As the Electric Safety Foundation International has chosen to recognize the month of May as National Electric Safety Month, we at MTS Power Products will be continuing to offer some tips for proper electrical safety, no matter what project you’re tackling. For electricians, construction workers, and linemen, electrocution is still one of the leading cause of workplace injuries and fatalities. To make matters worse, these unfortunate incidents are typically avoidable, regardless of their actual causes.
Today, professionals who deal with electricity on a regular basis have access to personal protective equipment that can be worn to limit direct contact with electrical currents and reduce the risk of injury or death from electrocution. This type of equipment ranges from full-body coveralls to protective gloves and footwear. And yet, despite the contingencies, these incidents still occur at an alarming rate. Indeed, choosing the right kind of footwear for a given job is something that many people, even experienced professionals, can occasionally overlook. Given the dangerous nature of jobs involving electricity, no detail is too big or too small when considering the possible scenarios – when working with electrical equipment, the difference between sneakers and boots could also be the difference between life and death.
Besides comfort, your footwear must also provide you with constant and adequate protection from the elements of your profession. We understand that everyone wants to be comfortable while they work, but that doesn’t mean that comfort should be your top priority, especially for those working in the construction and electrical professions. To protect against electrocution and other electrical hazards on the job site, there are generally three different kinds of protective footwear used, each with its own unique purpose – conductive footwear, nonconductive footwear, and antistatic footwear.
Nonconductive footwear is the most commonly used type, made with insulated materials that stop electricity from getting to ground when coming into contact with live circuits. They’re typically made with a durable rubber outsole that not only absorbs dangerous charges, but also helps to prevent slips and falls on the job. These soles can also be outfitted onto steel-toe shoes, making them ideal for construction work. This disproves the common misconception that metal shoes are conductive – this is only the case if the metal itself is completely exposed and in contact with a another piece of metal that leads to the ground. So under normal circumstances, they are perfectly safe.
As the name suggests, antistatic footwear is meant to protect the wearer from environments high in static electrical charges. However, they also provide resistance to most electrical charges as well. On the other hand, conductive footwear is designed with materials that are intended to be worn in dangerous environments where harmful levels of static electricity accumulate, but offer little to no electrical resistance. These are typically used in handling volatile materials because it reduces the likelihood of an accidental ignition from the accumulated static electricity, while offering little to no protection from the electricity itself.
There have been countless instances of people being inadvertently electrocuted due to improper footwear. Imagine this scenario – a hurricane has passed and you emerge from your home to assess the damage and accidentally step on a downed powerline. Or imagine you’re trying to fix an outage yourself and your foot comes into contact with a live conductor. Here in South Florida, these are not uncommon scenarios, so being prepared with the right footwear is a detail that should never be overlooked if you want to keep yourself and your loved ones safe when dealing with electricity. By following this advice, you’ll greatly reduce your risk of dangerous electrocution. Be sure to check back here at MTS Power Products this month for more safety tips!
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