Electricity is the most used energy source, both for work and for domestic use. It is present in all our life and in most places where it takes place. It is precisely this constant presence that sometimes underestimates the risks implicit in electricity.
Although the management and maintenance of electrical installations are reserved for qualified technicians and experts, all of us, as users of it, are obliged to know this form of energy and its risks.
The electrical risk is caused by electrical power. The electricity is clean and, precisely, this advantage is at the same time an inconvenience to protect us from its dangers, since it is difficult to perceive through the senses (it is not seen, it is not heard or smelled). Because of this, working together with electricity presents important risks that must be known and anticipated.
From the professional point of view, to work without tension it is necessary to follow the Five Golden Rules for work with electricity.
- Isolate from any possible source of power the part of the installation in which it is going to work, by opening the sectioning devices closest to the work area.
- Block in the open position, if possible, each of the sectioning devices, placing a signal or sign forbidden to maneuver it.
- Check, by means of a suitable tester, the absence of voltage in each of the electrically separated parts of the installation (phases, neutral, both ends of fuses or terminals, etc.).
- Ground and short circuit all parts of the installation where you are going to work.
- To delimit the work area by means of adequate signaling or insulating screens.