OMICRON Magazine

What are the main hazards when testing with primary current and why? David Gopp: One of the biggest hazards is the meager physical delimitation of the danger area. This can be dangerous because of other live components that may be in the immediate vicinity. Another risk factor is the inadequate acoustic and visual signaling of the current operational status of the test set. The equipment itself – especially test objects with capacitive or inductive characteristics – represents a potential hazard. A time- delayed reduction in energy levels means that discharge events, for example rewiring of the measurement setup, can have a life- threatening outcome for the user. Careless- ness due to familiarity is a further important factor. Being distracted or feeling stressed can soon give rise to a dangerous situation. Which features or products were developed with safety in mind? The safety aspect is a fundamental compo- nent right from the initial planning stages. Our products conform – without excep- tion – to all the required safety standards in order to minimize potential sources of danger. We don’t just adhere to the current requirements and the latest state- of-the-art, but we’re constantly setting new standards in this field. For example: Harmonized modularity is a feature of our safety functions. A standardized code of conduct is an advantage in dangerous working situations, regardless of the test set. Examples include uniform signals for warning lamps, hazard tones, the opera- tion of the emergency stop switch or even a surge arrester box from our product port- folio. The active use of our safety products THREE QUESTIONS FOR DAVID GOPP, PRODUCT MANAGER FOR SAFETY APPLICATIONS: «We’re very grateful to all customers who have reported incidents to us. We are taking account of the experiences shared in the field to cooperate on new ideas that will further enhance our safety concept to make our testing systems even safer and protect lives.» Markus Jäger, Product Manager, OMICRON 12