1. Avoid loose wires, cables, and connections.

2. Assume any exposed metal is live with electricity unless otherwise verified.

3. Familiarize oneself with all ON/OFF buttons on equipment, circuit breakers, and disconnect switches of a bench.

4. Only make changes to the experimental setup when the circuit power is turned off and all power sources read zero voltage and zero current, as applicable.

5. Use wires of suitable length for their appropriate applications. Long wires or connections can cause clutter on a bench, and very short wires or connections can be too tight and may be easily disconnected.

6. Separate higher power equipment and connections from lower power equipment, such as microcontrollers, to avoid both interference and electrical interconnections between sensitive electronic devices and higher power devices.

7. Make sure that all DC power supplies, AC sources, and other power sources start from a zero voltage and zero current output or as directed in an experiment. Starting from a non-zero voltage is possible in certain applications where a voltage source should have a specific initial condition.