Electrical Safety Audits (Part 1 – AUDITING OR VERIFICATION)
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Accidents due to electrical reasons are common (not rare) in Industrial and commercial premises. It’s a challenge for safety officers / departments in Industrial and commercial installations to achieve electrical safety, especially electrical fire. Unforeseen failure of electronic systems is also common.
Electrical Safety Specialist
Electrical Safety Specialist plays a major role between the client and the auditor, guiding both to get maximum benefit out of Initial and periodic verifications. The Electrical Safety Specialist advice the client on the internationally recognized and scientifically proven solutions recommended in latest Standards and code of practices. The specialist train and equip the engineers and safety officers to challenge the “BLACK BOX SOLUTIONS“.
This webinar explains about the difference between SAFETY AUDITS and VERIFICATION and the requirements in regulation and code of practices.
Audits are made on sampling basis. The word “audit” is not used in the electrical safety standards of IEC (or fire safety standards in ISO). “VERIFICATION”, is appropriate for the purpose, used in all standards. Verification includes inspection and testing.
Definitions of Audit and Verification
Audit: Systematic, independent, documented process for obtaining records, statements of fact or other relevant information and assessing them objectively to determine the extent to which specified requirements are fulfilled.
Verification: Confirmation, through the provision of objective evidence, that specified requirements have been fulfilled. The term “verified” is used to designate the corresponding status. Design verification is the application of tests and appraisals to assess conformity of a design to the specified requirement.
Problems of Conventional Safety Audits
The conventional audits include verification of PPE’s to earth electrode resistance measurements in normal case and thermal imaging as an advanced measure. Often the conventional auditors recommend increasing number of earth electrodes in soil or to reduce its resistance. This technically do not improve the safety or reliability in the electrical installation.
Engineers believe the recommendations of the conventional electrical safety auditor, sometimes they depend on the electrical equipment supplier, both often recommend some BLACK BOX SOLUTIONS. One of the classic examples is the earth electrode specialists, who often explain the chemical compound and the earth electrode as the ultimate solution for every electrical problem.
Black Box Solution
Black Box Solution referred here are unscientific products with exaggerated claims. The hogwash often convinces the user, as a result they trust the BLACK BOX SOLUTIONS. Examples of Black box solutions in earthing are “Chemical earth, Alpha earth, Beta earth, Sigma earth ……. etc”. The hogwash is as world best, India’s best, grows capacitor inside earthing compound and a lot of foolish ideas.
Digital Grounding Device is such a “Black Box Solution” solution to protect electronics in buildings, which makes upstream parallel circuits as TN-C.
Appreciated the supports of Mr. Riyazahmed Kazi, Mr. Jerome Lobo, Mr. Sanjay Mulay and Mr. S Appavoo for sharing your experience in electrical safety.
