A Safe Operation

SAFETY TIPS FOR WORKING ON

AND AROUND ELECTRIC POWER
GENERATION EQUIPMENT
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2. Review your work procedures
Work procedures are very important on any jobsite because they have
been created to help identify the best way of performing a job task for
each employee. Organizing these work procedures helps eliminate
wasteful processes and improve consistency, which can contribute to
the reduction of jobsite hazards. Review all procedures before
beginning assigned tasks to determine:
• Are you qualified to perform the work?
• Have you been trained on the jobsite Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) policy
and emergency procedures?

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• Do you have the correct PPE for the job you are performing and is it
in proper working condition?

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• Do you have all of the necessary tooling and testing equipment? Is it
in proper working condition and within its calibration period?

1. Perform a jobsite hazard assessment 3. Understand the job specific project work plan
Jobsite hazard assessments help minimize or eliminate safety and
Project planning cannot be ignored just because you are in a hurry to
health hazards by removing the hazard when possible, and making
get the job completed. In fact, creating and properly using a project plan
employees aware of the potential risks identified around the work
for a jobsite adds so much value that you will recognize a savings in
area. These assessments should be completed prior to starting a
time, money and other resources. Once the project plan has been
job, should be kept well documented and retained. Identifying
created you will need to list all employees working on the project and
hazards before any work is done on the jobsite makes it possible to
describe the roles and responsibilities of each, along with the number
control and mitigate the impact the hazards could have on the
of people needed to perform a certain job function. The project plan
employees.
should be made available to everyone on the jobsite. Understanding
each team member’s assignment and their location on the work site or
Checklists the distribution system in which they will be working is imperative.

Check your personal safety and that of

4. Have a communication plan

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other employees: Check your work area:
✔✔ Are you mentally and physically prepared to ✔✔ What is in it? Develop a communication plan, identify roles and responsibilities of all
safely complete the work or are you fatigued employees and discuss it with your immediate team. One qualified
✔✔ What is above and around you?
such that your injury risk level is elevated? person should be assigned a lead role and be responsible for ensuring
✔✔ How hot or cold is it? everyone on the jobsite understands the communication plan. He or
✔✔ Is there any moisture on your shoes and/
or clothes? ✔✔ Is it humid? she should also ensure that the product and systems are safe prior to
✔✔ Is it a combustible atmosphere (i.e. dust from commencing additional work and before re-start. Always ensure the
✔✔ Are you wearing the proper Personal
Protective Equipment (PPE)? coal/grain/sugar or hydrogen from leaky entire team understands the system shut down and re-start procedures.
batteries)? Clear communication is key to safety on the jobsite. When working
- Head protection around power generation packages, each individual must understand
- Eye protection ✔✔ What would happen if you created an arc or their own roles and responsibilities along with those of everyone
spark in your immediate work area?
- Hearing protection around them. This enables all employees to be aware of their
✔✔ Are overhead conductors exposed and surroundings and how each activity can impact the others.
- Face shields grounded surfaces exposed around you?
- Gloves
- Steel toe or metatarsal boots
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5. Communicate your emergency action plan 6. Isolate energy sources
Once you have created an Emergency Action Plan (EAP), you must Remove all energy sources before working on power generation
take several steps to ensure the safety of your employees in the equipment. Secure all generators in a safe, de-energized, zero-
event of an emergency. The plan should list the responsible, trained stored-energy state. While placing the controller and the battery
people who are assigned to help ensure the plan is successful. An disconnect switch in the “OFF” position and depressing the
EAP becomes a safety and health risk when the documentation is emergency stop push buttons are good actions to take, they do not
not kept up to date or if employees do not receive proper training for satisfy the requirements for ensuring the generator set is in a zero-
what to do in the event of an emergency. Educate all employees stored-energy state. The “OFF” and “EMERGENCY STOP” push
annually on the types of emergencies that could occur at their button control schemes employed by more modern controllers often
specific site location, including: provide a command signal to on-board electronics. Do not rely on
software and microprocessors to be safety devices. Similarly, do
• Roles and responsibilities not trust that a switch is open while in the “OFF” position. Always
• Threats, hazards and protective actions test and try operating the product prior to servicing as another
method of ensuring the product is in a zero-stored-energy state.
• Notification, warning and communication procedures
• Means for locating family members in an emergency • All AC and DC circuits entering and leaving the product shall be
opened and secured with the appropriate LOTO device, thus
• Emergency response procedures electrically isolating the equipment to be serviced.
• Evacuation, shelter and accountability procedures • Engine generator set packages shall have the battery cables
• Location and use of common emergency equipment removed from the batteries at the battery ends, and the battery cable
ends shall be secured with the appropriate LOTO device.
• Emergency shutdown procedures
• Gas and diesel fuel lines and air start lines shall be valved off or
closed, and the valves shall be secured with the appropriate LOTO
Once the employees have received the appropriate training, the device.
employer should conduct regular drills as a reminder and post the
EAP in an area that can always be accessed by any employee. • Any fuel or air between the valve and the engine shall be drained or
vented.
• Remember to remove power from all attachments such as battery
chargers, jacket water heaters and generator space heaters.
• Verify there is no stray voltage anywhere on the package and that all
voltage sources are properly secured in the “OFF” or “OPEN”
position with the appropriate LOTO device.
• Open the product’s output circuit breaker and secure it with the
appropriate LOTO device to prevent an external source from
energizing the product or starting a generator set package’s engine.

IMPORTANT – Generators and Distribution Systems Rated ABOVE 600

Volts: Prior to working around exposed bus bars and load cable terminations,
ensure all stored energy has been discharged from the generator windings,
bus bars and cables. Medium and high voltage windings and cables store
electrical energy that could cause death or personal injury. Wear proper
PPE and use properly rated tooling and equipment to discharge the
windings, bus bars and cables.
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7. Ensure proper grounding • Cords should not be suspended overhead or used as ropes to lift, pull or
secure objects.
Grounding must occur to help prevent an injury while operating an
electrical product. Ensure the product is always properly grounded and • Cord plugs and receptacles should be tightly coupled and never resting in
or around water or flammable fluids.
the conductive surfaces surrounding the work are also bonded to the
product’s grounding system. Determine if there could be any differences • Extension cords (and other temporary wiring methods) used at jobsites
in the electrical potential between the conductive surfaces. Even the shall be ground fault protected to reduce hazardous leakage current.
smallest potential difference could cause current to flow through your • If ground fault protection cannot be confirmed, use portable ground fault
body if you touch both simultaneously, resulting in electrical shock or protection devices to supply extension cords (and other temporary

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electrocution. wiring).
• Extension cords shall not create a trip hazard and shall be kept out of the
way of vehicular traffic.
8. Create a safe work environment
With multiple jobs going on at a jobsite, it is important to be aware of
the other job tasks and associated processes that are being performed
10. Establish a safety training culture
near or around you. All employees should be trained and regularly Prepare a safety manual or safety sheet for the specific conditions found
communicated to on safety programs throughout the work areas. on your jobsite. Ensure equipment and materials are being used for their
Encouraging a jobsite to have safety committees, safety goals and intended purpose. When appropriate, make sure all instructions are
regular inspections, to name a few, will help create accountability and translated and clearly understood by all workers. Always review the
enforce compliance on the jobsite. Always be on the lookout for areas manufacturer’s Operation and Maintenance Manual before putting a
which could create a health and safety hazard and immediately report machine to work.

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any suspicious findings to management so corrective action can take
place. To create a safe work zone, it is important all employees understand the
common communication practices used on the jobsite. Train employees
• Are other trades working overhead? on jobsite communication including:
• What potentially dangerous work environment changes are others • Keeping track of others in the work zone and letting them know where
making that could jeopardize your safety? you are at all times.
• What work environment changes are you making that could jeopardize • Establishing eye contact before entering a work zone.
the safety of others?
• Creating two-way communications before entering a work zone.
• Informing coworkers when leaving a work zone.
9. Extension cords and power tool safety

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Ensure all extension cords and power tools are properly grounded and Obtain Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), Automatic External
are ground fault protected, regardless if they are being used indoors or Defibrillator (AED) training and emergency first aid training. If it is not
outdoors. applicable for you to be trained in these areas, make sure you know who
is qualified to perform these tasks on your jobsite.
• Prior to each use, inspect extension cords and power tools for damage.
Pay special attention to the insulation systems. Significant cuts or tears in
the insulation cannot be repaired with electrical tape.
• Ground pins shall be intact.
• Test extension cords to ensure the ground pin and ground receptacle are
electrically continuous from one cord end to the other.
• Test power tools to ensure exposed metal frames and tool bodies are
electrically continuous to the power cord ground pin.
• If the cords or cord ends are damaged, a qualified individual should repair
or replace them.
• Cords should never be knotted or otherwise stressed.
 The equipment training and safety teams at Caterpillar have spent
decades working with customers around the world, across a wide
spectrum of equipment applications and jobsite conditions. The key
lesson learned is, when it comes to jobsite safety, no amount of
equipment technology or advanced machine design can replace caution
and good safety practices.

The primary contributors to safe jobsites are awareness, proper training

and attention to detail on the part of business owners and their
employees. Safety must be a priority and an ongoing part of your
company culture. We hope this booklet is helpful as you strive to
profitably grow your business.

We also invite you to view and utilize additional safety training resources
by visiting SAFETY.CAT.COM™.

This pamphlet is not intended to be a comprehensive analysis of all hazards related to Cat®
products or to your specific application and does not supersede any state, federal or local
statutes or regulations. More complete information regarding Cat products is provided in the
Operation & Maintenance Manual (OMM) for specific models. Caterpillar recommends you and
your employees read and understand the OMM before operating or working on any machine.

CAT, CATERPILLAR, their respective logos, “Caterpillar Yellow” and the

“Power Edge” trade dress, as well as corporate and product identity
used herein, are trademarks of Caterpillar and may not be used without
permission.

AEXQ8579 © 2010 Caterpillar All Rights Reserved. Printed in the USA.