Isolate and re-energise high voltage systems in an electric vehicle
Overview
This standard is about assessing an electric vehicle and isolating it to make it safe to work on. It also covers re-energising the vehicle once the required work has been carried out.
For the purposes of this standard, an electric vehicle is any vehicle that is in part or wholly electrically propelled. This would include:
- Hybrid (HEV) - to include mild/micro hybrid vehicles where the voltage is considered dangerous.
- Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV)
- Extended Range Electric Vehicle (ER-EV) or Range Extended Electric Vehicle (RE-EV)
- Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) or Pure Electric Vehicle (PEV)
- Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV).
Warning: It has been recommended by industry experts that only those with suitable training and experience on working with electric vehicles should carry out the functions below.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
- Locate relevant information about the vehicle and use it to determine any potential hazards
- Identify any potential hazards by carrying out a dynamic risk assessment of the vehicle
- Identify high voltage components and cabling
- Notify all relevant persons of your intention to work on a high voltage vehicle
- Select and use correct personal protective equipment when isolating and re-energising the high voltage system
- Ensure the work area is clearly identified and made safe, following workplace procedures
- Follow the manufacturer's procedures to isolate and re-energise the high voltage system
- Work in a way which minimises the risk of:
- injury to yourself and others
- damage to your working environment
- damage to other vehicle systems, components and units
- Prepare, check and use all the appropriate test equipment following manufacturer’s instructions
- Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations to ensure residual voltage is within manufacturer's specification when isolating the high voltage system
- Use suitable testing methods to evaluate the performance of the re-energised high voltage system accurately, ensuring that it performs to the manufacturer’s operating specifications and legal requirements
- Follow workplace procedures in case of emergency
- Refer any problems with the process to a relevant person in your workplace
- Ensure records are accurate, complete and passed to the relevant person(s) promptly in the format required.
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
Use of technical information
- The different types of electric vehicle and their electrical systems
- The terminology used within electric vehicle systems
- How to find, interpret and use sources of information applicable to isolating and re-energising an electric vehicle’s high voltage systems
- The importance of knowing how and where to access relevant information on the specific electric vehicle systems
- How to determine the location and route of the high voltage components and cabling
- Specific high voltage vehicle safety systems relevant to your work
Legislative and organisational requirements and procedures
- The current health and safety legislation, industry codes of practice or guidelines and specific vehicle manufacturer’s repair and safety procedures relevant to working with electric vehicles
- The hazards associated with working with electric vehicles and how to identify them
- How to select, check and use appropriate and correct personal protective equipment
- How to work in a way which minimises the risk of:
- injury to yourself and others
- damage to your working environment
- damage to other vehicle systems, components and units
- The implications and effects of electricity through the human body
- The signs and symptoms of electrocution
- The implications of strong magnetic fields and the effects on medical devices
- Workplace procedures that must be followed in the event of electric shock or other emergencies
- Your workplace procedures for the referral/reporting of problems when working with electric vehicles
- Your workplace procedures for documenting isolation and re-energisation activities and the importance of doing so
- How to make others aware that work is being carried out on electric vehicles
- The specific manufacturer’s guidelines and the precautions necessary when charging, connecting an auxiliary power source to or towing/lifting an electric vehicle
- The hazards associated with electric vehicles when exposed to extreme temperatures, impact and other adverse conditions
Use of testing equipment
- How to select and use the correct electrical testing equipment required
- How to check and test equipment prior to use
Isolating and re-energising vehicle high voltage systems
- How to isolate and re-energise an electric vehicle’s high voltage system following manufacturer’s instructions
- How to accurately test that the residual voltage is below manufacturer’s specification following the isolation process
- How to interpret test results and make recommendations based on these results and the importance of basing recommendations on test results
- How to test and evaluate the performance of the system against manufacturers’ operating specifications and legal requirements
- The importance of ensuring all high voltage vehicle systems are functioning correctly and safely before the vehicle is released to the customer
Scope/range
- Vehicle - any vehicle that is in part or wholly electrically propelled. This would include
- Hybrid (HEV) - to include mild/micro hybrid vehicles where the voltage is considered dangerous.
- Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV)
- Extended Range Electric Vehicle (ER-EV) or Range Extended Electric Vehicle (RE-EV)
- Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) or Pure Electric Vehicle (PEV)
- Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV)
- Testing methods include:
- sensory
- functional
- measurement
- Components include, but are not limited to:
- batteries
- motors
- cables
- HVAC components
- contacters
- AC/DC onboard charger
- DC-DC converter
- HV service disconnect
- HV charge port
Scope Performance
Scope Knowledge
Values
Behaviours
Skills
Glossary
Additional Information
This section contains examples and explanations of some of the terms used but does not form part of the standard.
Dynamic risk assessment - the practice of mentally observing, assessing and analysing an environment while working, to identify and remove risk. The process allows individuals to identify a hazard on the spot and make quick decisions in regards to their own safety.
Hazards associated with high voltage electrical vehicle components - exist not only during work on high voltage systems, as specified above, but also on all other high-power electrical drive systems and high-pressure storage systems. Vehicle and equipment manufacturers’ guidance should be followed at all times
High voltage – Regulation No 100 of the Economic Commission for Europe of the United Nations (UNECE) — Uniform provisions concerning the approval of vehicles with regard to specific requirements for the electric power train, states that: ‘High Voltage’ means the classification of an electric component or circuit, if its working voltage is > 60 V and ≤ 1 500 V DC or > 30 V and ≤ 1 000 V AC root mean square (rms). Electricity at Work Regulations (1989), and associated HSE guidance should be followed at all times.
N.B. Some electric vehicles may operate at voltages below or above industry recognised standards.
Sensory testing methods - Include looking, listening, smelling, touching for temperature or vibration.
Sources of information applicable to electric vehicles - Examples include hard copy manuals, data on computer and data obtained from on- board diagnostic displays.