PPE - Personal protection equipment

• PPE (personal protection equipment) is the most important tool when changing electric meters. You will be issued FR clothing, electric rated rubber gloves, hard hat with an attached arch rated face shield. It is your responsibility to examine and keep up with your PPE. A common misconception is that PPE when worn properly makes you invincible, this is never the case. Your PPE is the electric version of a bulletproof vest. A bullet proof vest can help stop or slow down a bullet, but it’s still going to hurt. Your PPE is there to prevent and minimize injuries in case of an accident.

• The standard rule in the electric meter world is what is called “seal to seal.” You MUST wear all PPE correctly from the time you cut the seal to the time you place a new seal. You must have your long sleeve FR clothing with sleeves rolled all the way down and cuffs buttoned, rubber gloves with leather protectors on and your hardhat with the face shield correctly adjusted.

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Clothing

You will be issued Fire Retardant (FR) clothing. They may look like regular uniforms, but they are not. They must be taken care of properly. When washing them you cannot use just any laundry detergent, you must use special FR laundry soap or original plain Tide. When drying you should air dry or dry them separately with no dryer sheets. You cannot use fabric softener, scent boost, oxy of any kind or any other additives. Your FR clothing is pure cotton woven in a special way so that if an arch flash was to happen your clothes will get an initial burn but will not continue to burn. If you add anything such as a softener or a dryer sheet you are adding oils which are a fuel source, you are now a walking candle. You can wear an undershirt, but it must be 100% cotton. Undergarments must also be 100% cotton. With the intense heat from an arch flash, if strong and hot enough, it will travel through your protective clothing and any synthetic materials will melt causing bodily injury resulting in burns.

Personal accessories

Many people wear jewelry when working around electricity, no one should wear anything metal. This includes metallic wedding rings, necklaces, bracelets, metallic body jewelry, regular or smart watches, anything that can conduct electricity. The reason is because if it’s metallic, it can conduct electricity. Depending on the metal it could turn into a literal burner and cause bad burns if they come in contact with an energized circuit.

Gloves

• You will be issued a pair of electric rated rubber gloves with leather protectors. Rubber is non-conductive therefore if you are wearing your gloves and accidentally come in contact with an energized circuit the electricity will not pass through you.

• Rubber gloves come in ratings depending on voltage rating needed. Typically, with metering you are issued class 0 or class 1 depending on the project. Your gloves will have a date stamped on the back of each glove. You have from that date stamped to 6 months. After 6 months the gloves are out of date. It is up to you to keep up with the expiration of your gloves. It is suggested you alert your project manager at the 5 month mark so they can order a new pair. The gloves are sent in for professional testing and restamped if they pass.

• With your rubber gloves you are given leather protectors. Rubber as you know is very susceptible to punctures. leather, which is very strong, helps protect from punctures.

• It is your responsibility to examine and roll-test your rubber gloves 3 times a day. 1 time before starting work, the second time around the middle of your day, the last time at the end of the day. You can test more but we require at least 3 roll tests a day. The roll test is a way to test for punctures. You will be shown during your field training how to do a roll test properly.

• Your rubber and leathers should only be cleaned with water, never use any soap, solvent, cleaner etc. to clean your gloves.

• You will also be issued a glove bag, you must keep your gloves, opening side down, finger side up, in the bag when not in use. The bag keeps your gloves protected when not in use. If you're caught with our gloves not properly stored. you can and will be reprimanded.

• If your gloves fail inspection, report the issue to your supervisor immediately. Accidents happen and the Field Manager will assess the situation.

Hard Hat face shield

• you will be issued a hardhat with an arch rated face shield. You are responsible for taking care of the equipment. You may not paint your hard hat or put stickers on them, this is against OSHA rules being a sticker/paint can cover up any damage or cracks in the hard hat. You will be issued a bag to keep your face shield in for protection. Every part from the hinge to the claspe for the face shield must be intact. If for any reason they are broken or messed up you must report it to your Field Manager immediately. The face shield is like any clear plastic and is prone to scratches. If the face shield breaks, cracks or is too scratched to use, bring to your Field Manager. When cleaning your face shield or hard hat, you must only use clean water. You may remove the sweat band from the forehead area and wash it if need be.

• Hard hats must be worn correctly, no “back capping”.

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