Five steps to staying ALIVE: Simplifying safe working around electricity

A correct safe isolation procedure can help prevent injuries and fatalities

It’s over twenty years since the tragic death of 26-year-old electrician, Michael Adamson, but sadly there still remains unacceptable levels of accidents and fatalities related to electrical working.

Michael was an experienced electrician who lost his life in a preventable electrical incident in 2005 when called to an “all hands on deck” job to help get the gym within a large sports shop up and running. Cutting a cable marked “NOT IN USE” which was, in fact, wired into a distribution board and not safely isolated, Michael suffered a fatal electric shock, robbing him of his future.

Martindale’s memorable safe isolation procedure steps

In an ongoing bid to safeguard workplaces – and protect the lives of anyone working on or near an electrical installation – Martindale has created a simplified version of its more extensive and detailed process in the hope that its memorable acronym – “ALIVE” – will help to prevent injuries and save lives.

In creating its “ALIVE” message, Martindale is distinguishing between good working practice (such as Safe Isolation Procedure Flowchart and Electrical Safety First Best Practice Guidelines) and shining a spotlight on the 5 vital steps that absolutely must be carried out for your own protection and to prevent loss of life.

ALIVE: 5 fail-proof steps to safe isolation

A – Approved Kit

Before starting, make sure your equipment meets all legal safety standards (BS EN61243-3, BS EN61010-1).

L – Lock Out

(LOTO) Lock Out Tag Out- Identify the point of isolation, lock it off and place warning tags onto the equipment.

I – Initial Prove

Test your Voltage Indicator (VI) against the proving unit to make sure it is working correctly.

V – Voltage Test

Use your VI to confirm dangerous voltage levels are not in the circuit you are about to work on.

E – Ensure

Prove and re-test the VI against the proving unit to ensure it is still functioning before working on the circuit.

Campaigning to prevent electrical injuries in the workplace

All Martindale electrical testing products are sold with a hard copy of the memorable “ALIVE” message to ensure that it is shared as widely as possible and that the handy card always remains accessible to anyone working on or near electricity.

There are no reasonable circumstances in which you should be working with live equipment. By making this process as straightforward as possible, we hope that more hard-working people will go home safely to their families at the end of their working day.  It really is as simple as that.

Helpful safe isolation resources – free to download

We’ve created a range of free, practical resources to help you raise awareness and promote safe isolation practices in your workplace, training centre, or college.

Downloadable ALIVE resources are available on our Safe Isolation campaign page: https://martindale-electric.co.uk/alive