Electrical shock – Failure of isolations and barriers
- Safety Flash
- Published on 2 October 2015
- Generated on 14 November 2025
- IMCA SF 14/15
- 1 minute read
A crew member was testing 240V cables as part of re-terminating a replacement motor.
What happened?
There was some isolation in place, with equipment partly out of the racks for testing by a separate crew. However, the electrical supply for a space heater was unknowingly not covered by the existing isolation in the test position. Crew member received an electrical shock whilst removing insulation from a still active 240V conductor.
What went wrong?
- Specific equipment drawing was not utilised for isolation – a generic motor drawing was used instead. Isolation integrity had not been individually assessed for different activities.
Lessons learnt:
It is important to ensure that Permit to Work (PTW) and lock out/tag out procedures specify the requirement to reference equipment-specific rather than generic drawings, prior to determining the appropriate isolation.
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IMCA SF 02/10
8 April 2010
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