Earlier today, I shared my thoughts on a critical safety step that is often not part of LOTO periodic inspections involving qualified electrical workers. That article spurred a conference call with a client this afternoon. That discussion led to the next layer of the proverbial onion being peeled back…
Who should be responsible for managing volt meters being used by qualified electrical workers? The company or the worker?
Most organizations require the maintenance worker(s) to provide their own tools, including volt meters; which has always been puzzling to me as everywhere I worked as a safety manager, the company provided top-of-the-line meters to our electrical workers.
Do we require confined space entrants, attendants, or entry supervisors to go out and buy their direct-reading instruments for their entries into a Permit-Required Confined Space? Do we rely on them to maintain their meters on their own at their own expense? You may be laughing, but what is the difference in application towards the critical aspects of the electrical worker using a meter and workers using direct-reading gas meters for their entries?
Imagine the variation that creeps (dare I say FLOODS) into our ESRWPs when we do NOT provide and manage the volt meters our qualified electrical workers use dozens of times daily.
This year we performed a wall-to-wall compliance audit in VA and discovered that none of the 14 qualified electrical workers on site were using the same brand or model volt meter. And after checking recall notices, we found that 7 of their meters had been recalled for some defect, and none of the workers were aware. These meters ranged from a $45 unit from a popular discount national tool store to nearly a thousand-dollar unit from a reputable brand.
EMPLOYERS need to PROVIDE and MANAGE these safety-critical devices! End the madness of workers using $45 devices for a safety-critical function because they are being forced to buy their meters for use inside the business! Yes, some will argue that it is their choice to buy the $45 unit, and if that is how they value their safety, then so be it.
Where else would we apply such ludicrous reasoning?
Can this madness be applied to our Gas Meters used for Hot Work, PRCS entry, and Emergency Response?
Hell no – so why on earth do we apply it to a meter that is used dozens of times a day by our qualified electrical workers?
STEP UP and be a leader and provide and manage volt meters within our ESRWPs.