Working with electricity

Do your employees work with electricity? Do they, for example, service electrical installations, batteries, or electronic machines? You must keep to the Working Conditions Act (Arbowet) and work according to NEN standards. 

Working conditions for working with electricity 

Working with electricity can be dangerous. You should conduct a risk assessment & evaluation and take measures to ensure the lowest possible risks for your staff. The Netherlands Labour Authority sets out general advice for working with electricity (in Dutch) and includes references to NEN standards. 

Some of the norms for working with electricity are: 

• Your employees must be trained and qualified.
• They must work safely, and use double-insulated safety equipment.
• Employees working near a high voltage facility (more than 1000 Volts AC or 1500 Volts DC) must never work alone.
• While employees are working near or inside an electrical installation, the electricity must be disconnected/switched off, unless it is necessary for the work not to.
• While employees are cleaning electrical equipment, they must wear the right protection and use specialised cleaning materials. They must not work in places that are under voltage. 

Specific working and installation regulations apply to working on high voltage installations (in Dutch) or for working situations where employees continually come into contact with conductors. 

Standards for working with electricity 

The NEN committees (normcommissies) consist of various organisations that develop standards for working on a wide range of electrical engineering products (in Dutch). These standards concern: 

• safety
• inspections (in Dutch)
• installation instructions (in Dutch)
• working instructions (in Dutch) 

You must comply with the NEN standard relevant to your work at all times.