ScenarioYou are an apprentice H&S officer in a workplace.

You are contributing

to a report on electrical H&S in your workplace.
Task 1
Work Place- Robotics Laboratory
Electrical Components for that workplaceDc Components- High and Low Torque DC /Stepper MOTOR, Micro controllers,
Sensor and Integrated circuit chips, DC power Supply(LiPo Battery).
Ac Component Soldering Iron, Voltage Regulators, Ac Power Supply and Low
Rating Transformers.
High and Low Torque DC /Stepper MOTOR In a robotics Lab, the Motors are the
most important electrical components as they bring about the desired rotation
and functionality in a robot. A High Torque motor draws large current upto 1020A. LiPo Batteries are used to run these motors as they have a high current
discharge.
Soldering Iron It is one of the most basic AC electrical components in a robotics
Lab. It is used to solder elements on a Printed Circuit Board. It runs on an AC
supply and draws a large amount of power from it.
Difference between the effect of DC and AC on the heart - The AC voltage
constantly reverses direction while the DC voltage is constant throughout. So, in
the case of AC voltage, the human heart changes its beating pattern and the
blood stops pumping due to the improper functioning of the heart muscles. As a
result, the human heart may not function properly even if the current is cut. On
the other hand, in case of DC voltage, it would be difficult to get separated from
the source of the voltage as the voltage does not change its direction and the
heart could stop. However, if the supply is turned off, the heart might start
beating again.
Difference between the effect of DC and AC on other muscles The High voltage
DC leads to single muscle contraction thus throwing the victim away from the
source of the current causing blunt trauma. However, a low voltage AC is far
more dangerous than DC at the same voltage. AC electrocution can cause
continuous muscle contraction with tetany which can cause victim to hold on to
the source of current and thus worsening the injury.
In a Robotics Lab DC components are more abundant than AC because a robot is
a moving structure and the DC components can be powered using on-board
batteries. However, this freedom is not available with AC components as they
have a fixed socket wherein the power is available and therefore mobility is
difficult. So, AC components are scarce since they are mostly fixed and have little
mobility.

Task 2Work Place Robotics Laboratory

Many applications in Robotics Laboratory require high amount of DC power to
drive high torque motors. If these batteries are not treated carefully, they can
cause short circuits and burning of electrical components. In cases of using AC
as a power source, people have high risks of being electrocuted.
Using High rating Power Supply can cause lot of trouble if proper care is not
taken. For example if by accident the two polarities of Lithium polymer battery
with high discharge are shorted then sparks would be created and if the power is
high, the battery can burst and there might be fire in the lab which may be fatal.
The power distribution board, controlling high power distribution must have
proper and tight connections. Any loose connections can cause sparks. Also care
must be taken that Integrated circuits must not be powered with very high rated
power banks. It will definitely cause sparks and destroy the ICs.
Holding a conductor or touching electrical components with wet hands increases
the risk of accidents many fold. While making electrical connections manually,
care must be taken not to let any live wire be exposed and ensure proper and
tight connections to prevent accidents.
Accidents due to LiPo batteries can be fatal. These batteries have a very high
initial discharge and size of battery depends on application and rating of DC
motors. Most commonly a current of around 20-30 Amps is discharged by LiPo
battery for a sufficiently high time.
Electric shocks can damage to the body parts exposed to it and cause blisters if
the chip catches fire. It can result in muscle cramps as well.
As discussed earlier if the Integrated circuits operate at higher rating, it causes
fire and can cause burns.
The AC equipments should be properly grounded and should be provided with
safety fuses or MCB of appropriate rating. Lack of proper grounding exposes
people to the danger of AC shocks. Lack of safety fuses or MCBs will risk fires
caused by short-circuits.

As soldering iron is one of the most frequently used equipment, its improper
handling can cause very painful injuries to self as well as others working in the
lab.
Different AC sources expose humans working in robotics lab to shocks. Shock is
relatively more severe as the current rises. For currents above 10 milliamps,
muscular contractions are so strong that the victim cannot let go of the wire that
is shocking him. At values as low as 20 milliamps, breathing becomes difficult,
finally ceasing completely even at values below 75 milliamps. As the current
approaches 100 milliamps, an uncoordinated twitching of the walls of the heart's
ventricles occurs which results in death. Above 200 milliamps, the muscular
contractions are so severe that the heart is forcibly clamped during the shock.
Although endurance to exposed electric shocks differs from people to people in
general, 0.1 ampere (amp) of electricity going through the body for just 2
seconds is enough to cause death. For example, a current of 100 mA applied for
3 seconds is as dangerous as a current of 900 mA applied for a fraction of a
second (0.03 seconds).
Overheating and arcs are caused in equipment due to high current through the
equipment which is rated for lower currents. Use of fuses and proper grounding
of equipment may prevent overheating and arcs.
The major dangers of overheating and arcs are major burns and fire respectively.
Task 3
Explain using diagrams how fuses, circuit breakers, earthing, double
insulation and residual current devices protect against electrical
hazards.
If a device measures current you must say how it measures currents.
If a device uses magnets to activate then you must explain how the
magnets are used to activate the device.
If two or more devices work in very similar ways to each other then you
must say which device is better at protecting against electrocution and
in what ways.
Fuse- A fuse is a device which is employed to protect other circuit elements from
currents which are higher than the rated value. It consists of a wire made of a
material of low melting point and resistance and thus if a very high current flows
through it, the wire melts and breaks the circuit and hence protects the other
components from any damage.
Fuse measures current based on the heating effect of electric current. Since the
heat generated is directly proportional to the current flowing, a high current
leads to a high temperature and a current high enough to increase the
temperature beyond the melting point results in the circuit breaking.

A circuit breaker is an electrical switch which is used to protect circuit elements

from overload and short circuits. After operating once they can be set to resume
normal operation and do not require to be changed like fuses. Its operation can
be manual or automated.

Earthing- Earthing refers to the connection of electrical circuits to the ground or

the earths surface. The ground is at zero potential and the earth wire connects
the body of the appliance to the ground. So if there is any leakage of current
then the leakage current readily flows into the ground through the earth wire
thus preventing electrical shocks.

Double Insulation- Live parts or wires that are protected by double insulation do
not require an earth connection. As two layers of insulating material protects the
wires, the chance of dangerous voltage being exposed is reduced and shocks can
be avoided even without an earthing.
These are particularly needed where current flow is very high, for instance in
heavy duty machines used in industries or transformers in power houses.

Residual Current Devices- It is an electrical wiring device that disconnects the

main electrical circuit if there is an imbalance in the magnetic field produced by
the currents in the live and neutral wires. The imbalance in the magnetic fields
results in current flowing through the search coil and breaks the power supply.
RCDs have the same function as a fuse but are more sensitive than fuses since
they bank on magnetism and not on melting of metal to detect anomalies. This
results in better protection from electric shocks and surges. For example, this
helps in cases where the surge is due to someone touching the wire with wet
hands etc. A fuse will take some time to react esp. in cold conditions since the
heat required to melt the wire will take time to generate whereas an RCD will
shut down immediately since magnetism is not affected by low temperatures.

Task 4- For workplaces which have various electrical hazards, evaluate

how the specific electrical hazards are protected against in actual
workplaces, including the use of safety rules and safety devices. State
and explain whether or not the protective measures are adequate and if
not suggest improvements that could be made to further reduce
hazards.

The main hazard encountered at any electrical installation is from electric

shocks. Common workplaces that can pose these threats are those with heavy
machinery or equipment like factory floors, or server rooms.
Also, threats may also be to non-electrical workers like welders, excavators,
painters and operators of heavy equipment.
For countering these threats, various safety regulations and safety equipment
are often enforced. For our evaluation, we consider the basic rules laid out by the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
BASIC SAFETY RULES:
Basic Electrical Safety Rule(s)
The OSHA regulation regarding electrical safe practices states two very
important basic points. The first is that live parts shall be de-energized before
working on or near them. The second point is that even after the exposed parts
have been de-energized, they shall still be treated as energized until they are
locked out and/or tagged out. That is why the BASIC RULE for electrical safe
practices procedure is stated as follows;
ALL ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT CONDUCTORS, BARE OR INSULATED, ARE ASSUMED TO
BE ENERGIZED UNTIL PROVEN OTHERWISE. THEY SHALL BE DE-ENERGIZED,
LOCKED OUT AND TESTED FOR THE ABSENCE OF VOLTAGE BEFORE WORKING ON
THEM OR WORKING NEAR THEM. WORK ON ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT CONDUCTORS
MAY ONLY BE PERFORMED BY QUALIFIED PERSONNEL WHO HAVE BEEN
AUTHORIZED TO DO THE WORK.

As with any procedure, revisions are commonplace. Workers should always check
to ensure they are working from the latest revision when using a procedure.
The safest way to avoid electrical hazards is to de-energize the conductors to be
worked on or near, and, assure that they cannot be re-energized. This is known
as putting the conductors in an electrically safe work condition and should
always be your first consideration.
An electrically safe work condition will be achieved and verified by the following
process:
1) Determine all possible sources of electrical supply to the specific equipment.
Check applicable up-to date drawings, diagrams and identification tags.
2) After properly interrupting the load current, open the disconnecting device(s)
for each source.
3) Wherever possible, visually verify that all blades of the disconnecting devices
are fully open or that draw out type circuit breakers are withdrawn to the fully
disconnected position.
4) Apply lockout/tag-out devices in accordance with a documented and
established policy.
5) Use adequately rated voltage detector to test each phase conductor or circuit
part to verify if they are de-energized. Before and after each test, determine if
the voltage detector is operating satisfactorily.

Working On Or Near Energized Conductors

OSHA lays down the guidelines for working safely in an electrical environment. It
deals with parts that have low current, but are energized. For instance, some
painting machines have plates that have low voltage charges. Painting machines
are not life threatening, but still have current running through it. If the electrical
circuit has a high current, it is very dangerous for you to work on them. OSHA
rules will allow you to work on or near energized circuits if you can prove that deenergizing introduces additional or increased hazards. OSHA also permits this
type work if de-energization is infeasible due to equipment design or operational
limitations.
Some examples of additional or increased hazards might be of the deactivation
of an emergency alarm system or shutting down a hazardous locations'
ventilation system. Testing, some forms of troubleshooting, or the impracticality
of shutting down some continuous industrial processes are examples of infeasibility.

Working on or near electrical conductors or circuit parts which are or may

become energized shall only be done by qualified employees who have been
trained to recognize electrical hazards and have been trained to avoid injury by
using safe practices, precautionary techniques and protective equipment. These
employees must also be trained in containing the damage caused by any
accidents.
Working on or near exposed energized conductors requires extensive planning
and higher level management approvals. With the exception of testing, working
on or near energized circuit parts will usually not be approved.
The OSHA rules only give safe approach distances and clearances to overhead
lines.
Analysis:
These rules apply to a general set of workplaces and hence are not adequate
since the nature of workplaces is very diverse. Two factory floors are never the
same and hence the hazards there differ. For instance, there can often be an
associated fire hazard related to electrical sparks which should also be
accounted for. Now these fires cannot be extinguished conventionally by water
since it would lead to electric shock owing to the conducting nature of water.
Hence, the safety regulations should also include ways to deal with the case of
an electrical fire, if any.
The safety rules also usually do not account for accidents like melting of
insulation or heating of devices (in server rooms for instance). These must also
be dealt with in the safety manuals for these workplaces.