The activities of modern production, various organizations, shops and public catering establishments are inextricably linked with power supply and electricity consumption.
Every day we have to come into contact with computers, office equipment, electrified tools, equipment, and to ensure that everything works safely and there is no injury from electric shock, trained personnel are required.
For this purpose, it is necessary to assign electrical safety groups, distinguishing between possible contact with an electrical installation and responsibility for the safe performance of work.
In this note, we will look at what qualifications exist, how assignments are made, what training is required, and if you have anything to add, write about it in the comments, this is important both for the author and for other readers.
Electrical safety groups
Electrical safety training should be built at any enterprise, clause 1.1.2 and clause 1.2.2 of Order of the Ministry of Energy No. 6 “On approval of the Rules for the technical operation of consumer electrical installations.”
This responsibility is assigned to employers, because electrical injuries are small compared to other industrial injuries, but when compared with severe or fatal outcomes, they occupy one of the leading places. Moreover, these accidents occur when working in electrical installations with voltages up to 1000 V. The reason is that they are very common and plus improper handling due to the relatively low level of training of operating personnel.
And in order for there to be fewer injuries at work, it is necessary for those in charge to know and understand what the Rules for the Technical Operation of Consumer Electrical Installations require of them, and it is worth starting to understand it with the electrical safety groups.
Electrical safety groups are systematized requirements for the qualifications of personnel who will need to undergo training in the form of instruction or certification, and there are a total of 5 electrical safety groups.
Such a distinction is necessary to ensure the safety of workers during ongoing work in the organization, or when involved in work in electrical installations, depending on the training of personnel.
1 group on electrical safety
1 qualification group for electrical safety is assigned only to non-electrical personnel who are not directly related to the maintenance and operation of electrical installations. But during their workdays, they may be exposed to electric shock due to improper handling of electrified equipment.
In any organization there are always employees who are assigned group 1 for electrical safety and these are, as a rule, office workers, loaders, janitors, cleaners and all those who have absolutely nothing to do with electrics in this organization.
Assignment to group 1 in electrical safety takes place in the form of training in the organization, many call it instruction, correctly, so and so. Because everything goes without any special difficulties, it is carried out by the person responsible for electrical equipment or another employee with an electrical safety group of at least 3, who is appointed by order for the enterprise.
He talks about observing safety measures when working with equipment, for example, a computer, office equipment, coffee machine, and the rules for providing first aid in case of electric shock.
At the end, questions are asked and if the person being instructed has coped, the result is recorded in the logbook and assignment of 1st electrical safety group. The frequency of such knowledge testing is once a year. And that’s all, no protocol or certificates are required.
If you want to understand in more detail the assignment of electrical safety group 1, follow the link to another article.
Education
Before appearing for the exam, the specialist must attend a training course, the duration of which is 36 hours. Training programs vary by company and organization.
The standard training program is presented at the link - https://www.pl9.ru/images/doc/Kkotip/Documents/OT/Electro/2.pdf.
Note! Electrical safety tests taken at the Rostekhnadzor organization consist of several tickets. One ticket consists of twenty questions, which are made in the form of a test. There are four answer options for each question.
Standard tests can be viewed and taken on one of the sites on the global network. For example, following the link https://xn—-7sbfcladufn6cbmighei.xn--p1ai/proiti-test/testy-po-elektrobezopasnosti/, all nine tickets are presented.
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Group 2 on electrical safety
The next increasing level of qualification is group 2 in electrical safety. And assignment is required to personnel who work using electrically driven equipment.
These employees usually include:
- electric welders, without connection rights;
- lifting equipment operators;
- lifters;
- drivers from different industries;
- electricians and electricians who have access to installations up to 1000 V.
- employees who missed group assignment for more than six months.
If an employee is undergoing certification for Group 2 in electrical safety for the first time and has no electrical engineering education, then he must first undergo 72 hours of training. If the enterprise has a knowledge testing commission, then certification is carried out locally.
If there is none, then certification takes place in Rostechnadzor, and pre-certification training in a training center.
Group 2 training in electrical safety conveys to the employee knowledge about the threats, dangers and consequences of improper work with electrical equipment and electrical installations.
This knowledge must be conveyed realistically and in fact, otherwise, such cases as my good friend told me are possible.
A small contractor came to the site to clean the split systems. Apparently, they had a lot of work, it was summer, they were in a hurry, trying to finish the work for the day. Several of the air conditioners were located at a height of 2 floors. For the work they used a Karcher and a ladder. Forgetting to first turn off the power to the split, I started work.
My acquaintance
The result of such work is multiple fractures after a fall from a height due to the surprise effect of the closure.
You need to work safely at heights, and even more so with electrical equipment, otherwise the result can be even worse. And all due to the lack of knowledge of workers about the safe performance of work.
Group 3 on electrical safety
An even more “advanced” level of qualification is group 3 in electrical safety. The assignment is the same as for group 2. Moreover, a promotion from group 2 to group 3 cannot happen instantly; there must be a time interval in order to gain knowledge and experience.
This interval ranges from 1 to 3 months, depending on education (Appendix No. 1 Order of the Ministry of Labor No. 903n), because knowing Ohm’s law does not mean that you can immediately work in electrical installations.
And if the employee has a confirming certificate, then he can independently carry out maintenance, connection or disconnection, as well as inspection of electrical installations up to 1000 V.
And now he has not only the technical side covered, but also the organizational one, because he can already be part of a team that carries out work on electrical installations of more than 1000 V, observe and remember how approval is carried out before performing such work.
If work is carried out in installations up to 1000 V, then an employee who has a 3rd electrical safety group can act as a team producer. This is already a big responsibility, because you have to answer not only for your own actions, but also for the actions of your colleagues.
That is why group 3 for electrical safety is assigned only to persons over 18 years of age, in contrast to groups 1 and 2 for electrical safety.
Group 4 on electrical safety
Electrical safety group 4 can only be assigned by the Rostechnadzor commission, because the range of responsibility is much wider.
It can perform the functions:
- operational and repair personnel;
- manufacturer or permitting work on electrical installations;
- instructing, interning and training in electrical safety.
And in order to receive the “coveted” crust, an employee must work in group 3 in electrical safety for 2 to 6 months.
5 electrical safety group
As a rule, group 5 on electrical safety consists of purely administrative and technical workers who have maximum responsibility, issue work permits, act as the person responsible for electrical facilities and can be the supervisor of work in any electrical installations.
The knowledge base is already voluminous; there must be a thorough knowledge of electrical safety rules, regulations, rules for the use and testing of protective equipment, reading electrical equipment diagrams and layout, and much more. The list is very extensive and you can move from level 4 electrical safety group to level 5 group in a period of 3 to 24 months.
And as it is already becoming clear, you can increase your group only by passing certification at Rostechnadzor.
Consequences of violation of requirements by the employer
The absence of licenses for persons with a profession requiring the fulfillment of this condition will be considered an administrative offense and a fine of 2000 rubles. up to 3000 rub. for employees, for officials a fine of up to 30,000* rubles. with a minimum amount of twenty thousand rubles. or suspension from office for 6 months to a year. For legal entities, the initial fine in rubles is 200,000*, and the maximum is 300,000, but there is another option in the form of administrative suspension of activities for up to 2160 hours.* The most important thing is that by allowing an employee without a valid license, the employer puts the lives of people at risk, in addition to There is a risk of equipment failure, an incompetent person should not work on electrical installations, high voltage is a dangerous thing and, as a rule, a hospital will not help here. So it is completely unprofitable for the employer to assign such an employee.
In general, obtaining documents is not very difficult, you just need to be prepared to work with this department, you can, of course, use the services of various counterparties, in principle, it will be much easier to assign a document in this way, but if finances allow, time is a known limited resource.
*Prices are current as of July 2022.
Main conclusions
Finally, I will give you a summary of electrical safety groups:
- Group 2 up to 1000V;
- Group 3 up to 1000V;
- Group 3 up to and above 1000V;
- 4 group up to 1000V;
- Group 4 up to and above 1000V;
- Group 5 up to and above 1000V.
So, having briefly examined all the groups on electrical safety, let’s draw a line and define the main points:
- It is impossible to skip over one electrical safety group; a gradual increase is required with working in each of them for a certain time.
- You can “reach” electrical safety groups 2 to 5 in 1 year, this is as quickly as possible, taking into account the employee’s higher electrical engineering education.
- Only persons of groups 2 and 3 in electrical safety are allowed to undergo certification by the commission of their enterprise, if there is a commission to test knowledge of electrical safety in the organization.
Working in electrical installations is a source of increased danger and to ensure the safety of workers, it is necessary to regularly provide training, improve their practical knowledge and skills to reduce the likelihood of serious injury and death.
Therefore, if your organization has created a commission on electrical safety, conduct actual training for groups 2 and 3, and do not assign them groups for “beautiful” eyes.
I wish you safe and efficient work!
If you have any questions or have something to add or supplement, write in the comments, this is important for both the author and the readers. If you need help with paperwork, please contact us.
What does a document confirming Level III clearance look like:
On the photo card is a sample document indicating the 3rd group of electrical safety clearance. This document is a certificate of passing control. This document is issued when applying for a job; it becomes valid after the necessary records of the completion of checks are made there. The document contains eight pages in total.
Documentary proof of Level 3 clearance
On the first page the company data is indicated directly, on the second page: the employee data and the tolerance level of the voltage class. There are two classes in total: up to a thousand volts; up to and above a thousand volts.
Data on passing the relevant checks is on the following pages, namely from the third to the sixth page.
The seventh page indicates passing tests for related job duties that require it.
And finally, on the eighth page there is information about completing the procedure for admission to special work.
Important! This document is required to be kept with you while performing official duties, and is presented at the request of employees exercising control.
Responsibility for violation of standards on the part of the employer
