Why Electrical Insulated Matting is a Necessity for High-voltage Environments

08 Sep, 2017 - By mattek

High-voltage environments, like the ones you encounter in power plants, factories and industrial workshops, pose a significant danger to your workers. Electric shocks may cause serious injury and in some cases, may even be fatal.

Due to the risks involved with working in high voltage areas, there are many regulations in place to help prevent deadly electric shocks. The use of electrically insulating materials, such as rubber safety mats, greatly increases the safety of industrial working conditions.

The Conductivity of the Body

When the body is exposed to an electric current, it passes through the body in what is known as an ‘electric shock’. Electric shock is defined as a sudden, violent response to electric current flow. When electricity enters the body, it looks for a way to exit too, as energy will always try to travel from one point to another.

The flow of the charged particles is what makes electricity dangerous – electricity flowing through the organs is what causes injury. For example, electric currents that pass through the heart may lead to cardiac arrest, which is the primary cause of death among victims of electrocution.

Insulated rubber matting can help halt this flow of charged particles through the body. When someone touches a live wire, for example, the electricity will try to exit through the feet, which can cause serious damage. Similarly, it is the same reason why many electricians are trained to keep one hand free when they are working, to prevent the electric shock from travelling through one hand, through the heart, and out the other hand.

Rubber Mats and Non-conductivity

Our insulated rubber mats are insulated and exhibit non-conductivity. Since electricity needs a complete path or circuit to flow, the use of rubber mats can prevent the current from entering and exiting the body.

This lack of contact points is what allows birds to rest safely on high-voltage power lines – it is because they only come in contact at one point.

Rubber mats help prevent the flow from the voltage source to the floor, giving us just one point of contact instead of two.

Learn more about how our insulated rubber mats protect your workers. Contact us today.

Prev Next

Make a comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Onsite audit and recommendations

Arrange for your local specialist to assist and provide you with the correct solutions

Get in touch

Or Request a Callback

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Proudly Working With

Request a Quote