Electricity is a powerful and dangerous tool used by people all over the world. It is very important for your workplace to have an electrical safety program to help lower the risk when working around energized equipment.

A good electrical safety program is much more than a list of rules to follow. A good electrical safety program will minimize the risks involved with working on energized equipment. This includes reducing risks of injury to personnel, such as you and your colleagues. It also helps reduce the risk of breaking equipment when it needs to be used or maintained, saving you valuable time and money! Something so valuable should be a monumental task, right?

Below, I've laid down a list of steps that you can include when building your own Electrical Safety Program, tailored to the specific needs of your facility or business. These steps have been grouped into “sections” that most safety program documents should have.

This list is not exhaustive, there is always be more that you can do to keep your workplace safe. This is a simple guide to get you started. If you think of something important that hasn't been mentioned in this series let us know!

This post is part 1 of the "Electrical Safety Program Development" series:

1. How to Create an Electrical Safety Program
2. Electrical Safety Program: Getting Started
3. Your Electrical Safety Program: Document Housekeeping
4. Electrical Safety Program: Health and Safety, Your Roles and Responsibilities
5. Electrical Safety Program: Planning Standards and Hazard Identification
6. Electrical Safety Program: Planning Risk Assessment - What Makes an Electrically Safe Working Condition?
7. Electrical Safety Program: Training and Clear Communication
8. Electrical Safety Program Wrap Up: Documentation, Evaluation and Corrective Action