 90.3, “Standard
impact their performance. We can’t see tasking. The electrical worker must keep Arrangement,” of 70E establishes the
who did not get enough sleep, who had their head in the game and stay focused annex material as informational only. This
an argument that morning before they on the job at hand. There are tools and section specifically states “Informative
left the house or who may be struggling techniques to get that done so here annexes are not part of the requirements
with financial concerns. But we do know we explore this part of performance of this standard but are included for
that studies show that human error, that goes hand in hand with safety. informational purposes only.” Regardless
of whether or not this information includes

42 Insights Magazine | March/April 2019 | www.ieci.org