Forward. A message from the Managing Director. George Maltabarow Managing Director Ausgrid

Transcription

1 Electrical Safety Survey 2011

2 Forward A message from the Managing Director Electricity is an essential service relied upon for a strong economy and the basic necessities inside our homes. Distributing electricity through the network is a highly hazardous business with the electricity network switched on 24 hours a day seven days a week. At Ausgrid, we've made sure that our crews and the public are as safe as possible from the hazards of electricity. We've locked away our substations and continuously monitor our high voltage cables so that public hazards can be quickly made safe. However, total protection inside and outside the home requires safe behaviour from all of us. Last financial year, there were more than 344 reported electric shocks on private properties across our network. Even more concerning is that one in five people report having received an electric shock and one in three say they know someone who has received a shock. Ausgrid's Public Electrical Safety Awareness Plan (PESAP) educates and informs the community about safe behaviour around the electricity network and inside the home. Our Electrical Safety Survey 2011 will help inform our PESAP team to better educate the community on electrical safety and remind every member of the public of the need to take simple steps to stay safe around electricity. George Maltabarow Managing Director Ausgrid 1 Ausgrid Electrical Safety Survey 2011

3 Executive summary Methodology The New South Wales Electrical Safety Survey 2011 was undertaken by Ausgrid s Public Electrical Safety Awareness Plan to investigate public perceptions of electrical safety. A total of 1353 residents across Ausgrid s electricity network in Sydney, Newcastle, Hunter Valley and Central Coast were surveyed as part of the online study. The respondents also included a sub-group of 68 tradespeople including electricians, plumbers and carpenters. Key findings Human error and the dangerous use of electrical equipment was the major cause of electric shocks among residents surveyed (36 per cent). The vast majority of respondents correctly identified examples of unsafe behaviour involving electrical equipment. However, most residents often ignored the dangers and risked their lives by carrying out unsafe activities around electricity. Electric shocks were most likely to occur during everyday activities or the conventional use of electrical appliances. Males were more likely (23 per cent) than females (17 per cent) to have received an electric shock around the home. Most residents and tradespeople continue to risk their lives by not checking for underground power cables before digging or excavating. This is despite three quarters of residents being aware of the Dial Before You Dig public service. Tradespeople, including plumbers and electricians, were more likely to carry out electrical maintenance and repair work in their own homes. The majority of tradespeople carrying out Do-It- Yourself activities had undertaken electrical work at home in the past 12 months. Safety switches are present in the vast majority of residents homes (82 per cent). However, few residents often or always checked that electrical appliances met Australian Standards or were the correct voltage before plugging them in. Parents are the primary source of electrical safety advice for children. However, the majority of parents believe their children are unaware of basic safety messages regarding electricity. Conclusions The results of Ausgrid s Electrical Safety Survey indicate that while the public is well-informed, residents and tradespeople are continuing to risk their lives by knowingly carrying out dangerous behaviour around the electricity network. The public s general awareness of electrical safety has increased in the past twelve months with more residents and tradespeople correctly identifying dangerous situations involving electricity. However, there were 344 reported incidents of electric shock on private properties across Ausgrid s electricity network during the same period with the majority of shocks reported in the survey the result of human error. Ausgrid s Public Electrical Safety Awareness Plan will continue to educate the community about the dangers of electricity and reinforce the message that the electricity network is switched on Ausgrid Electrical Safety Survey 2011

4 Results Electric shocks One fifth of respondents have experienced an electric shock at home. About a third of those surveyed, 33 per cent, knew of someone who had received a shock. Human error was the major cause of electric shocks, with 36 per cent of residents attributing the shock to inadvertently or incorrectly touching an electric object or not switching power off. Old or faulty wiring/appliances were responsible for a further third (30 per cent) of all electric shocks. Case study 1: A 50 year old female from Kirribilli suffered an electric shock after she used a knife to try and free a piece of bread stuck in the toaster. Case study 2: A 40 year old male from Bondi was trying to plug a UK appliance into an Australian adaptor when he suffered a shock. Case study 3: A 60 year old male from Maitland was replacing a power point without turning the mains power off when he suffered an electric shock. Do-It-Yourself electrical work Do-It-Yourself activities were responsible for more than a quarter, 28 per cent, of all reported electric shocks. About half the residents surveyed (53 per cent) had carried out maintenance or repair task around the home including trimming branches around powerlines, replacing power points and installing light fittings. Males were more likely than females to be involved in Do-It-Yourself activities around the home with 67 per cent of males and 39 per cent of females surveyed carrying out DIY activities at home. About 85 per cent of tradespeople surveyed, including plumbers and electricians, had carried out home maintenance and repair work at home. A fifth of non-tradespeople surveyed have engaged in at least five dangerous electrical repair or maintenance activities in the last 12 months. Most common potentially dangerous DIY activities 1. Climbing a ladder while holding a mains-operated electrical tool 42%. 2. Drilling or nailing into a wall without checking for electrical wires 36%. 3. Entering a roof space without turning off the mains power 34%. 3 Ausgrid Electrical Safety Survey 2011

5 Misconceptions of electricity Rubber soled shoes or gloves are still wrongly perceived to protect against electric shocks with about 40 per cent of residents unsure or wrongly believing domestic rubber boots/gloves protect against electrocution. About 40 per cent of residents were unsure or wrongly believed it was safe to use a ladder near powerlines. Most common misconceptions 1. Showering during an electrical storm is safe. 2. It is safe to use a washing machine on a wet floor wearing rubber shoes. 3. It is safe to unplug an appliance still switched on at the power point. Electricity network About one in four respondents are risking their lives by not checking for underground power cables before digging or excavating (Figure 1). This was despite a 76 per cent of non-trades people and 78 per cent of tradespeople being aware of the Dial Before You Dig public service. Residents have a high understanding of the dangers associated with approaching fallen powerlines with three quarters of respondents correctly identifying that fallen powerlines are not dead and therefore unsafe to touch. However, almost a third of residents, 29 per cent, wrongly believe it is safe to use wooden or non-metal objects near powerlines. About 60 per cent of outages across Ausgrid network are caused by external factors like trees coming into contact with powerlines. About a third of residents reported having tree branches dangerously close to powerlines outside their home. Figure 1: Percentage of residents Unsure Should not call Should call Ausgrid Electrical Safety Survey 2011

6 Home electrical safety The majority of residents, 62 per cent, do not often check that electric tools or appliances met Australian Standards. About three quarters of residents, 74 per cent, do not often check appliances are the correct voltage before plugging them in. Safety switches are common in most homes (82 per cent), as are surge protectors (76 per cent). Only a third of respondents switched off all electrical equipment and appliances during a blackout to help protect the device. Children s awareness of electrical safety Children s awareness of electrical safety largely derives from their parents with about 90 per cent of parents nominating the parent as the main source of electrical safety advice such as turning appliances off and checking the voltage of appliances. About a quarter of parents surveyed, 27 per cent, believe their children do not know about the lifethreatening dangers of reaching through fencing at electrical substations, or the importance of checking the voltage of new appliances before plugging them in (81 per cent). 5 Ausgrid Electrical Safety Survey 2011

7 Survey Methodology Ausgrid s online survey was conducted during Sep/Oct 2010 with a sample of 1353 respondents in Ausgrid s network. The sample included a sub-group of 68 respondents working in construction trades, including electricians and plumbers. Additional analysis was conducted to see how this group differed from the general public. As in earlier surveys in this series, the data were weighted by area, gender, age, education, household size, ownership/rental of premises, and dwelling structure, based on ABS statistics for Sydney, Gosford/Wyong and the Hunter area. 6 Ausgrid Electrical Safety Survey 2011