Electrical Safety Risk Assessment

Assessment Date: [DATE]

Assessor: [ASSESSOR NAME]

Department/Area: [DEPARTMENT/AREA]

Review Date: [REVIEW DATE]

1. Assessment Scope

This risk assessment covers electrical safety hazards associated with inspection, testing, maintenance, troubleshooting, isolation, lockout/tagout, and work on or near energized electrical equipment and circuits. It includes shock hazards, arc flash and arc blast hazards, thermal burns, fire initiation, contact with exposed live parts, improper isolation, and failure of safe systems of work. The assessment applies to qualified electrical workers, supervisors, maintenance personnel, and any other persons who may be exposed to electrical equipment or energized conductors in the work area. It excludes utility transmission and distribution work, unless specifically stated in a separate task-specific assessment, and it excludes non-electrical hazards except where they interact with electrical work, such as slips, trips, falls, or confined-space conditions created by the electrical task.

2. Risk Assessment Methodology

This assessment uses a task-based hazard identification approach supported by a 5x5 risk matrix and the hierarchy of controls. Each task step is reviewed to identify electrical exposure, determine whether de-energizing is practicable, and evaluate the likelihood and severity of harm before and after controls. Risk ratings are assigned using the following scale: likelihood levels of Rare, Unlikely, Possible, Likely, and Almost Certain; severity levels of Negligible, Minor, Moderate, Major, and Catastrophic; and overall ratings of Low, Medium, High, and Extreme. The assessment prioritizes elimination of exposure through de-energizing, lockout/tagout, verification of absence of voltage, guarding, approach boundaries, work planning, and appropriate PPE where energized work cannot be avoided.

3. Risk Matrix Reference

The following matrix is used to evaluate risk levels based on likelihood and severity:

		Likelihood
Rare	Unlikely	Possible	Likely	Almost Certain
Severity	Catastrophic	Low	Low	Low	Medium	Medium
Major	Low	Low	Medium	Medium	High
Moderate	Low	Medium	Medium	High	High
Minor	Medium	Medium	High	High	Extreme
Negligible	Medium	High	High	Extreme	Extreme

4. Hazard Identification and Risk Evaluation

1. Contact with exposed energized conductors or circuit parts during inspection, testing, troubleshooting, panel opening, or maintenance.

Potential Consequences: Electric shock, electrocution, involuntary muscle contraction, secondary falls, cardiac arrest, neurological injury, and severe burns.

Affected Persons: Qualified electrical workers, maintenance personnel, apprentices, nearby workers, and any unqualified persons who enter the work area.

Initial Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Possible	Catastrophic	Extreme

Control Measures

• Eliminate exposure by de-energizing equipment whenever possible and establishing an electrically safe work condition before work begins.
• Substitute energized work with de-energized testing methods, remote sensing, or non-contact instruments where feasible.
• Use engineering controls such as barriers, covers, insulated blankets, test boxes, and guarded enclosures to prevent accidental contact.
• Apply administrative controls including written lockout/tagout procedures, job briefings, qualified-person authorization, and controlled access boundaries.
• Use voltage-rated gloves, arc-rated clothing, eye protection, and other PPE appropriate to the voltage and task when exposure cannot be eliminated.

Residual Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Unlikely	Major	High

2. Arc flash caused by accidental contact, dropped tools, loose connections, damaged insulation, contamination, or equipment failure while working on or near energized equipment.

Potential Consequences: Severe thermal burns, blindness, hearing damage, pressure-wave injuries, ignition of clothing, and fatal injury.

Affected Persons: Qualified electrical workers, apprentices, supervisors, and nearby workers within the arc flash boundary.

Initial Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Possible	Catastrophic	Extreme

Control Measures

• Eliminate the hazard by de-energizing equipment before work whenever practicable.
• Substitute live work with remote diagnostics, non-contact testing, or lower-energy equipment where possible.
• Use engineering controls such as arc flash boundaries, barricades, insulated tools, current-limiting devices, and properly maintained equipment.
• Implement administrative controls including arc flash risk assessment, energized work permits where required, task planning, and strict adherence to safe work procedures.
• Wear arc-rated PPE selected for the incident energy or hazard category, including face, head, hand, body, hearing, and foot protection.

Residual Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Unlikely	Major	High

3. Failure to isolate all energy sources or incomplete lockout/tagout during servicing, maintenance, or repair.

Potential Consequences: Unexpected energization, shock, arc flash, crushing or mechanical movement, equipment damage, and fatal injury.

Affected Persons: Maintenance workers, electricians, operators, contractors, and anyone exposed during startup or re-energization.

Initial Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Possible	Catastrophic	Extreme

Control Measures

• Eliminate exposure by identifying and isolating all sources of electrical and stored energy before work starts.
• Use a formal lockout/tagout program with individual locks, tags, verification steps, and controlled key management.
• Apply engineering controls such as disconnecting devices, visible isolation, and grounding where induced or stored energy may exist.
• Use administrative controls for shift handover, personnel accounting, written procedures, and return-to-service checks.
• Use PPE suitable for verification testing and any residual exposure during isolation activities.

Residual Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Unlikely	Major	High

4. Inadequate inspection, testing, or maintenance of electrical equipment, including worn insulation, corrosion, loose contacts, overheating, moisture ingress, and defective protective devices.

Potential Consequences: Equipment failure, shock, arc flash, fire, unplanned shutdown, and injury to workers or occupants.

Affected Persons: Maintenance personnel, electricians, operators, building occupants, and visitors.

Initial Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Likely	Major	High

Control Measures

• Eliminate defective equipment from service until repaired or replaced.
• Substitute damaged cords, tools, or components with compliant, tested equipment.
• Use engineering controls such as protective devices, enclosure integrity, proper grounding, and environmental protection against moisture and contamination.
• Implement preventive maintenance, inspection schedules, and testing based on manufacturer instructions and recognized industry guidance.
• Require pre-use inspection and removal from service of damaged equipment or accessories.

Residual Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Unlikely	Moderate	Medium

5. Use of unsuitable tools, test instruments, or non-rated equipment near energized parts, including conductive, damaged, or sparking tools.

Potential Consequences: Short circuit, arc flash, shock, burns, equipment damage, and fire.

Affected Persons: Qualified electrical workers and any nearby persons exposed to the resulting event.

Initial Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Possible	Major	High

Control Measures

• Eliminate the need for live tool use by de-energizing equipment before work.
• Substitute with insulated, voltage-rated, and properly tested tools and instruments.
• Use engineering controls such as test boxes, insulated barriers, and non-sparking tools where appropriate.
• Implement administrative controls for tool inspection, calibration, and task-specific tool selection.
• Use PPE including voltage-rated gloves, eye protection, and arc-rated clothing when required.

Residual Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Unlikely	Moderate	Medium

6. Inadequate approach distance control, including unqualified persons entering limited, restricted, or arc flash boundaries.

Potential Consequences: Shock, arc flash exposure, burns, panic, distraction of workers, and secondary injuries.

Affected Persons: Unqualified workers, visitors, contractors, and qualified workers performing the task.

Initial Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Possible	Major	High

Control Measures

• Eliminate unnecessary access by restricting the work area before work begins.
• Substitute open access with controlled entry points and supervised access only.
• Use engineering controls such as barricades, signage, covers, and physical separation.
• Implement administrative controls for boundary marking, spotters, permits, and supervision of unqualified persons.
• Use PPE appropriate to the task for anyone authorized to enter the controlled area.

Residual Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Rare	Major	Medium

7. Fire caused by electrical faults, overloaded circuits, damaged cords, poor connections, or arc flash ignition of nearby combustibles.

Potential Consequences: Property damage, smoke inhalation, burns, business interruption, and potential spread of fire to adjacent areas.

Affected Persons: Workers, occupants, visitors, emergency responders, and the public.

Initial Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Possible	Major	High

Control Measures

• Eliminate ignition sources by de-energizing and removing defective equipment from service.
• Substitute damaged cords and components with compliant equipment and correct load-rated devices.
• Use engineering controls such as proper overcurrent protection, enclosure integrity, housekeeping, and separation from combustibles.
• Implement administrative controls for housekeeping, load management, inspection, and fire watch where needed.
• Provide PPE with flame-resistant properties and ensure suitable fire extinguishers are available and accessible.

Residual Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Unlikely	Moderate	Medium

8. Improper re-energization, temporary release from lockout/tagout, or failure to verify removal of tools, grounds, and personnel before return to service.

Potential Consequences: Unexpected startup, shock, arc flash, mechanical injury, equipment damage, and fatality.

Affected Persons: Workers performing the task, operators, and anyone in the danger zone during restart.

Initial Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Possible	Catastrophic	Extreme

Control Measures

• Eliminate premature energization by enforcing a formal return-to-service process.
• Use substitution only where temporary testing can be performed with safer diagnostic methods.
• Use engineering controls such as visible isolation points and interlocks where available.
• Implement administrative controls for final inspection, personnel clearance, tool removal, and authorization to re-energize.
• Use PPE during verification and controlled restart activities as required by the task.

Residual Risk Assessment

Likelihood	Severity	Risk Rating
Rare	Major	Medium

5. General Control Measures

• Establish and enforce a written electrical safe work procedure that requires de-energizing whenever practicable, with energized work permitted only when justified and authorized.

The procedure should define when live work is prohibited, how exceptions are approved, and how workers verify an electrically safe work condition before starting. [7] [9]

• Implement a formal lockout/tagout and hazardous energy control program for all servicing, maintenance, and repair activities.

The program should cover identification of energy sources, isolation, verification, shift changes, temporary re-energizing, and return-to-service checks. [9] [4]

• Maintain controlled access around energized equipment using approach boundaries, barricades, warning signs, and supervision of unqualified persons.

Mark the work zone clearly and prevent entry by persons who are not trained or authorized for the task. [3] [13]

• Use preventive maintenance, inspection, and testing to identify deterioration before failure occurs.

Inspect for insulation damage, corrosion, loose connections, overheating, moisture, and defective protective devices; keep drawings current and follow manufacturer instructions. [3] [3]

• Require task-specific PPE selection based on the hazard, voltage, and incident energy or hazard category.

PPE should include arc-rated clothing, eye and face protection, hearing protection, voltage-rated gloves with leather protectors, and suitable footwear as required by the task. [13] [11]

6. Emergency Preparedness

• Establish an electrical emergency response procedure that includes immediate de-energization where safe, area isolation, notification of supervision, and emergency medical response for shock, burns, or collapse. [1]
• Provide first aid and CPR response capability for electrical shock incidents, including rapid access to emergency services and trained responders. [12]
• Prepare for arc flash events by ensuring eyewash, burn treatment supplies, fire extinguishers, and evacuation routes are available and known to workers. [10] [10]
• Require immediate reporting and investigation of any shock, arc flash, near miss, or unexpected energization event before work resumes. [2]
• Ensure workers know how to safely evacuate the area if smoke, fire, loud arcing, or equipment failure occurs, and keep unqualified persons out of the danger zone. [14]

7. Training Requirements

• Electrical Hazard Recognition: Train workers to recognize shock, arc flash, arc blast, fire, damaged insulation, exposed live parts, and unsafe conditions such as wet environments, missing covers, and overloaded equipment. Training must emphasize that electricity can injure or kill even at low voltage and that workers must not rely on appearance alone to judge safety. [6] [15]
  • Common causes of injury
  • Signs of deteriorating equipment
  • When to stop work and escalate concerns
• Lockout/Tagout and Hazardous Energy Control: Train authorized employees on energy isolation, lock application, tag use, verification of de-energization, shift handover, temporary release, and return-to-service procedures. Training should make clear that only the person who installs a lock removes it, unless a formal exception procedure is used. [9] [4]
  • Identify all energy sources
  • Verify absence of voltage
  • Control shift changes and personnel accountability
• Energized Work Authorization and Safe Work Practices: Train qualified persons on when energized work is permitted, how to complete a live-work permit, how to establish boundaries, and how to use safe work methods such as the left-hand rule where applicable. Training must also cover the requirement to justify live work and to keep unqualified persons away from the task. [4] [4]
  • Permit content and approval
  • Approach boundaries
  • Job briefing requirements
• PPE Selection, Use, and Limitations: Train workers to select, inspect, wear, and maintain arc-rated and shock-protective PPE appropriate to the task. Training should cover the limitations of PPE, the need for compatible clothing, and the prohibition on synthetic clothing that can melt during an arc flash. [13] [8]
  • Arc-rated clothing selection
  • Glove inspection and care
  • Face, eye, hearing, and foot protection
• Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment: Train workers to inspect test instruments, cords, tools, and equipment before use, and to verify that meters and voltage detectors are properly rated and functioning before and after testing. Training should include recognition of damaged cords, loose connections, overheating, and moisture-related hazards. [1] [9]
  • Pre-use inspection
  • Instrument verification
  • Removal from service criteria

8. Monitoring and Review

Review Frequency: Annually and after any incident, near miss, equipment modification, or significant change in work method or environment.

Monitoring Type	Frequency	Responsible Party	Description
Regular Inspection	Before each use and at the start of each shift	Qualified electrical worker or assigned supervisor	Inspect tools, test instruments, PPE, barriers, and work area conditions for damage, contamination, missing covers, moisture, and other unsafe conditions. Remove defective items from service immediately. [1] [5]
Worksite Audit	Monthly or after significant electrical work	Supervisor or electrical safety lead	Audit compliance with lockout/tagout, energized work permits, approach boundaries, housekeeping, signage, and PPE use. Verify that only authorized persons are performing energized tasks. [9] [12]
Preventive Maintenance Review	Per manufacturer schedule and at least annually	Maintenance manager or qualified electrical technician	Review inspection and testing records for breakers, relays, insulation condition, corrosion, overheating, and moisture intrusion. Confirm that maintenance intervals remain aligned with equipment condition and manufacturer instructions. [3] [3]
Risk Assessment Review	After any incident, near miss, equipment modification, or change in work method; otherwise annually	Safety manager with electrical supervisor input	Review the risk assessment whenever equipment, procedures, staffing, or environmental conditions change. Update hazard ratings, controls, and training needs based on incident findings and field observations. [2] [2]

9. Special Circumstances

• Wet, damp, or contaminated conditions increase shock and arc flash risk and require additional controls, including environmental assessment, drying, guarding, and stricter access control. [15]
• Night work or reduced visibility increases the likelihood of tool contact, misidentification of equipment, and failure to recognize hazards; enhanced lighting and supervision are required. [7]
• Lone work on electrical equipment should be avoided where possible because emergency response may be delayed and supervision is reduced. [12]
• Work on energized equipment, testing, troubleshooting, or temporary re-energizing increases exposure and requires a documented justification, qualified personnel, and enhanced PPE and boundaries. [1] [4]
• Poor housekeeping, clutter, and combustible materials in the work area increase the severity of electrical incidents and must be controlled before work begins. [1]

Approval and Sign-off

This risk assessment has been reviewed and approved by:

Assessor: _________________________ Date: __________

Manager/Supervisor: _________________________ Date: __________

Safety Representative: _________________________ Date: __________

This risk assessment must be reviewed annually and after any incident, near miss, equipment modification, or significant change in work method or environment. or when significant changes occur.

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