Tips to give your employees about Generator Safety
When the temperatures dip below freezing and the snow or ice start to come down, there is an increased risk of losing power at your home or business. If you, your family, or your employees are forced to spend extensive time at a location due to loss of power, it may be wise to have a generator ready to keep the facility operating. With these alternative power sources come unique risks that you and your employees need to be prepared for. Generators can be dangerous if not used properly. This danger brings a need for your employees to be exposed to generator safety. Improper usage can lead to illness and injury, and in extreme cases even death. When Winter Weather causes your family or business to deal with alternative power methods, make sure to keep everyone involved safe with these generator safety tips.
Owners Manual
The first and most important thing to do when you purchase and when you are about to use a back-up generator is to read the manufacturer’s safety and operating manual before using the generator. If you have forgotten how to use the generator reading the manual can refresh you on how to properly use the equipment and there should be a customer service number for the company if you have additional trouble operating the machine.
Installation
Have the generator installed by a professional and inspected by an electrician periodically. If you have someone on staff who is qualified to do this it can help, but it is wise to still seek the opinion of an outside party. The electricity created by generators has some of the
same hazards as normal electricity, but many times they include additional hazards. One major hazard is that generator users often bypass the safety devices like a circuit breaker. Circuit breakers are built into electrical systems and many times not included in a generator. The only way to ensure your generator is safe is with the advice of a professional.
Make sure the generator is Properly Grounded
It is crucially important for you to make sure the generator system has proper grounding and bonding of all electrical components and transfer switches. This can help minimize the possibility of uncommon current flow, which is common during a power outage. The importance of properly grounding and bonding circuits cannot be overstated. This is because standby power systems such as circuit breakers
can easily trip, generators can drop offline, and important emergency or life safety loads can be lost due to hidden grounding problem. These problems could easily occur
during a utility power outage.
Never Leave the Generator unattended
Also, you should never leave your generator running when you are away from your home or business. This should be a part of your safety program and all employees should be aware of it. It is probably a good idea to have a few people who are in charge of the generator. If you are away from the business on the day the generator is needed it is important to know someone is at the property who can use the generator and can use it wisely.
Be careful when touching the Generator
It is equally important to use caution any time you have to touch the generator. Many areas of the equipment may become too hot to touch. This temperature can continue for several hours after the generator has been in use. Taking extra precaustions can prevent you and your employees from suffering a burn.
Consider hearing protection
If you have employees who are doing their job near the generator, it is wise to require them to wear hearing protection if the generator is loud of enough to cause hearing problems. This should be a decision of management and not of the employee. When developing a safety manual, it is wise to include these things in it and make sure all employees are aware of the hazard.
For more generator safety tips watch this video from our partners at Travelers Insurance.