Electrical Industry Canada: Test & Measurement Issue - 11

ELECTRICIANS WORLDWIDE: COMMON MISTAKES & BEST PRACTICES CNT'D.
Pop Goes the Meter
What's the most common electrical measurement mistake these pros
have seen? The winner is a little family of errors, all based on using the
digital multimeter (DMM) on an incorrect setting.
" Switching from volts range to current range on multimeter, with
leads still connected, " is how an electrical safety inspector in Canada
described it. " Using wrong selection (ac instead of dc or have it on
ohms instead of voltage), " said a plant electrician in the USA.
Another plant tech shared his pain: " The one for me is checking
voltage and then wanting to check ohms...this happens, and I say
dagonnit, I did it again... " And another time, " when I was checking for
milliamps and had it set on volts...wow, that was a shocker. "
" Checking ac voltage on dc position or vice versa, " said a reliability
technician in an industrial paper machine facility. " Checking the circuit
current by placing the amp meter (non clamp-on) in parallel with the
circuit, causing a system upset. "
" Meter on ohms measuring 600 volts, " said a Canadian tech. " Lead
blew across the room. "
" Wrong meter setting, " said another tech in Canada. " I had my meter
in ac volts and my red lead in the current pin. " " Wrong scale or wrong
setting, " echoed a healthcare maintenance electrician in the USA.
" Going from continuity to volts and not changing the setting . . . and
pop goes the meter. "

Words from the Wise
These professionals may have made some common errors but asked
what advice they would have for their fellow electricians, they got dead
serious. With few exceptions, they focused on safety.
" Double-check everything, " said an Australian technician. " Don't
always trust the test instrument. "

ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY CANADA

" Always work as if you were on live current, " said a construction
electrician from Quebec, " and lock or disconnect everything you can,
so you don't have to work on live electricity. " A master electrician in the
USA agreed. " Always check, recheck, and triple-check for voltage, " he
said. " Rarely is there an instance where working on live equipment is
really necessary. "
A Canadian plant technician made a similar point. " Always test your
work area after lock-out/tag-out has been completed, " he said, " and
never trust what labels say on panels. Things change and some people
do not notate changes. "
" Always know what you are working on and not only verify if there is
power on the circuit, but what the voltages actually are, " said an
electrician who works on a rolled sheet metal galvanizing line.
Several survey respondents, from Canada and elsewhere, focused on
the safety basics. " Always have the proper PPE on, and always check
your instrument and leads before you use them, " said one.
A service technician added this: " Work live only to test. Work live with
a partner. Follow CTC: Confirm the tester works on a known circuit,
Test the circuit in question, then retest on the known circuit again and
Confirm that the tester is functioning properly. BASIC stuff. Always
meticulously follow the pattern you were taught, don't vary. The JW or
instructor had a reason, usually safety, for training you on that procedure
in that way. "
The pros we surveyed gave us lots of great advice, but the best might
also be the briefest. As a plant technician in Canada put it:
" Slow down and think. "
Reproduced with Permission, Fluke Corporation

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1

11
https://www.fluke.com/en-ca/learn/blog/electrical/electricians-worldwide-most-common-mistakes-best-practices
Electrical Industry Canada: Test & Measurement Issue

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