Locally Owned & Operated by Brown's Insurance Agency, Inc. 9168 Prince William Street Manassas, VA 20110 Tel. 703-368-0333

Check Your Safeguards

Modern tools and equipment are wonderful. They give us the power to do tasks that were impossible a hundred years ago. But this power deserves some healthy respect. The electricity that runs your hair dryer can also kill you. The table saw that cuts your boards so cleanly can also cut off a finger.

Manufacturers have learned that they have a responsibility to make their equipment as safe as possible before they sell it to the public. Manufacturers insulate and ground their electrical products. They add safety guards to keep debris, tools, and fingers from getting caught in gears. They put emergency cut-off switches on equipment that may need to be shut down in a hurry. These safety advances have been driven by OSHA, Underwriters Laboratories, and by lawsuits.

The equipment and tools you buy have been made as safe as they can be, and still perform their jobs. It is up to you to keep them as safe as they were made. To do this you need to follow a few simple rules:

• Read the instructions that came with your equipment, especially the safety instructions and cautions

• Leave safety guards and shields in place at all times when using a tool or piece of machinery; do not remove a guard so that you can use a tool in a unique way - get another tool that can do what you need it to do

• If your equipment has a dented or damaged, or missing guard, DO NOT USE that equipment until the guard has been replaced properly

• Don't remove the "grounding plug" from electric plugs with three terminals. The third terminal gives electricity a safe return path if the insulation in the equipment wears through. Also, don’t use the 3 prong to two prong adapters in any situation where the grounding lug or wire is not connected to ground

• Replace electrical cords if they become worn, or have cracked insulation

• If you find that a piece of equipment CAN be operated with a safety interlock that is out of place DO NOT USE that equipment until the safety interlock has been repaired. For example, if your automatic transmission car can be started while it is in gear, a safety switch has failed and should be replaced immediately. If your lawn mower can be started without someone holding down the safety bar, or if it can stay running when the bar is released, have a qualified repairman fix the safety switch

• If the emergency cut-off switch on any equipment does not turn off the equipment immediately, STOP using that equipment and have a qualified repairman replace the cut-off switch

• Test your Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter plugs and circuit breakers according to the manufacturer's instructions. If the GFCI fails to break the circuit when you test it, it is NOT protecting your from being electrocuted-have an electrician replace it immediately.