All modern enterprises use electrical equipment, which should only be operated by trained specialists with the appropriate level of clearance. Thanks to this, it is possible to reduce to a minimum the number of accidents and fires at industrial facilities, as well as injuries associated with electric shock. Group 4 in electrical safety is assigned to highly qualified specialists after appropriate training and passing exams by independent experts accredited by Rostechnadzor. It includes personnel working with electrical equipment whose power exceeds 1000 V.
Who needs group 4 electrical safety clearance
The following must obtain permission to work with high-power electrical equipment:
- all qualified specialists with secondary specialized or higher technical education who work directly with devices, power plants and mechanisms with a power of 1000 V and above;
- personnel servicing electric power plants;
Working with power electrical equipment
- managers who manage safety at work;
- Experts of the highest category who train personnel in special courses and carry out supervisory functions in the field of safety at energy facilities.
Group 4 electrical safety clearance refers to the highest level of access to working with electricity and requires a high level of training of specialists at various levels.
Certain types of work permitted for the third group
Additionally, electricians with the third tolerance group are allowed to:
- Carry out voltage checks. On power lines together with another worker, and alone in switchgears.
- Install grounding buses, but only when an employee is included in the repair staff.
- Disconnect and install insulation on live elements. This work must be performed using PPE made from dielectric materials.
- Install high voltage warning posters and signs.
- Monitor the execution of operations related to the repair of current generating devices.
- Observe the condition of insulating means when measuring voltage.
- Perform routine repairs of batteries and generator under voltage.
When the voltage is above 1000 V, you can perform the following work:
- Clean areas with installed open switchgear.
- Maintain technical devices in accordance with established regulations.
- Monitor the drying process of transformer and generator installations, but when they are de-energized.
- Perform maintenance of oil purification units.
- Disconnect grounding blades.
The additional operations listed above are approved by the head of the organization.
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Specialist powers
Assignment of this category of access to work related to electrical safety is always confirmed by the issuance of a special certificate filled out in accordance with the current form. Specialists must confirm their authority with the help of this document to inspection structures and management.
Group 2 on electrical safety: test, knowledge test, requirements
Immediately after receiving the certificate, the specialist is assigned certain rights to perform a number of complex operations associated with an increased level of danger:
- repair and maintain powerful electrical equipment;
- engage in issuing work orders for work with high voltage of 1000 V or more;
- carry out briefing of personnel with 1st admission group;
- perform the functions of the chief power engineer of an enterprise or organization.
Important! Authority of this kind requires regular confirmation during the certification process.
Conditions of receipt
First group
The first admission group is initial. To obtain it you do not need to pass any exam or test. Workers with the first admission group do not have the right to work on existing electrical installations or service them. These are personnel who are not directly involved in electrical work.
According to the law, the first admission group should be assigned to persons from among the electrical and electrical engineering personnel, even if they do not have any training and minimum experience working with electrical installations.
It all comes down to the fact that the head of the enterprise must take measures to ensure that none of his employees suffer from electric shock. For example, formally, even a loader must have in his hands the corresponding document of the first group of admission. Since any warehouse he works in has electrical wiring or electrically powered devices, he could theoretically be harmed.
However, few people pay attention to this, since the first clearance group is assigned after instructions given by a specialist with a clearance group of at least the third. It should be completed with a checklist. Based on the answers to them, a decision is made to assign the appropriate access group to the employee.
It is enough for an employee with the first group of access to know basic information about the dangers of electric current, about methods of providing first aid in case of electric shock, about methods of performing one’s own duties that will not lead to a threat to one’s own life and the lives of others.
Requirements for candidates for admission group 4
Electrical safety knowledge test
To obtain a level of electrical safety with entry into group 4, you must have a level 3 permit, for which you must work for at least 60 days and have a higher technical education. Personnel with a secondary technical level of vocational education must work in group 3 for at least six months.
Also, a specialist applying for the fourth group of admission to electrical work must know the theory of electromechanics within the framework of a vocational school, have the skills to instruct people subordinate to him, and have a thorough knowledge of safety precautions when working with electrical equipment.
How to obtain Group IV clearance for electrical safety employees
When is an extraordinary test of personnel knowledge on electrical safety carried out?
The requirements established by law determine the procedure for gaining access to the fourth level of electrical safety. When you first move from the third to the fourth level, you must undergo training and then pass exams and a practical test. Each category of personnel has its own forms of training and examinations. To undergo training and then pass the exam, the management of the enterprise must submit an application to Rostechnadzor, which must indicate the number of people who must undergo training and then take exams with tests.
What should personnel with qualification group 4 know?
If an employee has the fourth qualification group, then he not only performs his job duties in working with electrical equipment, but also has the right to train young employees .
It is assigned to personnel performing maintenance and repair of equipment (senior foremen and employees with extensive experience); from administrative personnel are assigned mainly to those who hold the position of responsible for electrical facilities.
It is also assigned to an engineering and technical employee holding the position of responsibility for electrical facilities, if he was appointed to this position by order of the manager. This assignment involves maintaining relevant documentation and conducting briefings, monitoring the serviceability of equipment.
The assignment of the fourth qualification group occurs three months after the assignment of the third qualification category. To improve qualifications from third to fourth, or to extend it, an employee must be sent to study for a period of a month. After completing your studies, you must pass an examination test at the Russian Technical Supervision, and then proceed to perform your official duties.
The result of the examination test is included in the employee’s certificate and in the electrical safety magazine of the enterprise from which he trained.
A representative of the fourth qualification category for electrical safety up to and above a thousand volts works independently with electrical equipment, but he does not have the right to train young employees. He will receive this opportunity only after confirmation of the fifth qualification category for electrical safety up to and above a thousand volts.
The fourth qualification group is renewed annually . And if it is overdue for more than six months, then you will have to be certified again from the second qualification category.
Certification in Rostechnadzor of managers and engineers in the field of industrial safety
All engineering and technical workers and managers responsible for energy safety and operation of electrical installations must obtain the fourth level of clearance, and then undergo a knowledge test at certain intervals.
Important! The verification procedure is carried out in the form of a test. It can be carried out by representatives of the educational institution in which training for obtaining the fourth category of admission was conducted.
Certification in Rostechnadzor
This type of certification is:
- primary;
- regular;
- extraordinary.
When certifying a group of 50 specialists or more, a special committee of 5 competent persons is created. It must necessarily include a representative of Rostekhnadzor and the chief power engineer of the enterprise.
Frequency of certification and composition of the commission
The frequency of certifications for managers and engineers is determined in the Order of the Ministry of Labor No. 328n:
- workers maintaining and repairing electrical installations and equipment once a year;
- labor protection engineers – once every three years;
- engineers and power engineers - once every three years.
For group 4 electrical safety clearance at installations up to 1000, you need to prepare for certification using special tickets, which are issued after the management of the enterprise submits an application to the inspection authorities.
In order to be able to increase the requirements for the certified worker, the authorities that control safety regulations propose quartering work with electricity according to the degree of danger.
Attention! To obtain a higher admission group, you must work for a certain period in a lower one, or complete a full course of training, after which you will need to take exams.
Responsibilities
If personnel have Group 4 access, it is necessary to clearly know the technical safety measures and study the branching diagrams of the electrical wiring in the entrusted areas.
List of responsibilities:
- Inform team members about the dangers of the operations performed.
- Be able to provide first aid if the victim is under voltage.
- Conduct briefings for workers before carrying out work on equipment.
- Understand devices.
- Comply with the requirements of rules and other regulations.
- Do not allow untrained employees to access existing electrical installations.
- Be responsible for the correctness of assigned tasks.
- Ensure that electrical installations on site are in good working order.
The duties must be familiarized to the employee against signature, and the contents of the listed items must be reflected in the job description or occupational safety instructions.
When assigning 4 groups, you can independently:
- Carry out work at all critical facilities.
- Provide leadership to operating personnel.
- Instruct workers on how to perform work safely.
What should personnel with qualification group 4 know?
The employee must have the following knowledge:
- Know the basics of electrical engineering.
- Work safety technology.
- Fire safety.
- Devices of technological equipment operating under voltage.
- Frequency of verification of personal protective equipment, timing of testing.
- How to operate electrical appliances.
- Material on the program for group 4 on electrical safety.
- How training on admission forms is carried out.
- Know in full the requirements of rules and other regulatory documents.
- First aid procedure.
- Ensuring safe working conditions.
The listed nuances, including specific features of the object, must be reflected in production instructions.
Who is eligible for group 4
Requirements for the employee:
- If you have a higher technical education, then your experience in group 3 must be at least 2 months.
- If the education is secondary technical, then the experience is 3 months.
- Secondary education - six months of experience.
Among other things, you need to know and fulfill your responsibilities. If an organization needs to have employees with group 4, then the manager must also have an electrical safety group of at least 4. The basis is the availability of technological equipment and the implementation of repair work.
Assignment to this group is necessary for those working at facilities with equipment operating under high voltage. If the enterprise has electrical installations with voltages above 1000 V, then the safety engineer must also be certified for this group. This is necessary to ensure control over compliance with regulatory requirements.
Training for group 4 on electrical safety
Employee training is carried out according to programs agreed with Rostechnadzor. It is designed for 72 hours.
The topics cover the following points:
- Information on receivers and other technical devices through which electricity passes.
- Personnel data and characterizing factors.
- Ways to carry out work safely.
- Grounding devices and lightning protection systems.
- Practical application of first aid knowledge.
Training is carried out in training centers certified by Rostechnadzor or at enterprises. In organizational structures, programs also take into account the specifics of the enterprise's activities.
Hazardous production factors
Composition of the commission and passing the exam
After attending courses and practical skills, the employee must pass exams. You can answer the tickets orally and take a computer test. The commission issues a conclusion on the results of the knowledge gained.
- If an organization employs more than 50 people at the same time, a commission is created, which includes: chief engineer; person responsible for electrical equipment at the facility; representative of the Rostechnadzor body. The total number of members must be at least 3. The composition is formed by an organizational document.
- If certification is expected at Rostekhnadzor, then an application is submitted from the enterprise, and then a time is set for completion. As a rule, these commissions work according to a specially approved schedule.
- A specialized department of the training center can administer exams, but only if they have a certificate approved by Rostechnadzor. It is important that an inspector from this structure be present on the commission.
Certification algorithm
Assignment of electrical safety group 4 is carried out according to the following algorithm:
- A production need arose in the organization. The employee's work experience in the current position is 2 months, but he has a higher technical education or the maximum period of work as an electrician is six months.
- Publication of an administrative document on the organization of employee training.
- Training of employees directly in the organization or in a specialized institution.
- Drawing up a protocol with initials, position of the person being certified, and the date of the next certification.
- In a special journal, marking the fact of assignment to group 4.
- Issuance of certificates and delivery to certified persons.
If an employee is engaged in work in electrical installations, then a knowledge test is carried out once a year. If the personnel is administrative and technical, then certification once every three years is sufficient, but it will not be considered a violation if certification is carried out more often.
If the result of the certification is negative, then after three months it is necessary to organize re-certification for admission to work.
