Whether you’re developing an electrical safety program from scratch or reviewing an existing one, Informative Annex E is a valuable resource. It’s divided into three sections:
E.1 Typical Electrical Safety Program Principles. A principle is a theme or concept that underlies the requirements stated in the program. To ensure your program is effective, develop a list of principles. What do we want our electrical safety program to accomplish? Annex E enumerates ten principles that you’d typically find in a well-thought out program. These include inspecting and evaluating the electrical equipment, using the right tool for the job, and assessing people’s abilities.
E.2 Typical Electrical Safety Program Controls. A control is a method for reducing or eliminating the hazards encountered. Annex E enumerates eight such controls. One example is “Procedures are to be used to identify the electrical hazards and to develop job safety plans to eliminate those hazards or to control the associated risk for those hazards that cannot be eliminated.” Another example is “Precautions appropriate to the working environment are to be determined and taken.”
E.3 Typical Electrical Safety Program Procedures. Annex E enumerates twelve things you’d typically find in a procedure. These include purpose of task, limits of approach, and reference data. What Annex E doesn’t tell you is what to exclude from your procedures. That is also an important aspect of writing a usable procedure. Always keep in mind that the only people performing the work are those who are “qualified” in the OSHA sense of the word. They already know how to do the work, so do not include tutorial information or lengthy explanations (if you look at the list of twelve, you’ll see those are not on the list).
