Build and improve a culture of safety in your organization, especially among employees involved in electrical work, by conducting electrical safety training.
Electrical safety training is a structured program designed to impart knowledge, awareness, skills, and safety practices to various professionals. These include electricians, maintenance personnel, engineers, construction workers, and anyone who works with electrical systems or equipment. Its primary objectives are to ensure worker safety, minimize the risk of electrical accidents, and promote a culture of electrical safety within organizations.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there was a 3.75 percent increase in workplace fatalities related to electrocution from 2019 to 2021. Among the top occupations that are commonly exposed to electrical-related workplace incidents are electricians, construction workers, and electrical power installers and repairers.
These are just a few practical examples of how hazardous this type of work can be. Hence, conducting training for electrical safety is an imperative practice for organizations across various industries. Since electrical hazards pose significant risks to employees and the workplace, electrical safety training not only helps protect the safety and well-being of workers but also prevents costly accidents and equipment damage.
Apart from these, consistent training on electrical safety can help in the following aspects:
Employees who are well-trained on how to properly and safely execute electrical work have higher chances of preventing electrical accidents. These include electrical shocks, burns, or arc flashes. Such can lead to severe consequences, like injuries, fatalities, and even property damage.
Through training, employees also gain the knowledge and skills they need to proactively identify and mitigate electrical hazards, significantly reducing the likelihood of accidents.
Regulations and standards, such as those set by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and other governing bodies, require organizations to provide electrical safety training to their employees. Failing to comply can result in various legal repercussions, such as fines and penalties. Further, organizations can reduce their liability in case of electrical safety accidents or incidents.
As an overview, here are some OSHA electrical safety training requirements to keep in mind and consider when developing your training program:
Common Electrical Hazards
Hazardous Locations
Wiring Methods and Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI)
When employees understand the importance of electrical safety and actively engage in following safety protocols, it creates a safer work environment for everyone. This culture of safety extends to all aspects of the workplace and helps prevent accidents and incidents beyond electrical hazards.
Effective training programs encompass key components and content that equip individuals with the knowledge and skills needed to work safely with any electrical task.
Hence, make sure to include these elements so that participants have an in-depth understanding of electrical hazards and the best practices for mitigating them:
Training Objectives – outline what participants should learn and accomplish during the training
Target Audience – specific group of participants for certain topics or modules
Training Methods – formats of how training is delivered based on the content, audience, and available resources
Training Materials – essential tools for conveying information effectively
Training Duration and Frequency – training length and schedule to reinforce knowledge and skills building
Also, the following electrical safety training topics must be covered for a holistic program:
Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) Procedures
PPE Requirements
Emergency Response Procedures
Hazard Recognition and Risk Assessment
Safe Work Practices
First Aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Training
Creating an electrical safety training program is a structured process that ensures the effective transfer of knowledge and skills to participants. Follow these key steps and considerations before implementing training for electrical safety:
Through a needs assessment, be able to identify the specific electrical safety training needs of your organization by considering various factors. These include the types of electrical hazards present, the skill levels of employees, and the regulatory requirements applicable to your industry. This type of assessment can help tailor the training content and delivery methods to address specific safety concerns.
Designing the curriculum involves defining the content, learning objectives, and the sequence of topics covered in the training program. Ensure that it aligns with the needs identified in the assessment phase. Then, develop clear learning objectives that specify what participants should know and be able to do upon completing the training.
Select and assign trainers or instructors who are knowledgeable, experienced, and qualified in electrical safety. They should possess the required expertise to effectively convey information, facilitate hands-on exercises, and answer participants’ questions. Also, they must be familiar with relevant regulations and safety standards.
Determine and prepare suitable training facilities equipped with the necessary tools and equipment for hands-on training and simulations. Ensure that these facilities meet safety standards and provide a safe environment for practical exercises.
Choose appropriate training methods and materials based on the curriculum and the needs of the participants. Consider a mix of classroom instruction, hands-on exercises, simulations, and interactive multimedia resources. Develop or acquire these to support the training program.
7 Steps to Conduct Electrical Safety Training
Implementing electrical safety training is an ongoing commitment to protecting employees and preventing electrical accidents. This is why a well-structured training program must be conducted by following these steps:
Based on the planning and development of electrical safety training programs, remember to reinforce and remind employees what’s expected of them after completing the training. Also, ensure that the objectives align with the identified training needs and are measurable, specific, and realistic.
Prioritize the safety of participants by establishing and using training facilities equipped with the necessary tools and equipment for practical exercises. Also, ensure that the training environment strictly adheres to safety standards and guidelines.
Once everything is prepared and set up, conduct the electrical safety training in a timely and organized manner. Make sure to cover all necessary topics for specific courses or modules that participants will take. This will help ensure the training is holistic and sufficient to address training needs in your organization.
Regularly monitor participants’ progress and provide feedback to help them improve their knowledge and skills. Remember to encourage open communication and create a supportive environment for asking questions and seeking clarification on safety-related matters.
Don’t forget to evaluate the participants’ comprehension and retention of the training content through various assessment methods. These may include quizzes, practical exercises, and scenario-based evaluations.
Similarly, gauge the effectiveness of the training program through participant feedback and safety performance metrics. This is to continuously improve the program and the objectives being set.
Maintain the relevancy of the training program by staying informed about changes in regulations, emerging electrical safety technologies, and evolving best practices. To ensure electrical safety training materials remain current and effective, review and update them regularly or as needed.
Organizations can also strengthen and optimize their processes of implementing training programs for electrical safety with the help of innovative solutions. Whether that may be a platform, mobile app, or dedicated software, trainers and employees can leverage their powerful features and functionalities to complement their training and skill development efforts.
One great example of a tool you can use is the Mitti (by SafetyCulture)’s Training feature. It enables an easy way for leaders, supervisors, and organizations to create, deploy, and track the implementation and effectiveness of electrical safety training with the help of Training’s key capabilities and more:
Pre-made training course templates
Analytics and reporting
Training records
Course certificates
Custom achievements
Admin suite
Notifications
Apart from that, you can also use the holistic Mitti Platform to create checklists and templates that you can use in standardizing evaluation processes and how training for electrical safety is conducted.
Putting great importance on practical knowledge and skills in the workplace through training can go beyond helping employees and organizations achieve their business goals. This can also serve a greater purpose for everyone’s safety.
Using technological solutions like Mitti (by SafetyCulture), a mobile-first operations platform, can support an organization’s electrical safety training efforts in the long run. Through these features, trainers, facilitators, and employees can do the following and more:
Create, deploy, and monitor electrical safety training courses to ensure they’re accurate, complete, and effectively implemented.
Ensure every training is regularly scheduled and conducted on a timely basis by setting deadlines and monitoring progress.
Standardize training programs and evaluation processes on electrical safety efforts by using checklists and templates.
Diversify electrical safety training programs by identifying training gaps and raising them as issues during evaluations. You can also assign corrective and resolution actions to proactively address them.
Gain insights on how training sessions are tracking toward safety goals using the Analytics dashboard.
Record the results of training evaluations and safety process inspections for continuous improvement by generating reports in various formats, including PDF, Excel, Word, or Weblink. You can also store them on Mitti (by SafetyCulture)’s secure cloud.
Communicate any electrical safety training updates and best practices to ensure everyone’s aligned using the Heads Up feature.
Incorporate key training on maintaining and using appropriate assets for electrical work (e.g., PPE and other tools).
Monitor training on various electrical work across various sites and locations.
Manage the safety of lone electrical workers to ensure they’re performing work according to how they’re trained using SHEQSY by Mitti (by SafetyCulture).
Check how bp pulse UK, an industry leader in the United Kingdom, uses Mitti (by SafetyCulture) to drive change through the following features:
Digitized inspections
Seamless action workflows
Issues reporting
Improved workplace communications
“It is critical that we know that people understand the message and when they acknowledge it we know that we are getting through to them.” — Andrew Gabb, Operations Health and Safety Manager, bp pulse UK
