Personal Protective Grounding for Electric Power Facilities and Power Lines
We are pleased to offer a free 83-page download from the US Department of Interior dealing with one aspect of the fascinating topic of high-voltage work protocol – specifically personal protective grounding.
In generating plants, pumping facilities, substations and on transmission lines, enormous voltages and available fault currents can be present at the wrong time and the wrong place with tragic consequences.
Of course before workers contact or even approach these awesome conductors to make repairs, everything is de-energized with complete lock and tag procedures in place. But so catastrophic are the results of error, that a whole second layer of protection is needed. This highly informative document deals with the intentional temporary grounding of all de-energized lines before work begins.
The greatest danger is from switching error – power is restored before workers are clear. Other sources of hazardous energy are stored energy from capacitors, static build-up, faulted equipment, electromagnetic coupling, high-voltage testing and instrument transformer backfeed. In all cases, the procedures set forth in this PDF document on Personal Protective Grounding will assure a safe work environment even if lines or equipment are exposed to applied voltage.
Click here to download the entire Personal Protective Grounding for Electric Power Facilities and Power Lines provided by the US Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation.