High Voltage Switching Operations
13th - 15th May 2026
Dusit Thani Hotel, Dubai U.A.E.
Meet Our Trainer
David Davenport
David Davenport is an experienced electrical engineer with over 50 years’ expertise across Mining, Heavy Industry, Oil & Gas, and Critical Power, having worked with leading organisations including Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems, Siemens, and Barlow Rand. He is Vice-President and Chief Engineer of the global safety standards organisation ESIPAC, and has delivered 150+ international training programmes, mentoring over 1,500 professionals in electrical safety, installations, commissioning, testing, monitoring solutions, and engineering project delivery. A sought-after international keynote speaker, David is a Chartered Electrical Engineer, MIET, IEEE member, and Fellow of the Institute of Leadership & Management, IOSH-certified, and an Authorised Engineer (LVAP & HVSAP) with extensive hands-on switching and process documentation experience.
Learning Outcomes Key Topic
By the end of this training, participants will be able to:
- Understand and compose safely: processes for Safe Systems of Work. This involves mastering the procedures required to ensure a secure working environment.
- Acquire the ability to switch: safely operate switching schedules and safety procedures. This is the core operational skill, ensuring that all high-voltage switching is conducted correctly and without incident.
- Plan and Recover: Understand how to plan a recovery action in the event of equipment failure.
- Hazard Prevention: Actively participate in the prevention of fatal electric shock and arc flash explosions .
- Operational Proficiency: Be able to operate switchgear and isolate equipment safely.
- Documentation & Compliance: Effectively apply and verify permits, understand HV earthing lockoffs, approve switching programs, and ensure compliance with HV safety rules.
- Supervision: Gain the competence necessary for reviewing or designing isolation procedures and safely overseeing contractors.
Reason To Attend This Training
Attending an HV Switching Operation Course is essential for anyone involved in designing, approving, supervising, or performing high voltage work. It provides the critical knowledge and practical skills needed to safely operate HV equipment, prevent arc flash incidents, ensure compliant isolations, and avoid costly or dangerous switching errors. The course enhances your understanding of HV networks, strengthens your ability to respond to faults and emergencies, and ensures you meet legal and duty-of-care requirements. Ultimately, it protects people, equipment, and operations while significantly boosting your professional competence and credibilitywhy it’s important
Course Details
Introduction to HV Systems
- - Overview of HV distribution (RMUs, transformers, circuit breakers, protection panels)
- - Roles: Competent Person, Authorised Person, Senior Authorised Person
- - Regulatory framework overview: UK EAWR, HSG85, NFPA 70E (where relevant), BS EN standards
Electrical Hazards & Arc Flash Fundamentals
- - Nature of HV electrical hazards
- - Shock, burn, blast, pressure wave effects
- - What causes arc flash: insulation failure, human error, contamination, mechanical wear
- - HV-specific arc behaviour (fault level, clearing time, protection grading)
Arc Flash Risk Assessment & Calculations
- Incident energy concepts
- - Approach boundaries (shock & arc)
- - Arc flash labels and information requirements
- - How arc flash boundaries are determined
- - Limitations of calculations & common errors
Arc Flash Mitigation Technologies
- - Modern ACB protection units (ARC function, zone-selective interlocking, reduced-energy mode)
- - Optical arc detection systems (point sensors, fibre loop sensors)
- - Fast-acting earthing switches
- - Arc-resistant switchgear and containment design
- - Remote racking / remote switching
- - Engineering vs administrative controls
PPE, Tools & Safe Use
- - Categories of arc flash PPE (cal/cm² levels)
- - HV-rated gloves, poles, insulated tools
- - Clothing materials & compatibility
- - Storage, inspection and replacement cycles
High Voltage Safety Legislation & Standards
- - Electricity at Work Regulations
- - HSG85 “Electricity at Work: Safe Working Practices”
- - The concept of prevention: proving dead, isolation, earthing
- - Company rules, site instructions, work permits
Safe Systems of Work
- - The 6 key controls:
- - Planning
- - Control of documents
- - Isolation
- - Securing the point of work
- - PPE
- - Competence
- - Who is responsible: SAP/AP/CP delineation
- - Permit-to-work structure
- - Risk assessment templates and examples
- - Lock-out, tag-out (LOTO) for HV equipment
- - Working adjacent to live conductors
HV Equipment Familiarisation
- - Switchgear types: RMUs, vacuum/SF6 switchgear, air-insulated switchboards
- - Circuit breakers vs load break switches vs disconnectors
- - Earth switches—types and operating interlocks
- - Auxiliary systems: protection relays, trip coils, DC supplies
HV Earthing & Proving Dead
- - Why “dead” must be proved (induced voltages, backfeed, stored energy)
- - Correct use of HV test equipment
- - Application of portable earths / earth leads
- - Fault current rating of earths
- - Interlocking and sequencing
Incident Response & Emergency Procedures
- - Arc flash incident response
- - Isolating faulty equipment
- - Reporting procedures
- - Site emergency plans
- - What NOT to do during switching failures
Principles of HV Switching
- - Purpose of switching: isolations, load transfers, fault clearance, commissioning
- - Live vs dead switching
- - Switching hierarchy: breakers → isolators → earth switches
- - Maintaining system stability (parallel feeds, synch checks, backfeeds)
Method Statements for HV Switching
- - Writing switching programmes / schedules
- - Required sections of a method statement:
- - Scope and purpose
- - System configuration
- - Step-by-step switching sequence
- - Verification and sign-off
- - Risk assessment embedded in the programme
- - Examples of good and bad switching programmes
- - Common failure points (incorrect identification, wrong feeder, interlock bypassing)
Practical Switching Exercises
(Classroom/desk-based)
- - Creating a live → dead → earthed switching sequence
- - Re-energisation sequence
- - Parallel switching scenario
- - Load transfer and contingency switching
- - Fault scenario analysis: “What would you do if…?”
Competence Assessment & Review
- - Written assessment (questions on arc flash, safety rules, switching sequences)
- - Group analysis of a real switching programme
- - Discussion: how to develop experience, authorisation progression
- - Course summary, Q&A’s
Course Fee
- Main Office: 105 Shannon Rd, St. Augustine, FL 32095, USA
- Branch Office: Office # 209, 2nd floor, Noor Trade Center, Gulshan Iqbal Block 13 - A, Karachi, Pakistan
- +92-301-2938376
- training@indulead.com