OSHA Updates Electrical Standard

It's been a long time in the making, but the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has revised its decades-old electrical standard. The new changes are designed to further improve the safety of construction and electrical workers.

Work-related electrocutions has been on the decline over the past few years. Until the number reaches zero, however, OSHA will continue to make changes in an attempt to reduce rates of electrocutions. The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 5,348 workers were electrocuted during the period of 1980 to 1992. Of those electrocutions, 153 incidents resulted in multiple fatalities, attesting to the dangers of working with or around electricity.

Construction tops the list as being the industry with the most electrocutions (40%), with transportation and public utility coming in second (16%), and manufacturing following closely in third (11%). The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that approximately 2.4 out of 100,000 construction workers are electrocuted.

Construction workers naturally have a high risk of electrocution due to the unique requirements of the job. For instance, construction workers are often forced to work around live power lines. Failing to maintain adequate distance between the worker and the power line may result in electrocution. Additionally, contact between live power lines and metal objects (e.g . ladders, tools, pipes) may also result in electrocution. OSHA says the newly revised rule will save approximately 20 lives and prevent 118 serious injuries per year.

"This long-overdue update will save nearly 20 lives and prevent 118 serious injuries annually," said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health. "Electric utilities, electrical contractors and labor organizations have persistently championed these much-needed measures to better protect the men and women who work on or near electrical power lines.

So, what's included in OSHA's new rule? Some of the key points include the addition of minimum approach distances, arc-flash protection, requirements for personal protective equipment (PPE), and greater communication and safety data exchange between employers and subcontractors. .

You can access OSHA's final rule on power generation/electricity by visiting http://www.dol.gov/find/20140401/2013-29579.pdf.