UK construction-safety guidance by the Riskora Editorial Team
Most fatal electric shocks in UK workplaces happen on circuits that someone believed were dead. The HSE's analysis of electrical fatalities consistently points to the same root cause: isolation was assumed rather than proved, or proved on one source but not on the back-feed. The framework that should have prevented those incidents is well established — the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 (particularly Regs 4, 12, 13 and 14), HSE Guidance Note GS38 for test equipment, and HSG85 'Electricity at Work — Safe Working Practices'. A method statement for safe isolation has to do one thing well: convert the four-step 'switch off, lock off, prove dead, prove the prover' procedure into a site-specific sequence that an inspector, a building operator and the operative all read the same way. This page covers what a UK isolation method statement must contain — including the GS38-spec voltage indicator, the back-feed sweep, and the lock-off discipline that stops the circuit being re-energised while the engineer's hands are inside the enclosure.
Example Method Statement
Method Statement for Electrical Isolation — UK
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Required before any work on or near electrical equipment — including testing, fault-finding, cable pulling, terminations, fixture replacement, and any work where exposed conductors could be made live. EAWR 1989 Reg 14 prohibits live working unless (a) it is unreasonable in all the circumstances to disconnect, (b) it is reasonable for the work to be done live, and (c) suitable precautions are taken — and that justification must be documented before, not after. HSE GS38 (5th edition, 2023) specifies the construction of voltage indicators and test probes: fused leads, finger barriers, exposed tip ≤4 mm, and the use of a known-live proving unit before and after testing. HSG85 sets out the lock-off and permit-to-work expectations. On CDM 2015 projects the principal contractor will expect the isolation method statement as part of the construction phase plan; in occupied premises the building operator will require it before issuing a permit.
An electrical contractor in Leeds is replacing a fire-damaged 200A sub-main board in an occupied office. The building has a 100kW rooftop PV array and a 60kVA standby generator. Using Riskora, the project engineer selects the Electrical preset and adds the isolation hazard. The method statement names the upstream main switch, the PV DC isolator at the inverter, and the generator changeover switch as the three isolation points; specifies a Megger TPT420 GS38 indicator proved on a Megger PSU240 before and after each test; assigns individual padlocks to the two engineers via a four-way multi-hasp; sets out a back-feed sweep at the busbar chamber after lock-off; and includes a restoration sequence that re-tests with the building operator present. The 9-page method statement exports in 6 minutes, is accepted by the facilities manager, the work is completed across one weekend without incident, and the permit is closed out and retained for the EAWR audit file.
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Riskora is an assistive document preparation tool. All documents generated must be reviewed, verified, and approved by a competent person before use on site. Riskora does not replace professional safety judgment, and no output should be treated as a legal compliance guarantee.