Electrical shock 277 v

[GoldDigger]

...
... But her foreman turned the power back on resulting in her electrocution. With correct safety procedures in place, he would not have been able to do that. But he did. It's just wrong at so many levels.

Reread the OP. What you state above was my first impression, and would have made checking for voltage before starting insufficient. But on rereading, I think that what happened was that the foreman stated that he was going to turn the power off, but decided not to and the OP started work on an energized circuit.
Possibly the OP can clarify that point?

[Sahib]

It is for the specific task, not the generality of the work site as a whole.
And, as I mentioned before, we wouldn't have been allowed past the gates without a valid safety passport. One company had a demo room at security where you had to sit through a 30 minute safety video before even going on site.

The OP didn't want to complain probably for fear of losing her job. That I can understand in a way. But her foreman turned the power back on resulting in her electrocution. With correct safety procedures in place, he would not have been able to do that. But he did. It's just wrong at so many levels.

All these: risk assessment, safety passport, demo room for a safety video, safety checklist etc have one common purpose. It is this: to have presence of mind which is liable to be lost under work pressure and subsequently could lead to casualties.

[Besoeker3]

For Sahib
Typical RA - apologies for the formatting. Pulled from a *.docx

ASSESSMENT FOR:- REF No:- NEXT REVIEW DATE:-
Electrical Insulation Testing 11 June 2010



CARRIED OUT BY:- DATE:-

**** June 2009



Does this assessment consider the Health & Safety of pregnant workers? Yes

Is a written working procedure involved? Yes



POTENTIAL HAZARD(S):-

1. Electrical hazards.




POSSIBLE RISK TO HEALTH & SAFETY:-

1. Electric shock.

PERSONS AT RISK:-

All users of the equipment.




EXISTING PREVENTION / CONTROL MEASURES:- ACTION WHEN:-

1. Visual examination Prior to use
2. Portable appliance maintenance variable but at least annually
3. Use lowest available voltage equipment As necessary
4. Only qualified persons are permitted to repair/test/maintain Always
electrical equipment.





SITE SPECIFIC HAZARDS:- ADDITIONAL CONTROL MEASURES:-

Site Name:
********
All portable electrical test appliances used on site is to be low voltage/cordless and have current valid test and calibration certification.







OVERALL RISK FACTOR:- LOW / MEDIUM / HIGH

Manager's signature:- Date:-

Print name:- Joe Bloggs

[Skokian]

Firstly, I'm glad that she survived the contact with the 277 Vac source.

The worst electric shock I ever got was from 277 Vac.

I've done 480 Vac hand to hand but wasn't shocked much, mainly because at my age, the skin on the fingers is fairly dry.

I work on electric fire pump controllers which range from 30 to 300 Hp. 480 Vac is very typically the power source and is often service entrance.

I was working on an older controller tacking voltage readings while kneeling on a dry concrete floor and wearing levies. The back of my hand accidentally contacted the screw terminal of a limit switch which had line voltage 277/480 Vac Wye. I could feel the jolt thru my hand and knee. Fortunately the current burned a perfect 1/2" disc on the back of my hand which reduced the current enough for me to let go.

This was before I started using kneeling pads, which I believe would have greatly helped.