Industrial workplaces feature many machines that can pose safety risks to workers. While some of these are obvious hazards, backup equipment is easier to overlook, as it doesn’t play a regular role in employee’s workflows. Generators may fall into that category, but overlooking their safety concerns is a massive mistake.

Any reliable factory safety plan is incomplete without attention to the facility’s industrial generators. Here is a closer look at why.

1. Electrical Faults Pose Significant Hazards

The biggest reason not to overlook generator safety is because electrical equipment poses substantial risks. Electrical injuries cause roughly 1,000 deaths annually, with most due to high-voltage systems. The nation also experiences 30,000 non-fatal electrocution incidents yearly.

Such hazards are a factor in all high-voltage equipment, but industrial generators may go under the radar because they’re backup solutions. Since workers don’t deal with them regularly, they can forget about the risks they pose and the necessary safety precautions.

Backup generators sitting idle can degrade and experience faults without employees noticing. These situations make electrocution risks all the more likely, so facilities must prevent them by formally including this machinery in their safety plans.

2. Some Generators Pose Air Quality Risks

Shock hazards may be the most obvious threat industrial generators pose, but there are additional risks to consider. Many of these systems run on diesel or gas to generate electricity, and these fossil fuels can introduce air quality concerns.

Carbon monoxide poisoning takes just a few minutes to turn deadly at high concentrations. Even at lower levels, exposure over several hours — like during a factory shift — can be fatal. This gas is also impossible to detect with human senses, as it has no smell and is invisible.

Besides carbon monoxide, repeated gas or diesel fumes exposure can cause health problems. Employees with existing conditions like asthma or heart disease may face particularly high risks from the gases released by generators.

3. Industrial Generators Are Increasingly Crucial

Another reason not to skip over generator safety is that this equipment is becoming increasingly prominent in industrial workplaces. Backup electrical systems are not a niche technology, and they’ll only become more common as grid issues rise.

The nation’s electrical infrastructure is aging, and physical attacks on grid equipment rose by more than 70% between 2021 and 2022 alone. Amid these trends, service interruptions have become fairly commonplace, so factories hoping to maintain ongoing operations must rely on in-house generators.

As industrial generators run more often and appear in a larger number of facilities, their potential risks grow. Malfunctions and misuse will become more likely and more damaging given the uptick in usage, so organizations must address the issue now.

Industrial Generator Safety Tips

Given these hazards, industrial generators deserve specific attention in a factory’s workplace safety protocols. Managers can account for them through these five best practices.

Place Generators Carefully

The first step in generator safety is to place them in an appropriate environment. Ample ventilation is among the most important considerations. OSHA sets the maximum exposure limit for carbon monoxide at 50 parts per million, so any fossil fuel equipment must have enough ventilation to maintain that standard.

Keep the surrounding area clear of flammable and electrically conductive materials. Generators should never be near moisture, so keep them away from anything that may leak. Similarly, there should be substantial space between the machinery and anything that could catch fire from a rogue spark.

Pay Attention to Capacity

Managers should also ensure their industrial generators provide enough power for their intended use cases. Overloading one of these machines can quickly lead to dangerous malfunctions. At best, the generator may shut down, but at worst, it could produce electrical hazards or create physical risks when the equipment it powers fails.

As businesses create their backup power supplies, they must pay close attention to the capacity they’ll need to maintain normal operations. Multiple generators are necessary when a single generator cannot provide enough power. Distributing loads between separate units is crucial to avoid overloading any one circuit.

Maintain Generators Regularly

As with other types of heavy equipment, ongoing maintenance is critical. Failure to keep generators in optimal condition can lead to sudden safety issues once the facility must rely on them. Employees may fail to notice age-related safety concerns if they do not inspect this machinery regularly, even when it’s not in regular use.

The integrity of all electrical circuits and moving parts is among the most crucial maintenance considerations. However, workers shouldn’t overlook complementary systems, either. For example, air filters demand attention, as proper filtration eliminates moisture that can interfere with electrical components.

Follow Proper Lockout/Tagout Procedures

Whenever employees monitor or work on a generator, they must follow lockout/tagout protocols. Disconnecting the unit from other equipment and power systems is key to avoiding shocks while repairing or inspecting it. Similarly, workers must shut off the generator before refueling it.

These procedures work best when each employee must register their name in a record of who accessed the equipment at which times. Maintaining these logs holds workers accountable for following lockout/tagout protocols, which helps prevent missteps from complacency.

Train Employees to Use Generators Safely

Thorough training is essential. Between 70% and 90% of all accidents stem from human error, so any employee with access to an industrial generator must know how to interact with it safely.

These training programs should cover lockout/tagout procedures, ventilation requirements, relevant electrical hazards, the need for shock-resistant PPE and how to shut off generators in an emergency. Requiring authorized personnel to pass a test at least once annually to prove their knowledge in this area is also ideal. That way, workers won’t forget crucial safety steps.

Industrial Generator Safety Demands Attention

Industrial generators are essential equipment, even if they don’t play a regular role in ongoing operations.

Following these steps to ensure generator safety is critical to avoiding electrical, combustion and air quality hazards. Failing to recognize this need and implement relevant mitigation strategies can produce dire consequences.