This technical guide Safe Work with Cables sets out the essential safety requirements for identifying and making safe high voltage (HV) and low voltage (LV) cables.

2024

This technical guide Safe Work with Cables sets out the essential safety requirements for identifying and making safe high voltage (HV) and low voltage (LV) cables.

Employees who are cable jointers, or undertaking cable jointing or termination work, are expected to be conversant with the relevant sections of the Line Mechanics’ and Cable Jointers’ Handbook, this guide does not contain the detail of the Line Mechanics’ and Cable Jointers’ Handbook, nor repeat all information relevant only to cable jointers or those undertaking cable jointing or termination work.

This guide is an ‘industry procedure’ as defined in the Safety Manual – Electricity Industry (SM-EI) and provides a recommended method of achieving SM-EI requirements for work on cables. Specific and general requirements of SM-EI must also be followed when working on cables and are not repeated in this guide.

Scope

This guide applies to work on cables operating at LV or HV.

The guide does not cover technical requirements such as cable jointing for which reference should be made to the Line Mechanics’ and Cable Jointers’ Handbook.

The guide outlines general safety requirements, required by legislation and the industry, including the need to notify certain work, wear personal protective equipment, take precautions in confined spaces and have rescue techniques and procedures available in the event of emergency situations arising.

This section is followed by the setting out of safety related aspects of specific situations or tasks, including:

• operation of existing network cables,
• locating and identifying cables and fault finding,
• isolating and earthing of cables for safe work,
• creation of an equipotential zone before other work begins,
• work near plant and equipment of other utilities, and
• working in transport corridors, including temporary traffic management.