Electrical Industry Canada: Test & Measurement Issue - 3

EDITORS NOTE:
TEST & MEASUREMENT SAFETY AND
BEST PRACTICES
BY BLAKE MARCHAND

In the first issue of Electrical Industry Canada's new digital handbook
series our focus is on test and measurement and some associated best
practices for electricians. Rob Milner from Flir discusses safety
consideration when finding the appropriate CAT rating when using
thermal imaging enabled devices. While Master Electrician Lance
Giesbrecht shares some insight into his process for troubleshooting a
typical residential electrical failure. This issue also features an interesting
survey in which Fluke asked electricians around the world about the
common mistakes they make while using electrical testing equipment
and the best practices they have developed. The article highlights the
importance following basic safety procedure. As a few electricians note
in the article, complacency when it comes to test and measurement can
result in some hard lessons. Similarly, Milner explains how using clamp
meters and multimeters with integrated thermal imaging provides an
added level of safety when identifying potential issues. The overall
focus of Milner's article is safety - a theme that resonates across this
issue - as he looks at considerations for selecting CAT ratings.
As Giesbrecht notes at the top of his article, not every situation is

ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY CANADA

going to be the same with testing and measurement on the job, and as
Milner and the Fluke survey respondents attest - being 'meticulous'
with basic safety procedures can't be stressed enough when working
with electrical test equipment. In conclusion of his article, Milner
reminds that, " although CAT ratings and thermal imaging provide an
additional layer of safety, they are not a complete replacement of the
other tried-and-true safety protocols, including wearing appropriate
personal protective equipment (PPE) for the job and following all local
and national safety codes, and ensuring that where jobs require
extreme caution, the operator never works alone. " Which is echoed by
a Canadian service tech, " 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. "
This handbook is the first in Electrical Industry Canada's new series.
We'll be releasing six this year, out ever other month. Along with Test &
Measurement, they will cover Power Quality, Tools for Electricians,
Electric Heat, Home Automation, and Safety.

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1

3
https://www.electricalindustry.ca/
Electrical Industry Canada: Test & Measurement Issue

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Electrical Industry Canada: Test & Measurement Issue
