WA Mines Electrical Safety Conference

PowerLogic was the proud conference partner at the recent WA Mines Electrical Safety Conference in WA.

It was great to hear/see all the presentations and network with old and new colleagues.

Their were lots of great takeaways, including some that have been supplemented with a little extra info, including:

• ARC Rated Clothing: don’t use DEET containing fly sprays but use permethrin based ones
• ARC Rated Clothing: Do not wash with products containing bleach, optical whiteners or very strong chemicals. Follow the manufacturer’s washing instructions.
• When there is an incident, what controls failed to allow the incident to occur?
• NEVER WORK ‘LIVE’, always isolate and always test before touching.
• Make modifications to switchboards, even replacing a fuse with a circuit breaker, and the certification is likely to be voided and the switchboard may no longer be safe.
• Some previous practices were ‘dumb’ and we shouldn’t pass on these to our apprentices.
• Imported electrical equipment needs to comply with all relevant Australian Standards.
• Management of overhead conductors is important to prevent incidents.
• Hazardous areas need careful management of electrical issues and electrical equipment.
• The removal of escutcheon panels and Perspex covers for thermal imaging presents a significant risk and should be discouraged – better to use permanent monitoring equipment to achieve the same result and/or crystal windows.