Industrial Electrical Safety: 8 Essential Controls for Sites

Industrial electrical safety means keeping people, plant and premises safe from electric shock, burns, arcing, fire and explosion. Factories, warehouses and workshops run heavier loads, harsher environments and more maintenance work than offices, so the risks are higher. The law is the same, though: the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 apply to every workplace.

This guide sets out what the law requires, the main hazards, and eight practical controls that make the biggest difference on industrial sites.

What the Law Says About Industrial Electrical Safety

The core duty sits in Regulation 4 of the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. Systems must be built and maintained to prevent danger, so far as is reasonably practicable. Work on or near them must be done without causing danger, and protective equipment must be suitable and maintained.

Other regulations that matter most for industrial electrical safety include:

• Regulation 12: suitable means of cutting off the supply and isolating equipment
• Regulation 13: precautions for work on equipment that has been made dead
• Regulation 14: strict limits on work on or near live conductors
• Regulation 16: people must be competent, or properly supervised, to prevent danger

The scale of the problem is real. HSE says around 1,000 electrical accidents at work are reported to it each year, and about 25 people die of their injuries.

The Main Industrial Electrical Hazards

HSE lists the main hazards from electricity at work. On an industrial site, each one is more likely because of the equipment and conditions:

• Electric shock and burns from contact with live parts
• Injury from arcing, where current jumps across a gap
• Fire from faulty equipment or installations
• Explosion caused by unsuitable equipment in flammable atmospheres
• Static electricity igniting flammable vapours or dusts

HSE also points out that a shock can cause secondary injuries, such as falls from ladders or platforms. On sites with mezzanines and racking, that matters.

8 Essential Controls for Industrial Electrical Safety

These are the industrial electrical safety controls we see make the biggest difference on factory and warehouse sites.

1. Assess the electrical risks

HSE expects employers to assess electrical hazards. Think about the type of equipment, how it is used and the environment. Wet, dusty or confined areas can make ordinary equipment dangerous.

2. Isolate before you work

Dead working is the default. Equipment should be switched off, isolated, locked off and proved dead before work starts. Good practice is for each person working on it to apply their own lock. Live working is only allowed when all three conditions in Regulation 14 are met.

3. Make isolators easy to find and use

HSE advises that machinery has an accessible switch or isolator to cut power quickly in an emergency. Label every isolator clearly. Keep distribution boards closed and, where possible, locked.

4. Use RCD protection where it helps

HSE recommends an RCD between the supply and equipment, especially outdoors or in wet or confined places. It is a simple, low-cost layer of protection for portable tools and temporary supplies.

5. Inspect and test the fixed installation

HSE does not set a single interval. It says installations should be tested often enough that there is little chance of deterioration leading to danger. In practice that means a periodic inspection (EICR) at the interval your inspector recommends, sooner if conditions are harsh. Periodic inspections are now carried out to BS 7671:2018+A4:2026, the current edition.

6. Check portable and transportable equipment

Users should check equipment before each use, and stop using it if a cable is damaged, taped or scorched. HSE says equipment in harsh environments should be tested more often. Our guide on industrial electrical maintenance covers how to build that into a schedule.

7. Use competent people

Regulation 16 requires people to have the knowledge or experience to prevent danger, or to be supervised. Repairs and fixed-wiring work need someone with the right skills, knowledge and experience.

8. Keep records and review them

Record inspections, test results, defects and repairs. HSE advises changing how often you check equipment based on the number and severity of faults found. Records also show an inspector or insurer that you take industrial electrical safety seriously.

Where Industrial Sites Commonly Fall Short

When we inspect industrial premises, the industrial electrical safety problems tend to repeat. The most common are:

• Distribution boards left open, unlabelled or used as storage space
• Machinery added without checking the circuit or the supply capacity
• Cables run across floors where forklifts and pallet trucks pass
• Temporary supplies that have quietly become permanent
• Out-of-date drawings, so nobody is sure which board feeds what

Each of these is a fixable gap in industrial electrical safety. Most cost far less to put right than an unplanned shutdown.

Changing layouts and new machinery

Every time you add a machine, move a production line or install racking, the electrical risk changes. Review your industrial electrical safety arrangements at the same time. If you are adding heavy plant, check whether your supply and distribution can take it. Our guide to three phase vs single phase explains the basics.

Training and Reporting

Staff don’t need to be electricians to improve industrial electrical safety. They need to know the warning signs and who to tell.

Basic awareness should cover how to check a tool before use, where the isolators are, and what to do about damage. Make reporting simple. A damaged cable that is reported in minutes is a small repair. One that is ignored can become a fire or an injury.

Burning smells, scorch marks or sparking near machinery need immediate action. Isolate the equipment if it is safe to do so, keep people away, and call an electrician. We provide a 24/7 emergency service for businesses.

Dream Home Experts is an NICEIC Approved Contractor and ECA member, with 35+ years of experience in the team. We carry out industrial installation, inspection, testing and three-phase work.

Last checked: 31 October 2026. Sources: legislation.gov.uk and HSE.