MEPF TECHNICAL BULLETIN

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Issue Revision No: Reviewed by/Date: F. GARCIA
Document Code: MEPF 2018 Page No.: 1 of 12 Approved by/Date: F. GARCIA
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Electricity has been an essential part of our daily lives. However, with the convenience that electricity
delivers, it also poses hazards such as electrocution, burns, fires, and explosions that should be addressed
vigilantly.

As compliance with the purpose of the Philippine Electrical Code, practical safeguarding of persons and
property from hazards arising from the use of electricity should be given utmost importance.

These practical safeguarding practices should be observed from the equipment/appliance specification to
the electrical plans and execution, to the system and equipment maintenance.

Causes of Electrical Hazards

Most electrical accidents result from one of the following:

1. Unsafe equipment or installation

 Lack of system grounding.
 Lack of connection of metal surfaces to the system grounding.
 Lack of equipment grounding wire.

 Power tools without proper insulation.

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 MEPF TECHNICAL BULLETIN
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2. Unsafe environment

 Water leaking into an electrical box because water is an electrical conductor.

 Wear and tear of energized wires that are not properly terminated to their terminals and
come in contact with the metal surface around the wire.

3. Unsafe work practices

 Doing repair and inspection while the equipment is energized.
 Lack of proper personal protective equipment (PPE).

If the system does not have a proper protection scheme, the effects can be very destructive.

The consequences of electrical hazards can be as simple as a shutdown if there is a proper protection
system or can destroy completely the equipment due the arc blast or fire, and can produce fire or electrical
shock to the personnel that could be working close to the equipment failed. These consequences are
directly linked to the grounding method that is being used (see Annex A for the Effects of an Electric
Shock).

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 MEPF TECHNICAL BULLETIN
Date: Prepared by/Date:
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Document Code: MEPF 2018 Page No.: 3 of 12 Approved by/Date: F. GARCIA
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Protection Against Electrical Hazards

1. Insulation
Insulators like rubber, glass, mica or plastic that is used to coat metals and other conductors to
help prevent the flow of current.
To be effective, the insulation must be suitable for the voltage used, and other environmental
conditions such as temperature, moisture chemicals that may cause the insulation to corrode.

2. Guarding
Guarding involves locating or enclosing electric equipment to make sure people do not accidentally
come into contact with the live parts.

3. Grounding

Grounding of equipment or electrical system means intentionally creating a low-resistance path

that connects to the ground (earth).

Grounding is normally a secondary preventive measure to protect against electric shock. It does
not guarantee that a person will not get a shock or fatality caused by an electrical current. It will,
however, substantially reduce the risk.

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 MEPF TECHNICAL BULLETIN
Date: Prepared by/Date:
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4. Ground Fault Current Interrupter (GFCI) Outlet

A Ground fault occurs when there is an unintentional contact between an energized wire or
conductor and ground to the equipment frame. Any personnel or equipment that comes in contact
with the “grounded” frame becomes part of the path of the electric current.

Ground fault circuit interrupters are a special type of convenience outlet that stops the flow of
current automatically in the event of a ground fault within as little as 1/40 of a second.

The GFCI works by comparing the amount of current going to and returning from the equipment
along the energized conductors. When the amount of going to differs from the amount of the
returning current by approximately 6milliamperes, the GFCI will stop the flow of current.

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 MEPF TECHNICAL BULLETIN
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When the GFCI stops the flow of current, the indicator in the outlet will light up indicating that there
is a potential electric shock in the circuit. However, if the outlets are concealed at the back of the
equipment, it will go unnoticed.
5. Other Ground Fault Protection Device

There are other types of ground fault protection devices. The most common is the Earth Leakage
Circuit Breaker (ELCB) or Residual Current Circuit Breaker (RCCB). It works much like the GFI
outlet only that a breaker protects a much larger load.

A disadvantage of using this type of ground fault protection is that there is no failure indication at
the equipment. If the ELCB trips, it can easily go unnoticed, leading to bigger problems like power
loss in refrigeration equipment, pumps, or air-conditioning condensers.

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 MEPF TECHNICAL BULLETIN
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THE ROLE OF RESTAURANT SYSTEM (RS) EQUIPMENT SPECIFICATION AND

MANUFACTURER’S EQUIPMENT’S GROUNDING WIRE

An equipment’s ground helps protect the equipment user. It provides a connection to a second low-
resistance path for current to pass through from the equipment to the ground.

The equipment’s grounding wire should be grouped with the energized wire inside the cable cord.

Cond-and-plug connected equipment should use a three-prong plug (See Annex B for the list of Industry
Standard Power Plugs and Receptacles).

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 MEPF TECHNICAL BULLETIN
Date: Prepared by/Date:
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Equipment manufacturers must provide their equipment with the correct grounding terminals and
connections as well as the fabricated metal casing and mounting platform. It should include but not be
limited to:

 Equipment metal casing

 Stainless steel pipe chase

 Equipment platform or mounting brackets

 Use of GFCI outlet for outlets that are built-in on the equipment or stainless fabrication (See
Appendix C for the list of equipment recommended to be equipped with a GFCI outlet).

Without the proper equipment grounding conductor provided, there will be no continuous path from the
equipment to the system grounding and thus a greater risk of potential electric shock.

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 MEPF TECHNICAL BULLETIN
Date: Prepared by/Date:
Issue Revision No: Reviewed by/Date: F. GARCIA
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THE ROLE OF DESIGN (P&D) IN INCREASING ELECTRICAL SAFETY

The safe design of an electrical system begins with the design. The following areas of safety must be
aligned with the Philippine Electrical Code (PEC) provisions that are considered minimum requirements
necessary for safety and must not be overlooked:

 Adequate illumination and working space

The PEC establishes the minimum required guidelines for the working space in front of
electrical equipment in various conditions. Sufficient access and working space shall be
provided and maintained around electrical equipment to permit ready access, safe operation,
and proper maintenance.

 Accessible areas without any obstructions around the equipment’s working space.
Adequate working space is required for equipment that needs examination,
adjustment, servicing, or maintenance while energized. It should:
 Allow the opening of the panel door to 90 degrees.
 It should also provide a step-back space to get away safely and quickly from
the arising electrical hazard.

 Not in the vicinity of ignitible materials.

 Not exposed to physical damage or located in damp or wet locations; exposed to

gases, fumes, vapors, liquids, or other agents that may have a deteriorating effect on
the equipment; or exposed to excessive temperatures.

The panelboard location should be free from all possible sources of damage or water
leaks.

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Illumination shall be provided for all working spaces of the panelboard.

 Proper sizing of grounding

While it is the role of the equipment manufacturer to provide their equipment with an adequate
equipment grounding conductor, it is the role of the designer to ensure that the electrical system
grounding from the electrical service entrance to the point-of-connection at the convenience outlet
is included in the released construction drawings.

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 MEPF TECHNICAL BULLETIN
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The proper sizes of the grounding conductors must be identified in the electrical load schedule.

The Philippine Electrical Code provides the guidelines for determining the proper minimum size of
the equipment grounding conductor (See MEP Technical Bulletin_021918: Equipment Grounding
Conductor).

 Identifying the locations of GFCI Outlets

The Philippine Electrical Code rule is that all outlets inside a commercial kitchen shall be GFCI.

However, the use of GFCI on cold storages (Walk-in Freezer/Chiller, Reach-in Freezer/Chiller,
Undercounter Chiller, etc.) is not recommendable since it is very sensitive to at a minimum of 5mA
surge and may cause product spoilage if the GFCI trips and it goes unnoticed.

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 MEPF TECHNICAL BULLETIN
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See Annex C for the full list of equipment recommended to be equipped with a GFCI outlet, ELCB
or RCCB.

 Correct sizing of circuit protection and conductors

Conductor sizes and circuit breaker ratings are critical to the safe, long-term operation of any
electrical system. Circuit conductors and circuit breakers should be sized for the load it is intended
to carry and in compliance with the PEC guidelines.

Unmindful selection of conductor and breaker sizes that are rated lower than the load they serve
may lead to conductor excessive heating and eventually burn as well as frequent breaker tripping.
However, selecting sizes that are way too high than the correct sizes are impractical and will lead
to equipment failure since the breaker will not be able to sense the abnormally high current that is
passing through it.

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 MEPF TECHNICAL BULLETIN
Date: Prepared by/Date:
Issue Revision No: Reviewed by/Date: F. GARCIA
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THE ROLE OF CMG: IMPLEMENTATION OF ELECTRICAL SAFETY STANDARDS

Vigilance in electrical safety should be observed and carried through project implementation.

The electrical works carried out by the contractor should be inspected to make sure that it complies with
the safety provisions of the Philippine Electrical Code, the construction drawings and specifications.

This material is for JWS USE ONLY. Any unauthorized use or reproduction is prohibited.