Article 105 of NFPA 70E provides guidance on how to apply safety-related work practices and procedures. The first problem we run into when trying to follow Article 105 is understanding what NFPA 70E means by “safety-related”. Article 100 of NFPA 70E does not define this term. It does not necessarily mean any procedure that involves worker safety. For example, a nuclear power plant has “safety-related” systems such as neutron monitoring. These are designated as such because they have to do with public safety.
However, if you continue on in Chapter 1 and read the remaining Articles (110 through 130) plus take a hint from 105.1, you can be confident of the following definition:
“A work practice or procedure is safety-related if it involves identifying hazards and mitigating or eliminating the risks associated with them.”
Article 105 precedes the “meat” or “how to” articles that follow, for a specific reason. It establishes the responsibilities of employers and employees. It’s saying, “Pay attention to what follows, because you are responsible for the correct application.”
The employer has these responsibilities:
- Establish, document, and implement the safety-related work practices and procedures that are in NFPA 70E.
- Train the employees in those safety-related work practices and procedures.
The employee has this responsibility: Comply with the safety-related work practices and procedures.
That is, the employer makes the rules and provides the training while the employee takes the training and follows the rules.
Which is better? Having great procedures that are poorly applied, or having mediocre procedures that are competently applied? It’s not a fair question, because either way leads to failure. One of the main reasons procedures don’t get followed is they are poorly done; they are usually too verbose and incomprehensible.
To fix this, make a list of the safety tasks, steps, and precautions trying to keep each item to a simple verb-noun constructions. For example, “Open supply breaker.” Let the workers in the field mark up the procedures with what they need (or take their verbal input while they go over it on the job). After a few iterations, you’ll have something that people can work with.
