Royal Decree 614/2001 protects workers against electrical risk in any workplace: not only electricians, but also anyone who uses a machine, cleans next to a switchboard or unloads a lorry under a power line (article 1).
The four harms of electricity (annex I, point 1)
- Electric shock from touching something live: a bare wire (direct contact) or the casing of a machine that has become live because of a fault (indirect contact).
- Burns from the shock or from an electric arc.
- Falls or blows caused by the shock or the arc.
- Fires or explosions started by electricity.
The INSST guide adds that many of these accidents come from using an installation or equipment in conditions other than those intended, or from a fault nobody has fixed.
In practiceAn electrician gets a small shock at the top of a ladder. The shock does not
hurt him, but the fright makes him fall: that is electrical risk too.
Source: Real Decreto 614/2001, sobre protección frente al riesgo eléctrico (Royal Decree on protection against electrical risk; consolidated text, in Spanish), article 1 and annex I, point 1 · INSST, Guía técnica para la evaluación y prevención del riesgo eléctrico (technical guide, 2020, in Spanish), comments on annex I, point 1