The NFPA 70E, also known as the Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace from the National Fire Protection Association, has recently added the Informative Annex Q, referred to as the “Human Performance and Workplace Electrical Safety.” It is not a requirement but serves as a guideline to help employers create a safe environment for managers and employees, resulting in reduced cases of work-related accidents.
6 Risk Control Methods
The Informative Annex Q has identified six risk control methods, arranged in a step-by-step method, so businesses can systematically plan their workplace safety.
1. Eliminating the hazards.
2. Replacement or improvement of materials, procedures and/or equipment.
3. Implementation of engineering controls.
4. Establishment systems concerning awareness of possible hazards.
5. Setting administrative controls, which include training, procedures, instructions, and the likes.
6. Using Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), including the proper selection, application, and maintenance.
Five Principles of Human Performance
There are five principles of human performance, which includes:
1. People are fallible. No matter how skilled and trained an employee is, he can make a mistake.
2. Hazardous situations and conditions can be predicted, recognized and managed to prevent serious and life-threatening outcomes.
3. Processes and values of a business can affect an individual’s performance. Employers should ensure that these should be appropriately tuned to improve an employee’s performance.
4. Positive reinforcement from the business officials and workers elevates achievement.
5. Understanding and learning from the previous accidents’ causes can help prevent it from happening again.
It is a fact that accidents in workplaces are commonly identifiable and are commonly caused by human errors. By creating a fool-proof plan to ensure that everyone working for your company remains safe, you are guaranteed that it will not be a problem in the future that could affect your brand and your sales.