Arc Flash & Electrical Safety News

Monday, March 19, 2007

NFPA 70E: What Does it Mean to You?

An article in the March 13th issue of Occupational Hazards magazine provides a complete overview of NFPA 70E and its relationship with OSHA requirements. The article raises the question:

"So where should you focus your attention? It seems logical that safe work practices should be the focus, and you should ensure that you have qualified personnel who understand the hazards involved with the specific tasks they are required to do for their job."

"So what does that have to do with you? Think about it: OSHA regulations are federal law. They tell you what you have to do, but fall short of telling you how to do it. Not necessarily OSHA's fault; that's the way regulations have to be written in order to be enforceable. So if OSHA tells you what to do, but not necessarily how to do it, what do you do? Go to the electrical safety 'how-to' book, NFPA 70E."

From this point a brief history of NFPA 70E is presented followed by a discussion of the usefulness of the tables added in the sixth edition. The article concludes with a "to-do" list of what NFPA 70E can do for you.

Labels: NFPA 70E