Your Warehouse Electricity Checklist

Warehouses can be dangerous places to work, even with extensive health and safety training for all employees. Products are stacked on high shelving units waiting for distribution. Forklifts are required to move things around. With all the dangers already lurking inside a warehouse, it is easy to overlook electrical safety. Without electricity, the warehouse would have to cease operations until it could be restored.  Hexo Electrical Testing has a range of commercial safety inspections to cover your warehouse and identify any faults.  

Commercial Electrical Installation Condition Report

Fixed wire testing is a legal requirement for every non-domestic building, including warehouses. The Commercial Electrical Installation Condition Report tests 20 per cent of a building’s electrical installations and circuit accessories every year. That means that every five years, a building has received a complete inspection. It makes it easier to remember when it is an annual thing. Some warehouses may require more frequent fixed wire testing depending on exposure levels. 

A building’s electrical installations start to break before the damage is noticed. An electrician is trained to spot the early signs of wear and tear. Any faults discovered during an inspection will need to be repaired. Codes C1, C2 and F1 mean that the defects found need to be repaired before the installation is used again. 

Emergency Lights

All commercial usage buildings require an emergency light system. When plunged into darkness, even the most familiar of settings become disorientating. A warehouse is never familiar, not even for long-term employees. Stock is moved around creating new layouts on a daily basis.  

Emergency lights need to run separately from the mains. Exits need to be clearly signposted and accessible at all times. Make sure that no one parks a forklift in front of the emergency exits. A named person needs to do this every day. 

Emergency light testing is mandatory. Every month the emergency lights need to be tested by an expert. The mains need to go off to make sure the emergency light system is glowing. Once the mains are back on, the system needs to be checked to ensure it is charging. Every year the emergency light system requires an extended duration test. The mains will need to be off for around three hours to make sure each part maintains its brightness. 

Grounding and Power Cords

All equipment needs to be properly grounded; otherwise, lives are at risk. Equipment that isn’t grounded properly can trigger power surges and even fires. 

Power cords present a tripping hazard. If it is an extension cord that someone trips over, this can rip it right out of the socket damaging the equipment and the socket. 

Water

Electricity and water don’t mix. Electrical fires can’t even be put out with water. Appropriate fire extinguishers should be provided with fire safety training. If there are puddles on the floor, do not drag equipment through them considering you can even get a shock from touching a light switch with wet hands. 

All employees need to receive appropriate training covering electrical safety.