Electricity is used everywhere in our homes and workplaces and we would find life very difficult, even impossible without it.
Imagine no lighting, heating, cooking, or that all important phone charger - how would you cope?
Although electricity is fundamental to life as we know it, it is also potentially very dangerous. It is extremely important that you are aware of the safety precautions needed to ensure its safe use.
From overloaded extension leads and cheapie chargers, through to white goods and other appliances not fit for purpose, issues with electrical items are a very common cause of fire.
Whether you own or rent your home or business premises, it's important to know the signs of a potential electrical problem. Look out for scorch marks, flickering lights, hot plugs and sockets, fuses that blow or circuit-breakers that trip for no obvious reason. These could all be signs of loose or dangerous wiring. If in doubt get them checked by a qualified electrician – remember if you are a tenant, you have a legal right to ask this of your landlord.
So how can you reduce the risks and keep you, your family, employees, or visitors safe?
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Always make sure electrical appliances have a British or European safety mark when you buy them.
The most Common products found by trading standards that do not meet safety standards are, Chargers, Travel Adapters, Fans, heaters, Kitchen appliances and power tools.
Keep electrical appliances clean and in good working order, regularly check appliance cables for signs of heat, wear, or damages.
Don't buy cheap counterfeit chargers for items that use lithium batteries, and never leave phones or laptops plugged in to charge overnight – learn more about charger safety here.
Always check that your appliance is using the correct fuse. Many products are provided with a standard 13amp fuse, even though it may only need a 3 or a 5 amp. The fuse protects the electrical system of your property from any potential damage caused by the connected appliance if it becomes faulty. Check out our easy guide to fuses here.
Only use one plug per socket, this is especially important with high powered appliances like washing machines, and tumble dryers. If you overload a socket it will produce heat which could lead to Fuses blowing or tripping out, damage to the appliance, the socket or even internal wiring of your property.
Do not use block adapters to connect multiple appliances, if you do not have enough sockets available. Always use adapter “Strips” or “Bars” and never daisy-chain multiple adapters, always ensure the adapter has a British or European safety mark.
If using socket adapters is unavoidable do not allow the total current used by the appliances to exceed 13 amps of current altogether - or 3,000 watts of power. This is a fantastic calculator from electricalsafetyfirst.org, and we highly recommend you check it out, this will help you to balance the usage of your homes electrical system. https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/guidance/safety-around-the-home/overloading-sockets/
Be lead safety savvy – cable drum extension leads should always be completely unwound to avoid overheating and be careful not to overload extension leads.
Register your white goods – it could save your life if a product is recalled for safety reasons.
Business owners, in addition to the above advise,
Ensure annual PAT testing is completed.
Ensure customers and employees do not use their own untested electrical devices onsite. Typical examples found include Mobile phone chargers, Radios, Kettles, fans and heaters.
Introduce a reporting and isolation policy for faulty or damaged appliances.
When inspecting appliances always look for the British or European safety marks, this guarantees the safety and quality of the plug. Counterfeit sub-standard plugs are unfortunately readily available and can prove deadly!
Are any wires are sticking out of a plug or are the core cables visible? Not only could they be pulled loose, but water, dust, and debris could get inside the plug becoming a potential fire hazard.
If any physical damage occurs to a plug however small, do not use the appliance until the plug has been replaced.
Never try to repair or cover a damaged plug with tape. Quality replacement plugs can be purchased in almost any high street store from as little as £2. It really isn’t worth the risk.
When inspecting a plug, if you notice brown marks or cracking it could be caused by overheating. Stop using the appliance immediately. This needs to be investigated, do not assume it’s the appliance that’s faulty. It could be a sign of a serious problem with your properties wiring.
Hot plugs or sockets or scorch marks could be a sign that your appliance is malfunctioning, but this is also an indication that your electrical wiring could be struggling to cope with your power requirements.
Damaged cables. Plug damage is relatively easy to notice, however cables are never checked as often as they could be and are often overlooked completely. If an appliance keeps blowing fuses, or your MCB’s trip out, unplug the item and fully inspect the cables for damage, always have an appliance professionally repaired and tested.
The fuse is designed to stop overheating. If the wrong fuse is fitted and there’s a problem, a fire could occur. The following indicates the correct fuse that should be used depending on the wattage of the appliance in question:
appliances that use up to 700 watts: 3 amp fuse
appliances that use 700 to 1000 watts: 5 amp fuse
appliance that use 1000+ watts: 13 amp fuse
If in any doubt check the appliance handbook.
Did you know that DIY errors cause half of all serious electric shocks in UK homes?
Almost 50% of men admit that they feel they should try and tackle household maintenance and repair jobs themselves or ask a mate before calling in a professional.
But our survey discovered that nearly half of all severe electric shocks are caused by DIY attempts, with the main errors including cutting through power leads, drilling into wiring and repairing electrical items while they’re still switched on.
In addition, in a survey of registered electricians a third said they had seen or been involved with fixing electrical DIY mishaps that had resulted in fires, serious electric shock or significant repair costs.
Many people use search engines such as Yahoo, Google or YouTube to help with DIY projects. This is fine for decorating or gardening projects, but for completing electrical works and specifically electrical safety you need to make sure you're getting guidance from a reputable source. The fact is you can’t rely on the electrical DIY information and advice you find or are provided online being correct, or meeting the IET 18th edition regulations.
GDES is committed to ensuring the health, safety, and welfare of our employee’s sub-contractors and or casual workers employed on behalf of GDES.
We will, so far as is reasonably practicable, establish procedures and systems necessary to implement this commitment and to comply with our statutory obligations on health and safety.
Our Personnel are informed of their responsibilities to ensure they take all reasonable precautions, to ensure the safety, health and welfare of those that are likely to be affected by the acts and emissions of our operational undertakings.
GDES understands its duty to identify the significant hazards that may be created by our undertakings and to risk assess these accordingly to ensure that suitable and effective controls are implemented to minimise risk to a suitable level as far as is reasonably practicable to staff and clients alike.
We also acknowledge our duty, so far as is reasonably practicable to:
Provide a safe working environment and fulfil our statutory commitments by actively managing and supervising health and safety at work;
Identify risks associated with our business activities and ensure suitable and adequate control measures are in place;
Ensure regular consultation regarding matters which affect employee health and Safety;
Ensure that all equipment used by our employees is fit for purpose, adequately maintained and PAT tested where applicable;
Ensure that all vehicles used by our employees are fully insured for business use, fit for purpose, adequately maintained, serviced, and MOT’d regularly;
Provide suitable storage and ensure safe handling of Hazardous materials and substances;
Ensure that all employees, sub-contractors and casual staff are competent to undertake their daily work activities by providing all relevant information and training;
Prevent accidents and cases of work-related ill health by ensuring robust reporting and investigation systems are in place;
Liaise and communicate effectively regarding health and safety matters when working on client’s premises;
Ensure access to competent advisor’s, who will assist us in the continuous improvement in our health and safety performance and management regularly reviewing and revising this policy;
Provide suitable resources required to make this policy and our Health and Safety arrangements effective.
To ensure the above, we have key personnel responsible for managing health and safety, producing site specific risk assessments and their subsequent implementations. This includes revisions as and when required.
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