Safe isolation saves lives

Our daily routine has changed considerably during the past 18 months and humanity has adapted swiftly to protect themselves and others around them. The few extra minutes to apply your face mask when required and the regular application of hand sanitiser really does ‘save lives’, helping the fight against COVID-19, writes David Sweetman, Marketing and Business Development Director for the Di-LOG Group and Louise Adamson, Workplace Safety Speaker, NEBOSH Ambassador and Health and Safety Charity Trustee.

Many people in the industry, including the authors of this article, have spent years campaigning to help make our working environment a safer place and, as a manufacturer of electrical test equipment, David feels that the company has a responsibility to the industry to keep critical safety equipment affordable and easily accessible.

Over the past 18 months, Di-LOG has invested tens of thousands of pounds in the product development and marketing of safe isolation test equipment, and the company’s message has remained clear throughout – safely isolating all electrical circuits saves lives.

When preparing this article, David contacted Louise Adamson, an associate of his, who he has had the pleasure of meeting on several occasions. Louise’s heartfelt story (Michael’s Story) has sadly reinforced just why taking a few extra minutes to implement a safe isolation procedure is critical for the safety of yourself and others around you.

Di-LOG has invested tens of thousands of pounds in the product development and marketing of safe isolation test equipment Taking a few extra minutes to implement a safe isolation procedure is critical for the safety of yourself and others around you

Michael’s Story

“My brother died at a time when safe isolation had been taught to apprentices for the 20 years previous,” says Louise. “We’re now 16 years further on, and it breaks our hearts a little more each time we hear about an incident caused because safe isolation is not being put into practice.

“Employers should provide the right tools and equipment so their workforce can do their job safely. If you’re not being provided with voltage testers, proving units and LOTO kits, STOP THE JOB. Because there’s nothing more important than you going home to your loved ones at the end of your shift. My wee brother didn’t get home to his fiancée. He didn’t get to become an uncle to my two wee boys. He didn’t get to become a dad to children of his own. He died at the age of 26 in an entirely preventable incident. Safe isolation saves lives and stops such heartbreak.”

HSE statistics

Although it is difficult to know how many of the following statistics were caused by inadequate safe isolation, in the five years between 2015 and 2020, there were 21 fatalities reported to the HSE under RIDDOR which were caused by contact with electricity. There was at least one fatality that David is aware of in the year 20/21 and he says that he is not in a position to comment on the year so far for 21/22. You are more likely to die if you’re involved in an electrical incident than you are in other types of work-related incident. This is taken from a HSE training brochure: ‘In GB, roughly two in every 50 electrical accidents at work result in a fatality, compared with one in 500 from other causes. As well as electric shock, other electrically-related injuries arise from burns, arcing and fires. Many of the injuries can take a long while to heal and often result in life-changing conditions.’

The team at Di-LOG is working closely with its national distribution network of electrical wholesalers and online test equipment specialists to make its complete safety range of products easily accessible and affordable to all levels within the electrical and mechanical industry.

The company’s national sales and technical teams are on hand to assist you with any questions that arise with the implementation of safe isolation equipment across your business, as Di-LOG continues to make the industry a much safer place to work.

Di-LOG, dilog.co.uk

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