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Lesson 3 of 3Technology, Environment, Society and Careers
Unit 7 · Lesson 3 of 3

Workplace Safety, Standards and Careers

Working safely with electricity, chemicals and tools — and the pathways this course opens up.

5 min read9 practice questionsAsk AI about this →

Key things to remember

  1. 1Unplug and hold the power button for five seconds before opening a case.
  2. 2Never open a power supply or CRT monitor — their capacitors hold lethal charge.
  3. 3ESD damages chips at around 30 V; you cannot feel a charge below about 3000 V.
  4. 4WHMIS 2015 has three parts: labels, Safety Data Sheets and worker training.
  5. 5A soldering iron runs at about 350 °C and looks the same hot or cold — always use the stand.
  6. 6Ontario OHSA gives every worker the right to know, to participate, and to refuse unsafe work.
  7. 7Technician = 2-year diploma; technologist = 3-year diploma; P.Eng. = accredited degree plus licence.

Safety practice in a computer technology lab covers three kinds of hazard: electrical, chemical and physical. None is exotic, and none is avoided by being careful in a general sense. Each is avoided by a specific habit, done every time, including the times it seems unnecessary — because the one time it mattered is not announced in advance.

You can destroy a chip with a charge you cannot feel.The numbersYou feel a shock at about 3 000 V.You hear a snap at about 5 000 V.A CMOS chip can die at 30 V.The habitsAntistatic wrist strap, clipped to chassis ground.Hold cards by the edges, never the contacts.Keep parts in the silver antistatic bag until fitted.Before you open a case1. Shut down, unplug the mains cord, then hold the power button for five seconds to drain the PSU.2. Never open a power supply or a CRT monitor — capacitors inside stay charged at lethal voltages.3. Work on a hard, non-carpeted surface, and keep drinks off the bench.
Fig 1The charge that destroys a component is well below the one you can feel.

Electrical safety

  • Unplug before opening any case, then hold the power button for five seconds to drain the supply's capacitors.
  • Never open a power supply or a CRT monitor. Their capacitors hold lethal voltage long after disconnection, and there is nothing user-serviceable inside.
  • Treat mains voltage as lethal, always. Roughly 30 mA through the chest can stop a heart, and 120 V easily drives that through wet or broken skin.
  • Keep one hand in a pocket when probing a live circuit, so a shock cannot cross your chest between two hands.
  • Check a cord and plug before use; a damaged cord is the most common electrical hazard in any lab.
  • Know where the emergency power cutoff is before you need it.
Electrostatic discharge
You feel a static shock at about 3000 V, but a CMOS chip can be damaged by 30 V — a hundred times less than you can detect. So ESD damage is invisible: the component either fails immediately or, worse, becomes intermittently unreliable. Wear a grounded wrist strap, hold boards by their edges, and keep parts in antistatic bags until they are fitted.

WHMIS and chemical safety

WHMIS 2015 is Canada's hazard communication system, aligned with the international GHS. It has three components: standardized pictograms and labels on containers, a Safety Data Sheet for every hazardous product, and worker training. In a computer lab the relevant products are isopropyl alcohol, contact cleaner, compressed air, flux and solder.

ProductHazardPractice
Isopropyl alcoholFlammable, irritantVentilate, keep away from ignition sources, cap the container
Contact cleanerFlammable, harmful vapourVentilate; never spray onto a powered circuit
Compressed airFrostbite, projectiles, pressure injuryKeep upright, wear eye protection, never aim at skin or a person
Solder and fluxLead exposure, fume irritationUse a fume extractor, wash hands afterwards, never eat at the bench
Soldering
An iron tip runs at about 350 °C and looks identical hot or cold. Return it to its stand every single time you put it down — not on the bench, not for a second. Solder in a ventilated space with a fume extractor, wear eye protection when trimming leads, and wash your hands before eating because lead-bearing solder leaves residue.

Standards bodies worth naming

BodyWhat it does
CSA GroupCanadian certification — electrical equipment sold in Canada carries a CSA or equivalent mark
IEEETechnical standards including 802.3 (Ethernet) and 802.11 (Wi-Fi)
ISOInternational standards for processes, quality and information security
Ontario OHSAOccupational Health and Safety Act — the law governing workplace safety in Ontario
ESAElectrical Safety Authority — Ontario's electrical code and inspection body
Your rights under Ontario's OHSA
Every worker in Ontario has three rights: the right to know about hazards in the workplace, the right to participate in health and safety decisions, and the right to refuse unsafe work without being penalized for it. These apply to a co-op placement and a summer job exactly as they apply to a career position.

Where this course leads

Where TEJ3M can lead.TEJ3M → TEJ4M (Grade 12 Computer Engineering Technology)Apprenticeshipelectronics / electrical technician3–5 yr on the job + in-schoolCollege diplomacomputer engineering technician (2 yr)or technologist (3 yr)University degreecomputer engineering, software eng.4 yr, needs 4U Advanced Functions + Calculus + PhysicsCertificationCompTIA A+, Network+, Cisco CCNAstacks on top of any of the aboveIn Ontario, "technician" is a 2-year diploma and "technologist" a 3-year one; P.Eng. requires an accredited degree plus licensing.
Fig 2Four routes out of TEJ3M, and what each one needs.
RoleTypical routeWhat the work is
IT support technicianCollege diploma or CompTIA A+Diagnosing and fixing hardware, software and user problems
Network administratorCollege diploma plus CCNA or equivalentDesigning, securing and maintaining networks
Electronics technician / technologist2-year technician or 3-year technologist diplomaBuilding, testing and repairing electronic systems
Embedded systems developerDegree in computer or electrical engineeringWriting firmware for devices, close to the hardware
Computer or software engineer4-year accredited degree, then P.Eng. licensingDesigning systems and taking professional responsibility for them
ElectricianApprenticeship — about 9000 hours plus in-school termsInstalling and maintaining electrical systems to code
The courses that keep options open
University engineering in Ontario needs Grade 12 Advanced Functions (MHF4U), Calculus and Vectors (MCV4U), Physics (SPH4U) and Chemistry (SCH4U). College technology programs generally need MCT4C or MCF3M plus Grade 12 English. TEJ4M is the natural continuation of this course for either route, and it is also where a strong culminating project for a portfolio comes from.

Two distinctions are worth getting right, because they are asked about directly. In Ontario, a technician holds a two-year college diploma and a technologist a three-year one, with the technologist doing more design and analysis work. A Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) has an accredited engineering degree plus supervised experience and a licence from Professional Engineers Ontario — and only a P.Eng. may take legal responsibility for engineering work. Certifications such as CompTIA A+, Network+ and Cisco's CCNA are vendor or industry credentials that stack on top of any of these, and are often what actually gets a first interview.

Worked examples

Reveal one step at a time and try to beat it to the next line.

Example 1
A student is about to install a new graphics card in a school computer. List the safety steps in order, with a reason for each.
Example 2
A Grade 11 student wants to design embedded systems for medical devices. Map a realistic path from TEJ3M, naming the courses and credentials.

Where marks get lost

  • Opening a power supply to investigate a fault — its capacitors can be lethal long after unplugging.
  • Skipping the antistatic strap because no shock was felt. ESD damage happens a hundred times below the threshold you can detect.
  • Putting a hot soldering iron on the bench "for a second".
  • Spraying contact cleaner into a powered device — a flammable aerosol meeting a live circuit.
  • Assuming a school lab is exempt from OHSA. The right to refuse unsafe work applies to co-op placements too.
  • Using "engineer" and "technologist" interchangeably. In Ontario, "Professional Engineer" is a protected legal title.

Flashcards 10

How do you drain residual power before opening a computer?
Why must you never open a power supply?
At what voltage can ESD destroy a chip, and when can you feel one?
The three components of WHMIS 2015
+ 6 more

Practice

1
Why should a power supply never be opened, even when unplugged?
2
A technician handles a RAM module without an antistatic strap and notices nothing unusual. What is the risk?
3
What does WHMIS stand for?
4
Which is a worker's right under Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act?
5
In Ontario, what is the difference between a technician and a technologist?
6
Order these steps before installing an expansion card.
  1. 1Unplug the mains cord
  2. 2Attach a grounded antistatic wrist strap
  3. 3Hold the power button to drain the capacitors
  4. 4Shut down the operating system
7
Which Grade 12 courses are normally required for admission to an Ontario engineering program?
8
Match each organization to its role.
CSA Group
IEEE
OHSA
Professional Engineers Ontario
9
What is the correct handling of a soldering iron between joints?

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