Group 4 on electrical safety: knowledge testing, requirements for admission

All modern enterprises use electrical equipment, which should only be operated by trained specialists with the appropriate level of clearance. Thanks to this, it is possible to reduce to a minimum the number of accidents and fires at industrial facilities, as well as injuries associated with electric shock. Group 4 in electrical safety is assigned to highly qualified specialists after appropriate training and passing exams by independent experts accredited by Rostechnadzor. It includes personnel working with electrical equipment whose power exceeds 1000 V.

Who needs group 4 electrical safety clearance

The following must obtain permission to work with high-power electrical equipment:

• all qualified specialists with secondary specialized or higher technical education who work directly with devices, power plants and mechanisms with a power of 1000 V and above;
• personnel servicing electric power plants;

Working with power electrical equipment

• managers who manage safety at work;
• Experts of the highest category who train personnel in special courses and carry out supervisory functions in the field of safety at energy facilities.

Group 4 electrical safety clearance refers to the highest level of access to working with electricity and requires a high level of training of specialists at various levels.

Enterprise electrical safety groups

There are five qualification groups for enterprise electrical safety.

1. The first qualification group refers to employees who use electric tools in their work without the need for training (printers, vacuum cleaners, etc.). It is assigned to an employee of the enterprise who holds the position of responsibility for the electrical services of the organization.
2. The second qualification group applies to electrical personnel working with electrically driven equipment, as well as electricians and employees who have overstayed their qualification group by more than six months. This qualification is awarded only by a special commission.
3. The third qualification group refers to electrical personnel who have the right to service electrical installations with voltages up to a thousand volts.
4. The fourth qualification group refers to electrical personnel who have the right to service electrical installations with voltages up to and above a thousand volts, as well as operational personnel for training young employees. This group is needed by an engineering and technical employee in order to be appointed to the position of responsible for the electrical facilities of the organization.
5. The fifth qualification group refers to employees holding positions responsible for electrical facilities, and engineering and technical personnel servicing electrical installations with voltages up to and above a thousand volts.

Specialist powers

Assignment of this category of access to work related to electrical safety is always confirmed by the issuance of a special certificate filled out in accordance with the current form. Specialists must confirm their authority with the help of this document to inspection structures and management.

Group 2 on electrical safety: test, knowledge test, requirements

Immediately after receiving the certificate, the specialist is assigned certain rights to perform a number of complex operations associated with an increased level of danger:

• repair and maintain powerful electrical equipment;
• engage in issuing work orders for work with high voltage of 1000 V or more;
• carry out briefing of personnel with 1st admission group;
• perform the functions of the chief power engineer of an enterprise or organization.

Important! Authority of this kind requires regular confirmation during the certification process.

Conditions of receipt

Electrical safety certificate form

The Rules contain only two forms of electrical safety certificates:

1. On testing knowledge of operating rules in electrical installations (form No. 2).
2. On testing knowledge of the rules by workers monitoring electrical installations (form No. 3).

Note! A certificate of testing knowledge of the rules of work in electrical installations, the recommended sample of which is provided in Appendix No. 2 to the Rules, is a document certifying the bearer’s right to work independently in the specified position.

What to look for in an electrical safety certificate:

1. In the “Admitted as a capacity” column, it is recommended to indicate the category of personnel: administrative and technical, dispatch, operational, operational and repair personnel, maintenance personnel.
2. The column “for work in electrical installations with voltage” is recommended to be filled out after testing the knowledge for workers admitted, in accordance with the order of the organization, to perform work or organize the safe performance of work in electrical installations indicating the voltage class (up to 1000 V, up to and above 1000 V).
3. In the “Results of knowledge testing of regulatory documents” field, it is recommended to indicate the overall assessment of the results of the knowledge test. It is recommended not to fill in the field if an employee of an electric power industry organization undergoes an extraordinary knowledge test in one of the following sections: design and technical operation, labor protection, fire safety.
4. The fields “Results of testing knowledge of regulatory documents on design and technical operation”, “Results of testing knowledge of regulatory documents on labor protection”, “Results of testing knowledge of regulatory documents on fire safety” are recommended to be filled in ONLY for employees of electric power industry organizations and they contain assessments of the results of testing knowledge of regulatory documents documents in sections: design and technical operation, labor protection, fire safety.

This means that if your organization is not an electric grid or energy retailer, but purchases electricity for its own needs, you do not need to fill out these fields in the certificate.

1. The field “Results of testing knowledge of regulatory documents on industrial safety and other special rules” is recommended to be filled out for employees who, due to their job responsibilities and the nature of their production activities, require testing of knowledge of industrial safety rules and other special rules .

If you do not have hazardous production facilities registered with Rostechnadzor, then you do not need to fill out this field!

1. The field “Certificate of the right to carry out special work” is recommended to be filled out for workers allowed to carry out special work (work at height, work under voltage, work under induced voltage, testing).

Attention! For workers authorized to work under voltage on live parts, when filling out the “name of work” column in the “Certificate of the right to carry out special work” field, the following table should be used:

The certificate is issued to the employee upon registration for work. It begins to operate only after appropriate records of the results of testing knowledge of the rules of work in electrical installations and assignment of an electrical safety group.

Important! The presence of a certificate for an employee who got a job with you is the basis for the date of the previous inspection to be indicated in the newly issued certificate of your organization. Each employer must have a separate ID.

The certificate must be kept by the employee at all times during the performance of his official duties and presented at the request of supervisory employees. The certificate must be replaced if the position changes.

Question: Can employees, when moving to a new place of work, continue to use the previously received ID?

Expert answer: The answer to this question is unequivocal - they can’t. The certificate indicates the specific company in which the employee works. Upon dismissal, the document becomes invalid. Therefore, if the employment contract was terminated and then concluded again, even the next day, the employer again has an obligation to train staff. But at the same time, the duration of the internship can be reduced by the decision of the mentor, but not less than 2 days.

Requirements for candidates for admission group 4

Electrical safety knowledge test

To obtain a level of electrical safety with entry into group 4, you must have a level 3 permit, for which you must work for at least 60 days and have a higher technical education. Personnel with a secondary technical level of vocational education must work in group 3 for at least six months.

Also, a specialist applying for the fourth group of admission to electrical work must know the theory of electromechanics within the framework of a vocational school, have the skills to instruct people subordinate to him, and have a thorough knowledge of safety precautions when working with electrical equipment.

Electrical safety groups

There are 5 electrical safety groups. This distinction is made to simplify the distribution of specialists into categories in production.

Let's take a closer look at each group.

First group.

1. Includes persons who are not directly involved in the operation of electrical equipment, but must be able to provide medical assistance to the victim in case of electric shock.

Second group.

Assigned to those who have short work experience in a specialty related to the maintenance of electrical appliances.

A person must have technical knowledge about electrical installations, be able to service them under supervision, but without the right to connect independently.

It is necessary to clearly understand the danger from live parts and be able to provide medical assistance to the victim in practice.

Third group.

Assigned to those who have good knowledge of the design of industrial electrical installations and have at least ten months of experience, working all this time with a second group permit.

A person must clearly understand the enormous danger that electric current poses, having the ability to infect when touching a conductor.

With the third level of clearance, an employee can service electrical installations with voltages of up to a thousand volts.

He is obliged to provide medical assistance to the victim in case of electric shock and evacuate him.

Fourth group.

Assigned to employees who have worked with a previous permit for at least ten months.

With extensive experience and experience working with electrical installations, you can obtain this approval group bypassing the previous one.

Such cases are considered on an individual basis.

Level 4 specialists must:

1. Have extensive knowledge in electrical engineering;
2. Be able to understand electrical circuit diagrams and use them to find faults;
3. Supervise and organize preventive and repair work on electrical installations;
4. Report the dangers of operating electrical installations;
5. Be able to professionally provide medical care to those who have suffered from electric shock.

Fifth group.

When assigning the fifth group, each specific case is considered individually.

Experience, education and professionalism are taken into account here.

Employees of this group are required to:

1. Understand electrical drawings;
2. Be able to visually inspect equipment if there are no diagrams;
3. Organize work safety;
4. Supervise with full responsibility the ongoing maintenance and operation of electrical installations with any voltage;
5. Provide professional medical care;
6. Be able to train subordinates in practical skills;
7. Take part in rescuing victims of electric current.

How to obtain Group IV clearance for electrical safety employees

When is an extraordinary test of personnel knowledge on electrical safety carried out?

The requirements established by law determine the procedure for gaining access to the fourth level of electrical safety. When you first move from the third to the fourth level, you must undergo training and then pass exams and a practical test. Each category of personnel has its own forms of training and examinations. To undergo training and then pass the exam, the management of the enterprise must submit an application to Rostechnadzor, which must indicate the number of people who must undergo training and then take exams with tests.

Paperwork

Very often nowadays people try to acquire the necessary electrical safety document that would allow them to work on equipment up to and above 1000 volts. But each specialist chooses for himself the path to obtaining such a document for electrical equipment up to and above 1000 volts.

It is easier for someone to buy such a document, but then the question arises: how will he work if he knows nothing in this area. By purchasing, and not receiving, such a document for working on electrical equipment up to and above 1000 volts, the future specialist does not receive any knowledge, which means that if he works according to such a document, he will put everyone around him at risk.

In order to undergo training and pass a normal exam to obtain a document to work with electrical equipment up to and above 1000 volts, you must first study those regulatory documents that relate specifically to this area. You can also find questions for testing or lessons for training on the OLIMPOX website , which is considered an automated system.

All the necessary information about what one must know, how and what is registered for the fourth electrical safety group, which allows working on electrical equipment up to and above 1000 volts, is contained in the brochure of the Rules for Electrical Installations, which is currently in its seventh edition. It was specifically designed for those workers who are going to work on equipment up to and above 1000 volts.

And the most important thing is that those who decide to connect their lives with electrical equipment up to and above 1000 volts should always remember: you should not play with electricity, this is a serious matter and jokes with it can lead to great tragedies.

Certification in Rostechnadzor of managers and engineers in the field of industrial safety

All engineering and technical workers and managers responsible for energy safety and operation of electrical installations must obtain the fourth level of clearance, and then undergo a knowledge test at certain intervals.

Important! The verification procedure is carried out in the form of a test. It can be carried out by representatives of the educational institution in which training for obtaining the fourth category of admission was conducted.

Certification in Rostechnadzor

This type of certification is:

• primary;
• regular;
• extraordinary.

When certifying a group of 50 specialists or more, a special committee of 5 competent persons is created. It must necessarily include a representative of Rostekhnadzor and the chief power engineer of the enterprise.

Types of knowledge tests

Testing employee knowledge is divided into areas in accordance with GOSTs and rules:

• primary;
• repeated;
• next;
• extraordinary.

A repeat check is carried out if the employee has not passed the tests under the program. In this case, a month is given for preparation and the commission takes the exam again.

Primary

Before directly performing production duties, persons whose activities are related to electrical equipment must undergo training and then pass exams.

If the duration of the break in work was more than 3 years, then it is necessary to re-train and be certified.

Next

Admission is granted for a year, and after this period the tests are required to be taken again, but for certain categories this period can be reduced. The protocol and certificate indicate the date of the next inspection.

Extraordinary

This type of certification can be carried out when the following circumstances arise:

If changes or additions to regulations, including local ones, have come into force. After repair work or reconstruction of existing technical means and devices

If safety requirements are violated, it does not matter whether this situation led to an accident, accident or incident or not. At the request of higher authorities, for example, the Ministry of Labor or Rostekhnadzor

If the break in work lasted more than six months.

Frequency of certification and composition of the commission

The frequency of certifications for managers and engineers is determined in the Order of the Ministry of Labor No. 328n:

• workers maintaining and repairing electrical installations and equipment once a year;
• labor protection engineers – once every three years;
• engineers and power engineers - once every three years.

For group 4 electrical safety clearance at installations up to 1000, you need to prepare for certification using special tickets, which are issued after the management of the enterprise submits an application to the inspection authorities.

In order to be able to increase the requirements for the certified worker, the authorities that control safety regulations propose quartering work with electricity according to the degree of danger.

Attention! To obtain a higher admission group, you must work for a certain period in a lower one, or complete a full course of training, after which you will need to take exams.

What does an employer face if employees are not trained in electrical safety?

An employer who allows uncertified personnel to work in electrical installations faces a fine:

• from 2000 to 4000 rubles – for an official;
• from 2000 to 4000 rubles or administrative suspension of activities for up to 90 days – for an individual entrepreneur;
• from 20,000 to 40,000 rubles or administrative suspension of activities for up to 90 days - for an organization ().

If an accident occurs with an untrained employee, the employer may face criminal liability under the Criminal Code in the form of a fine of up to 400,000 rubles or even imprisonment for up to one year.

Registration of 4 groups. Price issue

Certification for group 4 is carried out for persons with clearance level not lower than third. Its cost depends on several factors. According to current legislation, training courses with subsequent passing of exams can be taken not only at Rostechnadzor, but also at accredited training centers. The cost varies depending on:

• forms of training (full-time or remote option without interruption from the place of work);
• number of groups;
• marks “up to 1000V” and “over 1000V” in the certificate;
• duration of the training course.

It is worth noting that when contacting companies offering quick purchase of a group 4 ID, there is a high probability of purchasing a fake. Obtaining this level of clearance means undergoing the appropriate training in full and passing exams, which takes some time.