5-Minute Job – Training an Unqualified Worker for when Things Go Wrong: Copyright Material IEEE Paper No. ESW2021-20

We have all had those tasks come up that on the surface seems like a very simple 5-minute job. But then things do not go quite as planned. Suddenly, that simple task has now become a major job. People will then tend to start taking short cuts and get complacent in how they complete the repair job. That is when people get hurt or equipment gets damaged. This paper will explain how a very simple task at the author's house garage to replace two ceiling light bulbs and two garage door opener light bulbs turned into over a one-week nightmare. The parallels to the industrial electrical safety world are phenomenal. The other thing that made this job unique is the worker performing the tasks was an unqualified electrical worker that was working under the direct supervision of a qualified worker in a training mode. This paper will examine all the detailed steps that were taken in compliance of NFPA 70E to keep the worker safe while performing in a training mode under difficult situations. When the job was completed, all electrical safety procedures for hazard risk analysis, job briefing, individual responsibilities, lock out tag out, PPE, and fall protection were followed. No one was injured and the unqualified worker gained a lot of new experience and is now trained to meet the NFPA 70E definition of a qualified worker to perform these tasks in the future. Moral of the story is there is no such thing as a 5-minute job in life. You must plan accordingly.