Safety
DC charging is 400-500 V. Treat every cabinet as live until you have proved it is not.
Isolate. Lock off. Prove dead.
In that order, every time, on every job. DC link capacitors hold a lethal charge after the supply is off - an isolator in the off position is not proof of anything. Test with a meter you have just proved on a known live source, then test again after you finish.
Never work alone on DC
If you are opening a DC cabinet, someone knows where you are and when you are due out. There is no version of this job that is worth being found in the morning.
Never reset to clear a fault
A GroundFailure or OverCurrent stopped the charger for a reason. Clearing it remotely re-energises equipment that protected itself, and the next person to plug in is a customer.
Never force a stuck cable
Unlock the vehicle first. If the latch will not release, that is a job, not a tug-of-war. You will break a customer's car socket and that is not covered by anything.
Before you open anything
- 1Confirm the job is yours and the connector is out of serviceA connector still showing Available means a customer can start a session on the thing you are about to open.
- 2Isolate at the local isolator, not just the appA software ChangeAvailability stops new sessions. It does not remove voltage.
- 3Lock off and tag with your nameThe tag is so the person who finds an open cabinet knows it is not abandoned.
- 4Prove dead - live, dead, liveProve the meter, test the circuit, prove the meter again. A failed meter reads zero on a live cabinet.
- 5Wait for the DC link to dischargeCheck the OEM figure. It is minutes, not seconds, and it is not optional.
If someone is hurt
- 1. Do not touch them if they may still be in contact with a live conductor. You becoming the second casualty helps nobody.
- 2. Isolate at the supply if you can do it safely.
- 3. Call 114 (ambulance) or 112.
- 4. Then call the duty operator. In that order - the platform can wait.
Emergency stop
Every station has a physical emergency stop. Use it - it is faster and more certain than anything in software, and it does not depend on the charger still talking to us.
The platform also has a network-wide stop, but that is a super admin control and it cuts off every customer in Dar es Salaam at once. For one cabinet in front of you, the red button is the right tool.