Arc Flash & Electrical Safety News

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Avoiding Five Big Mistakes

An article by Larry Altmayer (Services Manager for POWR-GARD, Littlefuse, Inc.) in this month's issue of Facility Safety discusses Avoiding Five Big Mistakes when assessing your facility for electrical hazards.

The articles opens by describing this problem:

"In one case, a manager didn’t calculate Arc flash hazards because a consultant told him the power serving that part of his plant was too low to cause an arc flash. He didn’t realize that low-level faults can cause a circuit breaker or fuse to open more slowly and actually increase the heat energy during an arc-flash. He had good intentions, but the plant was out of compliance by not identifying real hazards and his workers were at risk."

The five big mistakes are identified as:

1.Conducting an incomplete assessment.
2. Using the NFPA 70E Table Method improperly.
3. Trying to do an assessment with in-house staff.
4. Not correcting deficiencies after the assessment.
5. Not changing work procedures after the assessment.

You can read the entire article on the Facility Safety web site.

Labels: Arc Flash, Work Place Safety