When it comes to electricity consumption, most European countries score high. Some of the reasons for increased electricity costs can be found in the dismantling of nuclear power plants (France is a good example) and the adoption of renewable energy sources. The high prices made manufacturers rethink their consumption habits and put in place devices for reducing electricity consumption. However, despite an improvement in the various safety standards and a reduction in electrical accidents, electrical hazard due to wrong or insufficient electrical management is still present in many plants.
Electrical accidents: security and CMMS software
Accidents cost a lot of money to companies and have a serious impact on employees’ morale and motivation. Electrical accidents are quite unpredictable and everybody no matter if employee, visitor or contractor is exposed, especially those performing tasks without necessary instructions or supervision. But sometimes, even qualified workforce may not be fully aware of all the safety precautions. Informing, educating and being responsible for its employees is finally the job of the organization where they are working.
Mitigating the risks of electrical accidents starts with the proper maintenance of all electrical equipment. Scheduled check-ups and performing and recording tests on installations, cables and circuits can significantly reduce the occurrence of injuries. A next-gen CMMS is what you need to guide you through this process. A smart solution can help you keep track of all performed and expected maintenance interventions, obtain all necessary regulations, but also reach absolutely everybody in the organization through newsfeed, alerts and messages.
Mobility Work and Basic Electrical Safety Routines
Starting with the basic, Mobility Work CMMS is your most reliable partner when talking about recording, tracking and analyzing maintenance department safety records, checking expiration dates on the employees’ certificates on safety trainings, comparing employees’ safety skills and establishing standards operating procedures (SOPs). The last ones, often combined with safety checklists, are of critical importance and can be easily attached to any work order, accompanied by images, graphics, or any other type of additional documents.
Access all documents (photos, videos, etc.) and checklists from the equipment sheet in your Mobility Work application
Use Your CMMS to Establish Electrical Standards
In every country there are different electrical standards indicating the level of criticality. To mitigate the risk of accidents, every installation can be labeled with the right standard in the CMMS to inform technicians. For example, below are mentioned some of the electrical standards available in France:
- The NF C 15-100 standard for low voltage electrical installations;
- The NF C 18-510 technical reference document for the control of operations near an electrical risk. It defines the obligations and responsibilities of project owners, school heads and stakeholders;
- The NF C 14-100 standard, which deals with the design and construction of the low voltage domain connection installations between the grid connection point and the delivery point;
- The NF C 11-201 standard for public electricity distribution networks.
It is the responsibility of the site manager to ensure that every technician knows the standards and possesses the proper authorization. Each electrical license should be renewed in a defined period and every employees’ qualification should be stored on the CMMS and ready to be consulted anytime thanks to the Mobility Work calendar feature, which also allows to set alarms and reminders for authorization renewal.
Electrical licenses are defined as follows:
The first letter indicates the voltage domain:
- B (low and very low voltage),
- H (high voltage).
The second character (number or letter) indicates the quality of the person:
- 0 (no electrician),
- 1 (performing electrician),
- 2 (electrical engineer),
- R (maintenance technician),
- C (consignor).
The third character is optional and specifies the nature of the operations that can be performed:
- V (work in the vicinity),
- N (cleaning under tension),
- T (live working).
Some examples for the nomenclature of the electrical licenses are : BC, B2T, H1T and so on.
Important Regulations Related to the Neutral Regime
Regulatory controls performed on the organization’s neutral regime are substantial for a successful industrial maintenance program. They all should be performed by competent for the task employees, with suitable training and knowledge. Every performed procedure can be easily documented in Mobility Work and made accessible to all team members.
There are two main categories of regulatory controls that should be performed on organization neutral regime, encompassing the 3 types of earthing systems (TT, TN and IT)
- The Verification of continuity of the protective conductor
This verification involves the identification of several types of information:
- D33 corresponds to the designation of the circuit breaker
- NS 400N corresponds to the type of circuit breaker
- IN: maximum value of the starting current
- Rm is the value of the resistance of the earth electrode.
- Testing of overcurrent protection devices.
This check applies to all protective devices for all earthing systems.
These two checks should be performed on the entire low voltage network of the organization.
- Company’s Regulatory Control over Electrical Installations
Manufacturing companies are subject to many regulatory controls (environmental, safety, quality, etc.). One of the main tasks of the maintenance team is to ensure that all equipment, including electrical installations, comply with the norms. By expecting electrical equipment, faults can be classified in Mobility Work into 3 main categories. This classification can help the team prioritize critical issues.
- U1 fault: the repair should be carried out immediately and changing at least one component will be necessary.
- U2 fault: the problem should be resolved during the current month; the repair will take a little longer than the previous one; serious cleaning of the surfaces and possible change of an component.
- U3 fault: the problem should be resolved in the next 3 months with brief interventions as tightening and cleaning.
A reliable electrical management is at the heart of the organization’s successful health and safety program. Mobility Work records, tracks and manages all possible relevant information to help you manage better your assets and reduce the risk of electrical accidents.
