References & definitions

LIVE WORKING GLOSSARY

The essential terms of live working (TST), prevention and electrical risk rating, defined by CETé experts.

TST— Live Working (Travaux Sous Tension): Work performed on electrical networks or installations that remain energised, without cutting the power supply. Live working is governed by dedicated reference frameworks (working conditions specifications) and restricted to trained, authorised operators. It keeps the grid running while controlling electrical risk.
BT— Low Voltage (Basse Tension): Voltage domain between 50 and 1,000 volts AC (below 50 V: extra-low voltage). Most day-to-day live working operations (connections, distribution networks, metering) fall under LV live working (TST BT).
HTA— High Voltage A (Haute Tension A): Voltage domain between 1,000 and 50,000 volts AC — typically medium-voltage distribution networks (20 kV in France). HV live working (TST HTA) requires specific methods: at distance, in contact, or at potential.
CET— Working Conditions Specifications: Reference documents published by the French Live Working Committee describing the methods, requirements and limits for performing live work safely. They include the LV (CET BT) and HV (CET HTA) specifications.
FT BT— Low Voltage Technical Sheets: Sheets from the French Live Working Committee detailing the practical arrangements for LV live working: tools, equipment, periodic checks, technical gestures. A new edition applies from 1 September 2026.
CTST— French Live Working Committee: The French national body that develops and maintains live working reference frameworks (specifications and technical sheets) and issues the related approvals.
SERECT: The historic French reference body for live working, linked to EDF, in charge of testing, research and qualification of live working equipment and methods. CETé's four founders are former SERECT experts.
NF C 18-510: The French standard of reference for electrical risk prevention: it defines operations on electrical networks and installations and the authorisations required to perform them.
Electrical authorisation: The employer's formal recognition that a person can safely carry out the electrical tasks assigned to them. The symbols B1T, B2T (low voltage) and H1T, H2T (high voltage) designate live working authorisations.
Vigi-Score®: The composite rating developed by CETé to objectively measure an organisation's electrical risk management. It assembles three letters (from AAA to DDD), one per criterion of the 3C Rule, each rated from A (compliant) to D (critical).
3C Rule: The methodological backbone of the Vigi-Score®: three independent criteria rated A to D — the organisation's self-assessment capability, compliance with the professional recommendation, and operational control of technical gestures observed in the field.
Vigilance / Vulnerability: Founding concepts of the CETé method: vigilance is an organisation's proactive capability to anticipate, detect and control electrical risks; vulnerability is the residual exposure to risk when vigilance is insufficient.
DPS— Safety Performance Diagnosis: A structured field audit of an organisation's electrical risk management system: analysis of the self-assessment, of the organisation and of practices on a representative worksite. The DPS is the foundation of the CETé rating and leads to a certificate.
SAVE— Event Vulnerability Analysis Scan: Expert support for event analysis: accidents, near-misses, close calls and hazardous situations. An independent perspective to understand root causes and prevent recurrence.
O-M-T— Live Working Mastery Observatory: The field knowledge base built by CETé: 133 DPS audits, 43 companies assessed and more than 10,000 requirements observed between 2022 and 2025. The observatory objectifies recurring gaps and benchmarks each organisation against its sector.
AudiMaT: CETé's self-assessment tool: it measures an organisation's ability to know and assess its own regulatory compliance. The AudiMaT feedback feeds the first criterion of the 3C Rule.
VAT / MALT CC— Absence of Voltage Verification / Earthing and Short-Circuiting: Fundamental de-energised safety operations: verifying the absence of voltage before working, then earthing and short-circuiting the installation. Their absence is a major non-conformity.
DUERP— Single Occupational Risk Assessment Document: A mandatory document for every French employer, listing and ranking the company's occupational risks — including electrical risk — and underpinning the prevention action plan.
IPRP— Occupational Risk Prevention Practitioner: A status registered with the French administration attesting to a practitioner's prevention skills (technical, organisational or medical) in support of companies.