Category three – Best solution to an identified electrical safety issue
Seqwater Electrical Safety Improvement Group identified a high potential arc flash risk across the business when standing in front of old legacy high/low voltage circuit breakers to perform wiring activities. Stakeholders were engaged and worked together to assess this risk, educate the business and seek support to change the way arc flash is managed. A remote switching device and other control measures were implemented to reduce this risk.
The remote switching device allows the switching operators to attach the circuit breaker and then use an umbilical cord style approach to remove themselves from the area to switch. Seqwater Electrical Safety Improvement Group have conducted a business wide electrical safety gap analysis, with a key focus on arc flash. Switchboards will be labelled with arc flash information detailing the incident energy and the personal protective equipment required based on the work being performed.
Presentations and workshops were presented to stakeholders to educate them about the dangers and risks that arc flash can pose and how this initiative helps reduce the risk of an arc flash. Positive feedback has been received from staff about this initiative and their safety concerns have been noted and actioned, making their work with these switchboards safer, simpler and more efficient.
