The Checklist That Prevents the Call at 2am
Kenya reports 15+ fatal electrical accidents monthly in industry, per DOSHS. In the last 3 audits we did in Athi River, 100% of sites had at least one lethal finding: exposed busbar, no LOTO, earth >50Ω, or no RCD. All are cheap to fix compared to a funeral or a KPLC lawsuit.
This checklist is what our EBK-licensed engineers use on a 1-day audit. Print it, walk your plant monthly, and close gaps before DOSHS does.
Daily — 5 Minutes Before Power On
LOTO (Lockout/Tagout): Every isolation point has a lock + tag + hasp. No lock, no work. We provide the kit (locks, tags, hasps) and train — most sites have 2 locks for 20 points.
No exposed live: IP2X on panels (finger-safe), no open busbars, no taped joints. If you can touch copper, it fails.
Earthing: Visual check of earth bar, no stolen copper, no rust. Test quarterly — must be ≤5Ω for industrial (we measure with 3-point fall-of-potential).
RCDs: 30mA for personnel (sockets, hand tools), 300mA for fire (mains). Test monthly via test button — log it. Most sites have 0 RCDs on a 30mA board.Field reality: On a Thika site, a 0.8Ω earth saved a fitter when a motor shorted to frame. On a site with 48Ω, the same fault would have killed.
Weekly — 30-Minute Walk
Thermography: Hand or camera scan of MCC, busbars, cables. Hot spot >20°C over ambient or >70°C absolute = schedule outage. We do quarterly drone + handheld for KES 45k.
Load balancing: Clamp each phase at MCC. Imbalance >10% = neutral overload, transformer hot, penalty. We rebalance in 2 hours.
Cables: No overloading (check derating for bunched, hot, or long runs), no joints under floors, correct glands. A 2.5mm² on a 32A breaker is a heater, not a circuit.
E-stops: Press each — must trip and latch. Log date + name. Most sites haven’t pressed them since install.Monthly — 2-Hour Audit
Breakers: MCB/MCCB sized to cable and load — 16A breaker on 1.5mm², not 32A. Check curves: C for motors, B for lighting.
Arc flash: Label panels with incident energy, wear PPE (8–40 cal/cm²) for live work. We calculate and label.
Lightning & surge: Franklin rods test, surge devices on mains + PLCs. Without it, one strike takes your SCADA.
Insulation: Megger motors >1MΩ, cables >2MΩ. Trend — falling is warning.People & Procedures — Where Most Sites Fail
Only licensed electricians touch 415V+. EBK license, not just experience. We check.
Toolbox talk before energized work: 5 min, in Swahili, with permit. No permit, no energization.
Permit to work: For HV, confined space, hot work. Signed by issuer, performer, and acceptor — not one signature.
Incident reporting: Near-miss (shock, tingle, flash) reported like an injury. We give you a 1-page form.How to Use This Checklist
Print A3, laminate, assign to your maintenance lead. Tick daily/weekly/monthly, sign, file for DOSHS. Close red items in 7 days, amber in 30.
Want us to do it for you? Our 1-day electrical audit (KES 45k, Nairobi metro) gives you a 12-page report with photos, thermography, load logs, and a priced close-out plan. We pass KEBS/NCA 95% first time.
Download: Get the printable PDF checklist via the lead magnet at /blog/blog-workplace-safety, or book the audit at /quote — reply in 4.2h avg.
*Dynatec — EBK, EPRA, NCA, 200+ audits, 10+ years. Call +254 143 293 534. Don’t wait for the 2am call.*
