As electrical professionals know, safety is one of, if not the, most important topics in the industry. To discuss and offer insights into this topic, the second day of NECA 2022 kicked off with a Safety Roundtable featuring Bret Brenner, Daniel Majano, and Keith Waters of Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI), along with Jack Klaus of Maxivolt, Mike Johnston and Wes Wheeler of NECA.
The safety discussion began with a look at electrical injury and fatality numbers in recent years. Majano led this portion of the discussion and presented promising data. According to the information presented, there were 126 electrical fatalities in 2020, which is a 24% decrease over 2019 and the lowest number of electrical fatalities recorded. Majano pointed out, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 saw a decrease in total hours worked. “There was actually only a 10% drop in the number of hours worked,” Majano said while comparing 2019 to 2020. “So a slight decrease in the number of hours worked, but a pretty big decrease in the number of electrical fatalities.”
While overall electrical fatalities are flatlining or trending downward, a closer inspection of the demographics involved in fatal incidents reveals key areas for improvement. First, Majano pointed out, “We’re seeing that Hispanic or Latino workers accounted for 40% of all electrical fatalities, while they only accounted for about 18% of the total workforce.” Majano continued, “And if you were looking at the occupations involved, you can see that it’s mostly those construction occupations that are involved in these electrical fatalities. Forty-four percent of all fatalities were in the construction or extraction occupation fields.”
Upon discussing these statistics, Brenner jumped in to highlight the biggest issue in electrical safety today: “How do we make a difference in these vulnerable populations?” He went on to say, “Is it that we have high levels of signage? Do we have physical barriers? I can’t tell you how many times we’ve done a safety inspection and we walk around, and all the janitorial stuff is inside of places where it’s fenced off, it’s marked off, it’s signed off. What else can you do? But if somebody doesn’t know what they don’t know. They don’t have a clue what they’re getting into.”
To address this issue of limiting electrical fatalities, the panel discussed key strategies to work on.
Accessibility. Johnston and Wheeler discussed how NECA can help to educate vulnerable populations (specifically in the Hispanic communities) by developing and translating educational safety content for those communities. Providing safety information to those workers is critical.
Awareness. Majano addressed the statistic that 69% of all electrical fatalities occurred in nonelectrical occupations. To better inform those workers, getting the word out is crucial. ESFI has been working on a campaign to raise awareness and showcased a video to warn construction workers of overhead power line contact.
GFCIs. Utilizing GFCIs is another necessary component. Majano presented an analysis from ESFI of how effective GFCI protection has been in preventing fatalities. “With GFCI protection," Majano said, “there was an average of 246 electrocutions every year between 2011 and 2020. We estimated that there would be about 1,726 fatalities if GFCIs didn't exist in the home.”
Brenner emphasized, “We kind of take (GFCIs) for granted, but things like this to keep it simple are really keeping people safe.” Promoting the use of GFCIs in the home, in the workplace, and even in temporary installations is necessary for preventing electrical fatalities.
Surge Protection. Waters and Klaus joined the discussion to discuss the importance of surge protection. “The first thing you really need to consider is the digitization of all assets we're putting into buildings now,” Klaus said. He went on to discuss how technology is moving away from mechanical parts and toward digital systems, which draws more power and makes surge protection more important than ever. “Who's checking the status of that surge protector? Ultimately, that is the question we need to get in front of contractors. I want to know who is responsible for power quality-related issues. Is it the engineer that designed the building? Is it the operator? Is it the Code or is it the electrical contractors? I don't think we have that answer right now.”
“Right now,” Klaus said, “our industry is out there trying to get the word out. But ultimately, on the safety side of things, who is responsible?”
As the industry wrestles with this question, safety remains a major concern for electrical professionals. For more information on practicing electrical safety in the workplace, visit ESFI's website.
