Fundamentals for Electrical Safety

In order to successfully handle electrical problems at your building, you must know the basics of such work. And, just as important, you need to know how to communicate the problems effectively to your maintenance crews and electrical contractor.

These tips will help you and your crews stay on the same page and handle problems safely and efficiently, and, hopefully prevent them from occurring.

The Fundamentals
You don’t have to be an expert at working with electrical systems or even identifying a problem, but it helps to know the basics of the system, how it works and what needs to be done to address any issues.

According to James Loesch, plant facilities chief engineer at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and former member of the International Facilities Management Association’s board of directors, here are some key aspects every manager, regardless of residential or commercial, should know.

• Know where the electricity comes into the building and how to disconnect it. This way, in case of an emergency, you can cut off the electricity. Likewise, know the location of the fuses or the breakers so you can restore power later.
• Determine why the problem occurred. This will allow you to prevent it in the future. “It’s not enough to just reset the breakers, because it could happen again,” Loesch says. There are elements beyond your control, such as lightning, that can trip the breakers, but it is still helpful to get to the bottom of the issue.
• Do not just flip a switch to restore power. Doing this can be dangerous, especially if the entire building has lost power. When the power is restored, the energy to start up all the equipment—from lights to HVAC systems—is higher than what is needed to keep them running full time. Therefore, such a restart could overheat the electrical system and cause a fire.
• If you smell smoke, call the fire department. It does not matter if you smell burning paper or burnt rubber, call the fire department first, regardless of whether it is an electrical problem, Loesch says. However, he stresses that if you have additional protocols set up by your property manager for such a situation, you should follow those as well.
• Make sure your employees know. Although you may have extensive knowledge in dealing with issues at your property, your employees may not. For example, although a general rule of thumb is to keep a 3-foot radius clear near the breakers, your maintenance crews, janitorial staff, tenants or property managers may always do this. Loesch says that if electrical equipment areas aren't secured, there is a temptation to fill the space with storage or equipment, so make sure your staff is well-informed about these kinds of safety issues.
• Do not hesitate to call an electrician. If you and your crew are faced with an electrical problem, regardless of the scope, and you do not want to risk injury or doing the work incorrectly, call an electrical contractor. “As they say, better safe than sorry,” Loesch says.

Risk Areas in the Office
In the office space itself, you could come across violation after violation of safe electrical practices. Space heaters are one of the most dangerous products to have in an office, especially if they are left unsupervised. In fact, anything that can produce heat should be monitored regularly, Loesch says.

Some of these products include: power strips or multiple-outlet extensions, extension cords and microwaves.

Using these products could create a fire by overheating the outlet or random objects (e.g. papers or microwave popcorn). You should be especially concerned if your building is 10 to 15 years old, as it is more likely to have wiring that has “marginal ability” to handle such a specific electrical load, Loesch says.

Ultimately, these common tenant practices put your property at risk of overheating or fire damage, not to mention possibly endangering people’s lives. To curtail some of this risk, make sure you schedule regular electrical inspections of units or property and outline penalties for violations.

Dealing with Contractors
Good communication during any project is key, but handling electrical problems is a special case, given the serious injury or death associated with its work.

According to Bob Baird, vice president of Training & Development for the Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC), you need to have a clearly defined, contracted relationship with the electrical contractor, which will benefit both parties.

It is also important that you provide all details in writing. This could be anything from job orders and change orders to materials selection, payment terms and insurance requirements.

It would also be prudent to know some terms that a contractor could use: fuse, breaker, voltage, gigawatt, ampere (amp) and ampere-hour; definitions can be found here on the Occupational Health and Safety Administration’s (OSHA) Web site.