Competence - from organisation to individual was the theme at this year’s SSG Electrical Safety Conference

Wednesday opened with the Swedish National Electrical Safety Board’s presentation on the new look of the accident report and questions connected to competence and authorisation. The Swedish Work Environment Authority shared experiences of the new regulations and, together with the Swedish National Electrical Safety Board, participated in an estimated Q&A session where practical questions about responsibility, interpretation and application were discussed

Stefan Törnberg, Söderenergi

One of the most captivating elements of the conference was when Stefan Törnberg from Söderenergi gave a presentation on “Elchefens vardag - Det är mycket nu” (Elchefen’s everyday life - It’s a lot right now). He highlighted the high requirements placed on electrical managers in their roles as both technical and administrative conductors. He openly shared his own journey and how the high workload eventually led to the body saying stop - a strong example of the importance of asking for help in time.

After lunch, there was a review of previous electrical responsibility meetings and a presentation of the updated SSG 4510 Arc Flash Guide. The lecture on the phenomenon “Whiskers and Flakes” attracted great interest, as did the technical announcements that later in the afternoon led to an engaging discussion about accidents and near-accidents. The participants shared their own experiences and the dialogue with the Swedish National Electrical Safety Board provided valuable insights.

The competence issue became a recurring theme during the day - especially the division of responsibilities and how employers can ensure that staff really have the competence required for the tasks. A good example that was raised during the conference came from SCA Östrand, where the takeover of electricity responsibility was done in a structured and well-thought-out way connected to long-term competence assurance. The day ended with a quiz, mingle and later a joint dinner.

The second day began with the presentation “Electrician’s everyday life - I feel too safe”, which focused on the risks of falling into false security. It was emphasised that while technical protections are important, behaviours, risk awareness and understanding of the limitations of protection systems are at least as crucial.

Jan Blomgren.

After a pause and check-out, Professor of Nuclear Physics Jan Blomgrens gave an estimated lecture “All you need to know about Sweden’s electricity supply”, where he gave a broad overview of the current energy situation. Jan took us on a journey with illustrative examples that made nuclear power, politics and Sweden’s energy situation easy to understand and with many humorous elements that made us laugh.

During the latter session this morning, battery storage and battery care, SSG’s training platform SSG Skillnation and several presentations on skills development were discussed. The discussion focused primarily on how the industry can secure future competence supply and on the need for a standard for competence profiles, SSG 4503.

The electricity responsibility meeting ended at 12:30 p.m. with a joint lunch and we are already looking forward to next year’s conference!