Electric Shock Incident
Access, Egress and Emergency Procedures
Background
An electrician was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital in a critical condition after receiving an electric shock whilst in the ceiling space of a King William Rd business at around 3:00pm on 29 September 2020.
The Metropolitan Fire Service was required to cut through the roof and use a crane to get the unconscious electrician out of the roof space. SA Police and SafeWork SA are investigating the incident.
Discussion
When undertaking risk assessment / Job Safety Analysis (JSA) or Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) development / review, access and egress of the specific worksite must be considered in addition to the work processes. As an example, in an enclosed space the rescue or removal of an injured worker may be difficult and appropriate control measures will need to be implemented, including communication and rescue procedures to ensure if a rescue or evacuation is required it can be undertaken in a safe and timely manner.
Electric shocks are a notifiable incident and must be reported to SafeWork SA and the Office of the Technical Regulator. Notifiable shocks include minor shock resulting from direct contact with exposed live electrical parts (other than ‘extra low voltage’) and shock from capacitive discharge. Even the most minor of electric shocks can have serious consequences on the human body. Subsequently, medical attention should be sought immediately to en-sure no immediate or long-term effects or injuries result from the electric shock.
Action
Consider access, egress, communication and emergency procedures as part of work risk assessments. Hosts and PEER have WHS obligations to report incidents. PEER must be notified of all incidents to ensure that the appropriate regulator notifications are carried out by hosts and incidents can be investigated with corrective actions implemented.
If you have any queries or need assistance in ensuring you are meeting your obligations under legislation, please don’t hesitate to contact our WHS Advisor on (08) 8348 1243 or email us at safety@peer.com.au.
