An electrical consulting board to improve safety in the electrical field

Many links build up the safety chain: when an accident happens, the legal aspect of the accident evaluation turns out like a weak link. Electrical hazards exist, and will continue to exist, in the industrialized world of ever-increasing technology. Considering that the possibility of injury is not avoidable, generally a sentence is probable for management personnel, either complying the art´s rule or not, bewildering all endeavors for practicing electrical safety. The best electrical safety should have to guarantee if not by injury, at least by legal consequences in case of accident. The proposal of the authors is to discuss on the opportunity of setting up an Electrical Consulting Board (ECB) in the electrical field, as an operating authority established in the bosom of the national and international organisms, like the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). The ECB, with a central and peripheral organization, should have the following tasks: make available a skilled consulting board, independent of the legal system, for a first judgement of technical level on working accidents; investigate the causes of accidents and injuries; spread technical knowledge about accidents and their prevention, propose enhancements on standards and recommendations; evaluate the overall functionality and safety of the systems; guarantee and promote the harmonization of the international standards and codes; and support the of the international standards and codes; and support the electrical safety of local organizations of all the work activities (companies, enterprises, establishments)