Before undertaking new activities in your workplace, you need to think about conducting a risk assessment.
Whether you are a site manager or just work on a construction site, you need to ensure you aren’t risking electrocution at any point. This is one of the worst incidents we see as a New York construction accident lawyer, but there are things everyone can do to try and reduce the risk of this happening in the future. Of course, in the worst-case situation that you do find yourself a victim of electrocution, make sure you reach out for medical help. You’ll then need to call a New York construction accident lawyer, who will be able to advise you about the next best steps to take in this situation.
Servicing Your Electrical Tools
Any construction site relies on electrical tools to get their work safely completed on time. This could include IT equipment to the power tools that are being used on the job every day. While most equipment is absolutely safe to use, a New York construction accident lawyer will tell you that they see a fair amount of accidents of this type taking place. Both employees and visitors need to be protected from this risk, which we’ll help you to do today. Any live part that’s exposed on a tool could cause someone to be electrocuted. This exposure could be direct to indirect, but both types of electrocutions can cause permanent injuries and health conditions.
Faulty electrics can also cause further issues, which could result in lifelong damage to one of your employees. Site managers are responsible for protecting their staff, and they need to regularly check all equipment that they use is in good condition. As a manager, you need to make sure you are testing electrics regularly so that if something needs replacing, you can quickly do this before someone gets hurt. Only allow team members who are knowledgeable about the equipment to use electrical tools. Otherwise, you’ll find that you are putting everyone in your organization at risk due to your lack of care.
Make sure you service all your electrical tools each year with the help of a professional. You should keep a database that tells you when they were last checked and when their next service is due. It’s better to delay work by waiting for a service than push yourself to use equipment that’s faulty.
Take Care When Cleaning and Maintaining Equipment
As well as servicing equipment, you also need to do your part to check everything is cleaned regularly. Our team of New York construction accident lawyers sees a lot of accidents that occur just due to laziness from team members. When you do clean this equipment, you need to take good care to ensure you don’t risk electrocution. Make sure everything is switched off at the power source and fully unplugged when in use. This only takes a few seconds to check but could be the difference between life and death. Make sure you make all of your new team members aware of how to go about these procedures so that you set a good example from their first day on the job.
Don’t Mix Water and Electricity
While it should go without saying, water and electricity should never ever mix. New York construction accident lawyers are often shocked to learn about accidents involving those two substances, but you’ll need to ensure they never mix on your site. Make sure everywhere is dry and clean where you are using electrical equipment so that you don’t risk electrocution. Also, wear rubber gloves and boots, which can help to save you if an issue was to occur.
Carry Out a Risk Assessment
Before undertaking new activities in your workplace, you need to think about conducting a risk assessment. Some environments have a higher risk of electrocution than others, so think about this carefully when you are setting any of your team up to conduct a new job. Take the time to think about where they will be working and ensure you always have someone on your site to oversee their work. Never leave inexperienced team members to work alone, as this is only asking for trouble.
These top tips will help to keep your site safe at all times and avoid electrocution. We highly recommend you reach out to an experienced New York construction accident lawyer if you’ve recently had an accident on your site. We are used to dealing with electrocutions and will be happy to guide you through the claims process if you are a victim of this in your workplace. Make sure you always follow the advice above as an employee though, as you also have some responsibility to ensure you are behaving properly at all times while at work. Contact us today for more information or to discuss any questions you have about making a claim.
