The importance of workplace safety can never be emphasized enough. Even with all the training and education regarding workplace safety – some accidents are just bound to happen.
Here’s where the bare minimum comes in as even the simplest safety measure will play a major part in workplace safety.
But what exactly are we referring to in this case? Well, we’re talking about focusing on proper equipment installation before proceeding to other safety measures.
And without further ado, we’ll explain the certain steps you can take to handle equipment installation correctly.
Talk to your supplier
He will have the answers to any burning questions you have regarding your equipment. Whether it’s about electrical requirements or specific parts in the equipment – your supplier is the go-to person if you are seeking these answers.
They’re also the ones who will inform you what needs to be prepared or done before the equipment is delivered to the site.
Determine whether you need an expert around
Can you or your staff handle the equipment installation on your own or will you require the assistance of a professional engineer?
Pop these questions into your head and ask yourself carefully. Depending on the kind of equipment you’re installing, be it switchgear or electrical transformer installation – you need to find out if there is a real need for an expert to be by your side.
Without a proper person with you, faults and errors during equipment installation may be overlooked – resulting in an unsuccessful installation. In turn, this may cause the equipment to breakdown and affect the business’s operations or even harm your staff.
So, if it’s really required – make sure to engage a certified engineer who knows exactly what to do. After all, their services don’t just end at installation but it extends to maintenance services like electric motor rewinds and generator overhauling.
Deliver the equipment smoothly
The delivery process is just as important as how the installation will be done. Without the necessary tools to transport the equipment around – you won’t be able to place the equipment in its rightful position in the first place.
Other considerations to make is the size of the equipment, the size of the door, different access available within the plant and scheduling of the installation date. Even little things like the weather have to be kept in mind as it plays a part in the delivery process.
Wear the appropriate attire
Whenever an equipment installation is done, you have to ensure that your engineer is wearing the right attire. Safety goggles, earplugs, high-voltage insulating gloves or any other personal protective equipment (PPE) of the sort have to be worn for the engineer to stay safe at all times.
Aside from knowing what to wear, you should also know what cannot be put on. Items such as metal accessories, loose apparel, watches or any other things that can cause harm to your engineer should be immediately removed.
Create a list of internal safety procedures
Every client’s safety standards will differ, so you have to do your part by sharing your own internal safety procedures.
If you already have a list on hand, follow it accordingly and pass it down to the engineer. Otherwise, simple things like taking note of which areas to not go into and certain equipment to keep an eye on has to be said beforehand.
Ensure both the engineer and staff’s safety
Before the installation even begins, you have to make room for safe access and ensure there is a safe place for work.
Although the engineer will be the one mainly handling all the work, you have to put yourself in the staff’s shoes as their safety is equally important. Think about how other staff or contractors who are working nearby will be affected as well – make it clear that the area is out of bounds so they are not within the site and susceptible to harm. Use barriers, signs or even assign people to stay close by to the key locations to make sure people stay out of the working zone.
Stick to the basic safety measures
Only make changes to the experimental setup when the circuit power is turned off and lock off equipment which may be turned on accidentally.
Even other simple considerations like giving time to components which operate at significantly high temperature to cool down. Usually, all these basic guidelines can be easily found in manuals. But if you’re looking for more detailed steps to follow – you should probably get an engineer to give you more information and at the same time handle the equipment installation process smoothly.
Schedule a post-installation follow-up visit
Once you have successfully installed the equipment, you can’t just continue on with your business’s operations. The job is not done yet.
Schedule a follow-up visit with your engineer, you will need to get your engineer to check the equipment from time to time. And as you’re going about your regular check-ups – go for a maintenance plan such as preventive maintenance (PM) or predictive maintenance (PdM) to have a clear idea of your equipment’s performance over time.
Moreover, if you notice that your equipment such as your electric motor is becoming faulty – do electric motor overhauling to verify the problem.
Workplace safety is crucial and it all starts with equipment installation.
Always remember that it requires constant effort and time so, take it one step at a time. Once you have perfected this part at the very beginning – you are one step closer to maintaining workplace safety.
