Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

 The object of this course is to familiarize students with basic safety practices in the Electronics industry and other common industrial settings. Specifically, the course will illustrate and discuss the signage commonly used for Hazards and warning signs in the industrial workplace. The labeling used on hazardous products – including the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) - will be illustrated and discussed.  Standard safety precautions used when working on electrical equipment will be presented along with a discussion of electrocution hazard.  The course will cover safe handling practices when working with static-sensitive electronic components (i.e., preventing ESD – electrostatic discharge). An overview of the activities/responsibilities of the world’s leading product testing/certification agencies will be presented - including UL (Underwriters Laboratories), CSA (Canadian Standards Association), and VDE (Verband Deutscher Elektrotechniker).  An overview of electrical/electronic product safety issues will be discussed (e.g., the circumstances under which electrical equipment must include a ground connection;  the isolation requirements for electronic equipment used in the biomedical field). This is a one-credit course that normally meets for one hour each week.  This course is a requirement for an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Electronic Engineering Technology. Transferability of credit depends entirely upon the institution to which the student wishes to transfer.

Upon successful completion of course, the student should be able to:

• Apply standard safety procedures in an industrial environment.

This course will be presented through lecture and discussion sessions.  Presentation material has been gathered from industry and there are numerous websites that present safety information.  This course will include homework assignments and at least one exam.

After completing this course the student will:

• Be familiar with standard workplace hazard/warning signs and labels. 
• Be familiar with standard categories of hazardous materials. 
• Have a general understanding of the documentation used with hazardous materials, such as the MSDS.   
• Be able to describe the different levels of danger that exist with electrical shock.
• Be able to describe several appropriate actions to take in the event of an electrical accident.   
• Be able to describe the situations under which static electricity may cause damage to electrical components (ESD - electrostatic discharge).  
• Be able to describe appropriate practices for handling and working with electrical components, or electrical equipment, that is sensitive to static electricity (ESD - electrostatic discharge).  
• Be able to describe, in a general manner, the functions of the UL (Underwriters Laboratories), CSA (Canadian Standards Association), and VDE (Verband Deutscher Elektrotechniker) product testing/certification agencies.   
• Be able to describe at least two examples of product design characteristics for meeting product electrical safety requirements.