Occupational Health, Safety and Environment
The Occupational Health, Safety and Environment domain tests whether you can work on and around electrical installations without injuring yourself, colleagues or the public, and without damaging the environment. Questions cover hazard and risk, the hierarchy of controls, safe isolation, PPE, emergency response, fire, waste handling and the Ghanaian legal framework behind them.
Core rules
- A hazard is anything with potential to cause harm; risk is the likelihood and severity of that harm. Assess before work starts and review as conditions change.
- Hierarchy of control, in order: eliminate, substitute, engineering controls (insulation, guards, RCDs, barriers), administrative controls (permits, signage, procedures), then PPE as the last line.
- Safe isolation is a sequence: identify the circuit, isolate at the correct device, lock and tag, prove the tester on a known source, test the conductors dead, then re-prove the tester. Never rely on a switch position.
- Fires involving energised electrical equipment are Class E: use CO2 or dry powder and isolate first where safe. Never water or foam on live equipment.
- Electric shock first aid: do not touch the casualty until isolated; call emergency services; check airway, breathing and circulation; start CPR if trained; cover burns with a clean dry dressing.
- Ghanaian duties come from the Labour Act 2003 (Act 651), the Factories, Offices and Shops Act 1970 (Act 328) and the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1994 (Act 490), which governs waste disposal.
Worked example
Replace a damaged 13 A socket in a school classroom. Hazards: live conductors, damaged insulation, trailing leads, dust. People at risk: electrician, pupils, cleaner. Controls: schedule the work when the room is empty; isolate the radial circuit at the board; lock off and tag; prove dead and re-prove the tester; insulated tools and gloves; barrier the doorway; refit the cover before re-energising; bag cable offcuts for recycling. Record the assessment and the residual risk.
Traps
- Saying 'switch off' without lock-off, proving dead and re-proving the tester.
- Using water or foam on energised equipment.
- Treating PPE as the first control instead of the last.
- Burning PVC offcuts or dumping lamps and batteries with general waste.