Electrical Safety Refined by the Risk Control Hierarchy

April 20, 2010
The Key to Improving Electrical Safety Starts With Combining the Risk Control Hierarchy's Understanding of Electricity With It Safety Principals

The Risk Control Hierarchy (RCH) in the ANSI-Z10 standard provides electrical safety professionals with an excellent roadmap for setting the right safety objectives that result in the reduction of electrical risks. Combining our understanding of electricity with our principles of safety is the key to improving electrical safety. For example, when a Department of Energy electrical safety program is analyzed under the light of the RCH, many potential electrical safety improvements begin to jump off the page. The RCH not only helps improve a plant electrical safety program, but it also inspires manufacturers to improve their electrical equipment designs. Lastly, the RCH provides a means to measure the effectiveness of an electrical safety initiative much the same way a project manager uses financial measurements (Return on Investment or Payback Analysis) to evaluate a project.