WHAT IS ARC FLASH?

The explosive energy in the form of light, heat, and a physical shock wave that occurs during an arcing fault. The air becomes ionized and acts as a conductor, passing thousands of amps of current in a very short amount of time. The resulting energy can cause serious injury to staff, as well as major damage to the electrical system in the form of fire, shrapnel and explosions.

 

REQUIREMENTS

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), along with NFPA 70 and 70E all provide requirements for arc flash hazard assesments:

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• OSHA 29 CFR 1910.132(d)(1)—Requires employers to perform a PPE hazard assessment to determine necessary PPE.

• NFPA 70 and NFPA 70E mandates any electrical equipment that will  be serviced be labelled with arc flash hazard information.

• NFPA 70E outlines the type of personal protective equipment (PPE) that must be worn based on the incident energy levels.

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ARC FLASH HAZARD ASSESSMENT STEPS

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STEP 1 - DATA COLLECTION

If necessary an on-site survey on any and all existing equipment will be performed focusing on available utility fault current, overcurrent protective device settings, conductor sizes and lengths, motor sizes, etc.

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STEP 2 - ONE-LINE DIAGRAM

Once the data collection is completed, a detailed one-line diagram will be generated in AutoCAD for use by the facility and their staff. The updated diagram will provide the staff with a point of reference for their entire electrical system.

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STEP 3 - ARC FLASH HAZARD ANALYSIS

Utilizing special software the power system is modeled using the data collected and one-line diagram as a reference. We will then use the IEEE 1584 and NFPA 70E Standards to perform an arc flash hazard energy analysis and calculate the following:

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• Amount of incident energy (cal/cm2)

• Flash hazard boundary

• Shock hazard

• Limited approach

• Restricted approach

• Type and Level of Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE) needed

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Recommendations shall be provided as part of the report indicating possible system changes to lower incident energy levels that are higher than normal. We can work with your staff to implement these is the most efficient manner.

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STEP 4 - LABELING

Arc flash incident energy labels shall be provided and should be adhered to all equipment analyzed as part of the study. The labels will indicate the information listed above in step 3.

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UPDATES

NFPA 70E mandates that an updated arc flash hazard analysis be provided under the following conditions:

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• Whenever a major modifications or renovation takes place.

• Or at an interval no less than five (5) years.

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