Lithium Ion Batteries on FRA

[Gazza]

So we have just had our Fire Risk Assessment and one of the action on the action plan is this,

"Ensure a procedure is put into place for the charging of lithium batteries. Include items such as; No charging out of house, checking on charging times & routine checks on charging leads."

Question, has anyone one else got something in place for this (if so could i pinch a template)? Alternatively what other considerations towards Litihium ion batteries do i need to consider?

[Nail]

Wow, that's a can of worms!

What is meant by "No charging out of house"?

So you need to be mindful of phones, laptops, tablets, power tools, UPS, phone battery packs...

[Dexter]

Wow, that's a can of worms!

What is meant by "No charging out of house"?

So you need to be mindful of phones, laptops, tablets, power tools, UPS, phone battery packs...

At first i thought it meant only charge the items at work but I think it may be a typo. I think it may have meant to read "No charging out of hours." It may need clarifying and explaining by the risk assessor.

[Vera]

As long as you don't have very large or very large quantities of lithium batteries together whilst charging there really isn't that much risk.

Probably the riskiest i can think of is laptop trolleys or iPad charging stations.

I think some explanation is necessary from the assessor.

[Dunroamin]

Not sure if it’s any help, but we have half a dozen or so iPad/laptop charging trolleys. When ours are put on charge, they are plugged into a plug through RCD adaptor. When first used, they did highlight a couple of issues with the trolley plugs (loose cables inside the plugs). Down to the staff member using the trolleys last to put on charge as they have all been taught to ‘test and reset’. Each adaptor numbered and paired with its own trolley and log sheet of monthly operational check done by myself.

Also, there’s now Lith-Ex fire extinguishers available, specifically designed for Li-Ion battery fires (they burn a LOT hotter apparently). Quite expensive, but what price safety/piece of mind?

[Taz]

Use it to your advantage.

Most Li-on batteries usually charge fairly quickly, I have Dewalt drill/drivers x2 (one for screwing and the older one for drilling as the clutch can make a noise sometimes). Both have 2 batteries and a charger, so I have 4 batteries at any one time. Great if your on a big job and are likely to run flat.

All of them will charge fully in about 30 minutes. If yours takes a long time, then tell them that as per the FRA you think it would be a good idea to upgrade to fast charging kits, so then there is no reason to charge overnight.

These FRA exercises can cause us no ends of problems (ours caused us few headaches) as some of the recommendations can be a bit, let's say extreme. That being said though, it's been highlighted, so needs addressing. When something like this comes up, use it to your advantage.

[Nail]

At first i thought it meant only charge the items at work but I think it may be a typo. I think it may have meant to read "No charging out of hours." It may need clarifying and explaining by the risk assessor.

Ah, yeah. I think you might be right.

So need to make sure all laptops are unplugged every night. Yeah right!