The ethical and legal requirements to protect workers from risk of electrocution are stronger today than ever before.  The only way to ensure safety, is by insisting on the use of true Safety Switches in the workplace, rather than ordinary rotary isolators. "New duty-of-care legislation is tougher than many think," says Kevin McCarthy, Managing Director of Katko UK, the leading manufacturer of Safety Switches. "Companies can now be liable for prosecution if senior managers (not just directors) fail to provide a safe system of work for employees."

While thorough training and outright prohibition were once thought to protect against electrical carelessness and tampering in the workplace, the only way to really prevent electrical accidents is by fitting a true Safety Switch to equipment and systems. Says McCarthy:  "No one should fit rotary isolators any more as they are unfit for the purpose of safety.  You can actually remove the cover off a rotary isolator - even when it's in the 'padlocked-off' position thus restoring power to electrical equipment, production lines etc.  A Katko Safety Switch, on the other hand, is interlocked in both the 'on' and 'padlocked off' position.  Any unauthorized access or use - either malicious or unsuspecting - is impossible."  

Katko Safety Switches, which are fully accredited and approved, are based on state-of-the-art technology and testing procedures. With a Katko Safety Switch overseeing assembly lines, air conditioning systems and other key electrical equipment, management demonstrates an immediate concern for the safety of its employees.  It could also, McCarthy advises, prevent a costly damages award not just under Health and Safety Regulations, but also under the new (2007) Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide acts.

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