A NSW electrician was fatally injured when he contacted energised wires. The 35-year-old electrician was completing works on an electrical circuit beneath a house when he contacted live wires.

MEA’s thoughts go out to the electrician’s family, friends, and colleagues.

Electric shock is the second leading cause of death in the construction industry.

SafeWork NSW has warned it is important to ensure electrical work is either conducted or appropriately supervised by a licensed electrician.

Further information on licensing can be found by visiting the NSW Fair Trading website.

SafeWork has warned that work on live equipment is prohibited in most situations. Before contacting or commencing work on equipment, ensure that it is switched off and test every circuit and conductor to ensure it has been properly isolated. Lock the circuit to prevent inadvertent re-energisation.

Other risks

Work in underfloor and roof space areas involves additional electrical risks, including:

• electrical wiring powering various circuits within the property itself such as lighting, power points, hot water systems, ovens, air conditioners etc.
• electrical wiring that may be installed within those spaces that is powering another part of the property such as an extension, garage, granny flat or duplex.
• metallised foil ceiling insulation.
• electrical wiring from solar/battery storage systems.
• exposed electrical wiring.

SafeWork NSW’s investigation into this incident is ongoing.

Every workplace should be safe. ME Safety can help make sure you and your employees are safe at work. ME Safety provides access to workplace manuals, SWMS templates, safety data sheets, and safety meeting tutorials.

More from MEA

• Superannuation to increase from July
• What we learned on an 850km electric vehicle roadtrip
• Time to get serious about building industry payments