Health & Safety Podcast: Electric and Hybrid Vehicles

In this month's health and safety podcast, Neil Hughes-Hutchings, Senior Health and Safety Consultant at AfterAthena Limited, discusses the use of electric and hybrid vehicles in the workplace. He highlights the potential electrical and fire hazards associated with charging equipment and the importance of training employees in safe operating procedures. Neil also provides tips for drivers on how to maximise efficiency and range while driving these vehicles.

Transcript

 Hello, I am Neil Hughes-Hutchings, Senior Health and Safety Consultant at AfterAthena Limited. I am back for another edition of my podcast. If you are unfamiliar with the format of my podcasts and blogs then, as a reminder, their purpose is to act as a starter topic for further discussion within your organisation, to assist with improving compliance, and to allow workers to understand the specific topic being discussed. This month I shall be talking about electric and hybrid vehicles. An electric vehicle (EV) is powered by one or more electric motors, using only energy stored in the vehicle’s battery pack. EVs will always require periodic charging. A hybrid vehicle has more than one means of propulsion, usually an electric motor with a petrol or diesel engine. Hybrids can be plug-in allowing them to be charged and to run purely on battery power until the batteries discharge, or they can be restricted to regenerative charging (electrical charge returned to the vehicle’s battery pack when the vehicle brakes or slows). Both types of vehicles are coming into widespread commercial use and as an employee, you should be aware of how they should be used and, if appropriate, charged. There is a risk to employees and others from the use of workplace transport and although EVs and plugin hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) are not considered to be any more dangerous than other forms of workplace transport, the requirement to provide charging equipment for them brings potential electrical and fire hazards. Driving EVs and PHEVs may also require drivers to change their driving habits. You should ensure that any EV charging equipment has been properly specified, designed, installed and maintained to allow its safe use by employees. As part of this, your employer should provide training to all those who will operate EVs or PHEVs and this includes the safe use of charging equipment. Make sure before you embark on a journey, particularly a long journey, that you understand the range of the vehicle and how and where the vehicle can be recharged. Make sure that in the event of a breakdown, puncture or work involving changing the tyres, those jacking up the vehicle know exactly how to do so in order to avoid damaging the battery pack and starting a fire. Drivers may need to change their driving habits or style when driving these types of vehicles. In particular: • Smooth acceleration will use less energy • Be aware of the vehicle’s speed – internal combustion engines have an optimal speed for efficiency that is generally around 50 mph, but this can be substantially lower for EVs and PHEVs (in electric mode), which will use more power the faster and harder they are driven • Maximising regenerative braking will extend the vehicle’s range and drivers should be encouraged to do so, noting that for regenerative braking to be efficient, the driver will need to anticipate changing road conditions early enough to avoid or minimise use of the brake pedal • Routes should be planned to minimise power requirements, so a straight line journey that the vehicle completes at lower speed should be considered. In addition, and as with all wheeled vehicles, ensuring tyre pressures are optimal will reduce unnecessary rolling resistance and avoid loss of efficiency and range. Once again, I thank you for listening, and hope you can all join me for next month’s instalment. Bye for now