Safe Practice in Power Distribution

1. Safe Practice in Power Distribution Swapan Dasgupta, CEO, CESU

2. Scope of the Presentation • Why The Subject Is Important. • Discom’s Safety Approach. • Why Accidents Happen. • Direct And Indirect Causes of • Safety Awareness. • Safety Rules. • Safety Work Practices. • CESU’s Initiatives. • Wrap Up.

3. Why The Subject Is Important • India • Almost 12 people die due to electrocution every day . • 42 % of total fires occur due to electrical sources. • 8% deaths that occur in factories are due to electricity

4. DISCOM’S SAFETY APPROACH • Safety Of Public • Safety Of Employees • Safety Of Lines And Equipments

5. SAFETY OF PUBLIC • Road Crossing • Tree Touching • Ground Clearance • Building Clearance • Consumer Installations • Unauthorized Connections. • Easy Access Of Public To Utility’s Installations.

7. Stealing Directly From Transformer

8. SAFETY OF EMPLOYEES • At The Time Of Construction • At The Time Of Operation • At The Time Of Attending Breakdown • At The Time Of Routine Maintenance

9. SAFETY OF LINES AND EQUIPMENTS • Relays And Protection Devices • Setting Of Relays • Hot Spot Detection • Line Diagrams: Reliability And Smart Updation • Oil Testing • Logging Operational Parameters • Annunciation System Checking • Earthing

10. Why Accidents happen? Accidents generally happen due to lack of maintenance, lack of Supervision, lack of knowledge, over confidence and negligence. Accidents may also happen due to one or more of the following reasons: Using improper tools Improper/non usage of protective devices Lack of proper instructions and supervision Mental/physical condition of the employee Poor Judgment

11. Causes of Accidents • Direct causes. • Unsafe Act: Violation from the commonly accepted safe procedures of the work is called Unsafe Act. • Examples • Operating without authority. • Failure to ensure safety. • Bypassing safety devices. • Use of unsafe tools/tackles. • Unsafe loading and placing. • Taking unsafe procedures. • Working on moving machinery/equipment.

12. Continued- • Unsafe condition: The conditions with potential of causing injury to a person or damage to equipment are called Unsafe Conditions. • Examples • Unguarded machines. • Defective machine. • Unsafe design/construction. • Improper illumination. • Poor house-keeping. • Lack of proper tools. • Slippery floor.

13. Indirect Causes Of Electrical Accidents • (Contributing causes which give rise to direct causes) a) Lack of knowledge and skill:- Incorrect knowledge Incomplete knowledge. Unskilled/low degree of skill. Misunderstanding job instructions. b) Improper Physiological/Anatomical characteristics. This relates to persons of:- Poor eye-sight. Hard of hearing. Over-age. Illness Allergic. Intoxication Improper Psychological Characteristics. c) Persons who are: Arrogant. Lazy. Fearful. Nervous. Egoistical. Absent-minded. Over-confident.

14. Cost of Accidents All injury cases, weather minor or major, result in financial loss to the organization. In addition to irreparable loss for the family members in case of fatal accident. Direct Cost- Cost of medical treatment, Compensation for loss of earning capacity/ permanent disability/fatality Indirect Cost- Production loss, Transportation charges, Time loss by co-workers, Idle time of machine. Damage to equipment, Loss of morale of workers in unit, Loss of time supervisory personnel in submitting report/accident analysis, Loss of efficiency of injured persons after reporting for duty, Administrative expenses, Legal/Court expenditure, Company/s reputation at stake. Cost of training the substitute employee, Investigation by statuary authorities, Business interruption/failure to meet schedule, Penalties imposed by statuary authorities Total Cost of Accidents = Direct Cost + Indirect Cost Indirect Cost usually varies from 5 to 11 times that of direct cost

15. Safety Awareness In Use Of Electricity • Electrical energy is the most commonly used form of energy. • One cannot imagine the life without electricity in modern society. • Using electricity is very simple, but, little does one know about how electricity really works. • Such a situation is not good because electricity is a good servant but a very bad master. • It can cause instantaneous death, life long disability due to severe burns or devastating fires turning crores of rupees worth assets to ashes. • It is, therefore, absolutely essential that one should know what precautions to take while using electricity.

16. SAFETY EDUCATION & AWARENESS • Analysis Of Electrical Accidents • Sharing The Case Study Report Of Each Accident Among The Worlmen Regularly. • Documentation Of Each Accident • Building Up Of Knowledge Bank On Electrical Accidents. • Regular Training To Field Staff • Awarding Employees For Exhibiting Safety Sense And Norms In Work Place. • Conducting Quizes On Safe Practices Among Discom Employees.

17. Safety Rules – Precautions to avoid accidents Wholehearted support and commitment of every employee is essential to execute the work following all safety precautions. Obtaining proper line clear from all possible sources of supply shall be taken and the following precautions are to be taken. • Till a L.C. is received from all sources every line or equipment shall be treated as live. • Hang “Danger” boards at all strategic places to ensure safety at work spot • Where there is a risk at places of work cordon off the area from unauthorized persons • Explain the area which is safe to work and ensure that every employee in your team has understood the same. • Nominate one among the team exclusively to reap a close watch and ensure that every person in the team is safe. • Earthing is to be provided on both sides of the work spot before proceeding with the work. • All safety rules are to be followed till entire work is completed. • Insulated earth rods with clamps shall be used and the person using the earth rods shall keep safe distance from earthing wires. • Examine earth rods and every safety appliance before using • No person shall be allowed work if he is under the influence of alcoholic drinks under inebriated condition.

18. Continued- • Unauthorized persons shall not attempt replacement of transformer fuses • Other than utility employees shall not try to replace street lights or set right service wires • Inform nearest utility office if loose or hanging wires are noticed • While drilling bore wells ensure that the casing pipes do not touch live wires while they are being lifted up. • Do not go near the Distribution transformers • Do not touch low lying or snapped conductor • Do not lean against electric poles • Do not stand beneath overhead lines while heavy winds are blowing

19. Electrical Safety Work Practices Some of the important electrical safety work practices are given below: • Ensure that operating procedures are up to date and appropriate for conditions. • Evaluate circuit information drawings. • Determine degree and extent of risks involved. • Comply with minimum clearances when working around electrical power lines or other exposed conductors. • Always wear safety glasses and a hard hat when working on live circuits. • Use electrically insulated tools. • Use electrically insulated gloves. • Test dates for integrity of equipment and protective clothing - independent safety lab. • Wear required personal protective clothing (i.e., long sleeve shirt and long pants)- flame resistant materials for clothing (different weights for protection dependent on fault levels and clearing times)

20. Electrical Safety Work Practices • Your hands are your most valuable tools. Protect them by wearing appropriate safety gloves. Before using, inspect the gloves for signs of wear and tear and other damage. • Evaluate personnel qualifications. • Use ladders with nonconductive side rails if there is any possibility the ladder could contact exposed energized parts. • Follow lock-out tag-out procedures. • Inspect all extension chords for wear and tear. • Never drape electrical chords over heat sources. • Never store flammable liquids near electrical equipment, even temporarily. • Be aware of special training requirements. • Motors with thermal protection can restart without warning, always lockout the motor before working on it. • Only qualified personnel should perform maintenance, inspection and repairs on any electrical equipment.

21. SAFETY ITEMS FOR EMPLOYEES Insulated Ladder Discharge Rod Helmet Safety Gloves High Voltage Detector Safety Dress Safety Shoes

22. CESU’S INITIATIVE ON SAFETY • CESU is insisting for AB cable for LT extension • Insisting Linemen to use Helmet, Safety Shoes and Gloves while on work. • High voltage detectors have been provided to field maintenance teams. • Over loaded transformers are upgraded or additional transformers are installed promptly in order to ensure safety of equipments. • All the Divisional Engineers are instructed to visit the 33/11 kv sub stations at least once in a week to ensure safe operation and maintenance of the sub stations. • House keeping competition has been initiated among the Divisional Engineers to ensure quality and safe operation of Sub stations.

23. CESU’S INITIATIVE ON SAFETY contd. • Instruction has been given to Divisional Engineers to ensure fencing of all the Distribution Sub stations to ensure human and equipment safety. • In order to enhance safety awareness, CESU has recently awarded its Linemen for best skill, in which safety sense was an important factor. • With time interval, CESU is publishing safety tips in the local dailies for awareness of consumers as well as employees. • CESU is also distributing leaflets to consumers as well as employees for enhancing awareness on safety.

25. Wrap-Up • Need for Electrical Safety is universal • ES awareness is increasing • Partnership between regulators, employers, manufacturers- growing • Many injuries are prevented • Learning from experience- very essential • Innovative ES devices are being used by people Much More to be done in the field of ES in India!!

26. THANK YOU