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Arc Flash Label Printers - Arc Flash Labeling

Arc Flash & Electrical Safety News

Friday, July 10, 2009

Understanding Arc Flash Regulations

This video, by Industrial Training University covers the basics that workers need to know about arc flash and the need for proper labeling and PPE.



Information about arc flash labeling.

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Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Arc Flash University Offers Online Curriculum

Plant Engineeering Live is offering a series of monthly arc flash webcasts sponsored by GE.

"We’ve always offered successful webcasts, but the interest and information generated last year by Arc Flash University was unprecedented," said Plant Engineering editor Bob Vavra. "Because of the tremendous demand for this kind of information, we’re putting together four new Webcasts on the topic. We’re especially grateful to GE for again sponsoring this series. It demonstrates their commitment to addressing this important plant floor topic."

Arc Flash University registrants who attend three of the four Webcasts will receive CEU credit, and can qualify to receive Arc Flash University merchandise.

Registration is now open for the 2009 Arc Flash University series at www.plantengineering.com.

Related past posts:
New Curriculum Addresses Electrical Hazards
Web Seminar On Arc Flash Avoidance

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Tuesday, March 10, 2009

NIOSH Arc Flash Video

A 26 minute Arc Flash Awareness video, created by NIOSH, is available as a free download from the NIOSH web site. The video presents the personal stories of three experienced electricians who were injured in two separate arc flash incidents. They tell about the sudden and destructive power of arc flash and discuss how these injuries affected their lives.

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Monday, January 05, 2009

Establishing an Arc Flash Loss Prevention Program

I just found this white page published by M.C. Dean, Inc. last August. The introduction to the white paper describes its purpose as designed to:

[Quoted from the introduction to the white paper.]

● Give middle and upper management an executive level description of the details surrounding arc flash and the industry’s best proven business practices. After reading this paper executives should have the confidence to begin the process of assigning the right team and resources needed to develop the methodology that best carries out a safety and arc flash loss prevention program tailored to their organizations.

● Provide the technical manager with a support document that can be presented to upper management along with recommendations to improve corporate safety policies by integrating an Arc Flash Loss Prevention (AFLP) Program.

● Provide business leaders with a quick reference guide to the questions they have involving who is responsible (in the eyes of OSHA and the judicial system), how to resource, how to control cost and how to build a sustainable program that can be monitored by a non-technical manager.

● Equip risk managers with a methodology to process a loss prevention program targeted to exposure related to arc flash. This includes the means to identify, evaluate, choose, implement, monitor and manage a comprehensive program that is sustainable and provides measureable data that can be used to calculate best risk management decisions.

● Caution on the use of “over-simplified” allowable tables and charts the industry has developed to establish arc flash protective measures. The risks include controlling the cost of expensive personal protective equipment (PPE) that may or may not be needed and giving untrained workers the false sense of confidence when working on energized electrical equipment. The result is a mismanaged safety program.

You can read the white paper here.

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Thursday, October 16, 2008

Understanding OSHA Arc Flash Regulations

Here is a video from the Industrial Training University that provides a basic overview of what is required to address arc flash hazards. It covers labeling, arc flash analysis and PPE. It is just under eight minutes in length.

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Thursday, June 19, 2008

Free Online Arc Flash / Electrical Resources

AVO Electrical Engineering Division offers a variety of training resources on their web site, for free use.

A series of online "slide shows" cover arc flash related topics:
  • Do you know your Approach Boundaries?
    Learn about a typical Arc Flash Label and different Approach Boundaries listed in it.

  • Do you know your Hot Spots?
    Learn about typical Hot Spots in your facility with high Incident Energy (IE).

  • Test your Arc Flash Knowledge
    Learn about Fundamental definitions of jargons used in the industry.

  • Do you have all the information to start an Arc Flash Study?
    Learn about typical Field Data required to perform Arc Flash Study.

  • Where should I place my Arc Flash Labels?
    Learn about where should the Arc Flash Labels be placed.
Nine publications are also available. They all may be read online.
  • Electrical Hazards Analysis

  • Electrical Safety and Maintenance Training

  • Electrical Safety in Battery Maintenance and Testing

  • Electrical Safety in Motor Maintenance and Testing

  • Electrical Safety in the Mining Industry

  • Electricity - The Silent Killer

  • Establishing an Electrical Safety Program

  • How to Develop an Effective Training Program

  • The Hazards of Electricity - Do You Know What They Are?
The web site is called: Free Technical Information and Publications

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Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Free Web Seminar on Arc Flash Avoidance and NFPA 70E Compliance

The following is a press release from LumaSense Technologies. They are a provider of sensor instrumentation for "monitoring, detecting, analyzing and measuring."

Broadcast date: Tuesday, June 3rd 2008
Broadcast Time: 11:00 AM PDT (2:00 PM EDT)
Speakers: Lowry Eads, Lowry Eads & Associates (Lanny Floyd, Dupont)
Hosted by: Brett Sargent, LumaSense Technologies ( John Snell, The Snell Group)

Most of us know that the words "Arc Flash" mean something serious. But, most of us do not know how dangerous an Arc Flash can be. Some things to consider are:

• There are approximately 2,000 Arc Flash events that occur in the United States every year
• Temperatures can reach 35,000°F in less than 1 second
• When copper vaporizes, a dynamite like explosion will occur

So, now that we have your attention, Arc Flash events can be minimized and avoided if you understand safety standards and adhere to published requirements. Documents such as NFPA 70E can help save lives and avoid catastrophic incidents.

Safe maintenance practices, knowing what to look for, thermal imaging of electrical switchgear using safe equipment and protective gear can all help.

Join us on Tuesday, June 3rd 2008 in this informative web seminar "Arc Flash Avoidance and NFPA 70E Compliance" to understand what an Arc Flash is and safety standards you should follow to save lives.

To register for the Web Seminar, Please go to: www.lumasenseinc.com/news_events/web_seminars.html

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Thursday, April 10, 2008

University Employees Injured By Arc Flash

The Texas Christian University Daily Skiff (the student newspaper) reports in today's edition that two university employees were injured by an arc flash. The article reports that:

"Two physical plant employees were injured Wednesday morning in an electrical accident in the basement of Tandy Hall, university officials said."

"One employee who suffered injuries to his eyes and forearm was still in the hospital late Wednesday, and the other, who injured his knee while moving to avoid the shock, was treated and released, said Tracy Syler-Jones, associate vice chancellor for marketing and communication."

There had been a power outage and the two employees were working to start a backup generator. This incident should make us aware that we must always be alert to the possibility of an arc flash when working with electrical equipment. My guess is that the two workers who were injured never even considered the possibility of an arc flash. Training, proper labeling, and the use of PPE are three pillars that can not be ignored or forgotten.

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Friday, January 04, 2008

Square D Electrical Safety Video

I've featured many videos on this blog. A problem has been that, no matter how good the video, since they came from YouTube many people could not use them. Square D has produced an excellent electrical safety video that is available for downloading. This means you can put this video on any computer and show it anywhere you need to do electrical safety training.

All that is required is a short registration process.

Use this link to go to the registration/download page.

This video covers electrical safety in general, with a heavy emphasis on arc flash safety. A dramatic video of an arc flash explosion demonstrates the effectiveness of PPE and how serious arc flash injuries can be.

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Monday, October 08, 2007

Protect Your Employees From Arc Flash - FREE Training Video

ARLINGTON, Va. PRNewswire-USNewswire -- An arc flash can happen without warning and occurs much too fast for you to react. The heat released during an arc flash can reach as high as 35,000 degrees Fahrenheit, hotter than the surface of the sun. Large arc flashes can cause an explosion noise loud enough to cause hearing loss and injuries from being thrown back from the electrical explosion.

To better address this issue, the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) has teamed with NIOSH and the Centers for Disease Control to distribute Arc Flash Awareness, a DVD training course, available in both English and Spanish. The DVD includes basic information about arc
flash awareness and contains the first hand accounts of three electrical workers who were severely injured in arc flash accidents.

Surprisingly, it has just been in recent years that the term "arc flash" has garnered much attention. Many companies have started to raise awareness about the problem. Some companies, however, do not think that arc flash is a serious concern because they have not yet had an arc flash incident.

An arc flash can result from the spontaneous failure of equipment during normal operation or from accidentally bridging two live electrical contacts with a conducting object, like a metal screwdriver or wrench. Other causes may include the improper use of electrical multimeters, poor
housekeeping that allows the buildup of conductive dust, or severe corrosion that allows connections to break.

How large is the problem?

  • According to CapSchell, Inc., a Chicago-based research and consulting firm that specializes in workplace injury prevention, there are five to ten arc flash explosions every day in the United States.


  • The final cost to employers and their insurers for a single, serious injury can approach $10 million. (CapSchell)


  • 2,000 workers are admitted annually to burn centers for extended injury treatments caused by arc flash, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.


  • A recent study from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) determined 17,101 injuries were caused by electric arc flash burns between 1992 though 2001.

With statistics like this, companies cannot afford to ignore electrical safety issues surrounding accidental electrocution from arc flash explosions.

For more information on Arc Flash or to order a copy of the Arc Flash Awareness DVD visit the ESFI Library on the ESFI's website, http://www.electrical-safety.org or call ESFI at 703-841-3229.

The videos may be downloaded free from the NIOSH web site at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/products/product152.htm

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Wednesday, August 22, 2007

New Online Arc Flash Safety Quiz

I have just finished adding an online Arc Flash Safety Quiz to our Arc Flash web site. This is my first effort at creating an online quiz like this, so I've started with twelve questions to see how it goes. My plan is to add additional questions once I am sure everything is working fine.

I invite you to give this quiz a try. Please feel free to pass on any comments or suggestions you have. Or suggest additional questions you feel would be useful to have in the quiz. There is a link at the end of the quiz that will take you back to this post so you can add your comments here. I would appreciate any feedback.

I created the software that runs the quiz and plan to use this software to provide other online safety quizzes. This also means I can modify the software to make improvements in how the quiz operates. So please let me know what you think.

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Monday, July 02, 2007

IBEW Local 164 Starts Arc Flash Training

"...the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 164 in Paramus, N.J., has embraced the new National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) 70E standard adopted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as part of its safety training curriculum."

This is part of the opening paragraph of an article in last Friday's edition of the Paramus Post. Local 164’s electrical assistant training director, David Milazzo, recently attended a one-day arc flash seminar. The article reports:

"To gain first-hand knowledge regarding arc flashes, Milazzo and Richard Paredes, an IBEW Local 164 Training Academy instructor, attended a workshop sponsored by Westex, Inc., one of the local’s training partners. Held at KEMA Powertest in Chalfont, Pa., the nation’s largest high-power electrical laboratory, the program featured live arc flash explosions as well as the most effective techniques to minimize their effects. Additionally, the proper selection and application of fire retardant materials and attire required by NFPA 70E were addressed."

Arc flash training will now be a regular part of IBEW Local 164's training program. I don't know to what extent other locals have embraced arc flash training, but let's hope that arc flash training will soon be a standard component of training in all electrical apprenticeship programs.

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Monday, June 04, 2007

Electric TV Provides Electrical News

Easy-to-watch online video clips have quickly become the fast way to share updated information across the Internet. NECA and IBEW have jointly launched a new video web site www.ElectricTV.net. It provides people searching for data on electrical construction a source of electrical information using the latest streaming video technology.

Jointly funded through our National Labor-Management Cooperation Committee, ElectricTV presents streaming videos formatted as segments of a televised news magazine. These segments show online viewers how NECA contractors work with IBEW electricians to consistently surpass owners’ and end-users expectations. The site also provides articles in PDF format about the electrical and information systems industries and construction in general.

The current videos include a "Spotlight on Skill" that covers arc flash hazards; a segement on the electric grid in North America discussing its viability for the future; and a feature story on the new Portland, Oregon tram.

Plans are to update the site at least six times per year.

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Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Arc Flash Myths and Misconceptions

Daryl Lewellyn of Lewellyn Technology has written a good article about the wrong "knowledge" and misunderstandings people have about arc flash. Many of these come from trying to apply past experience to arc flash, and that is not always the best thing to do.

The article is available in PDF form at: http://www.lewellyn.com/pdf/os_pdf/Arc%20Flash%20Myths%20and%20Misconceptions.pdf

It covers five myths:

1. A current limiting fuse will always reduce the arc flash hazard

2. The arc flash hazard downstream will always be less than upstream

3. An arc flash analysis is about labeling panels

4. We don't have to do an arc flash analysis because we do regular infrared scans of our equipment

5. NFPA 70E is mostly about arc flash

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Friday, January 26, 2007

Electrical Near Misses

"Electrical safety occurrences are the most frequently reported near miss events across the DOE complex, and thus pose the greatest risk to workers. In 2002 and 2003, electrical safety occurrences were reported at a rate of two per week, with three-quarters of them categorized as near misses (to serious injury or death). Thirty-five of the electrical occurrences in this 2-year period involved shocks to workers; six resulted in electrical burns."

The above is from an Operating Experience and Lessons Learned Report published by the Department of Energy. It looks at electrical incidents, most of which were "near misses" when it comes to serious injury, throughout their facilities. A number of incidents are described followed by an analysis of the lessons learned from each incident. This paper will expose you to information about hazardous situations you may not have considered and provide ways to eliminate those hazards.

You can read this paper at: DOE Electrical Near Misses (PDF document).

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Wednesday, November 15, 2006

New Arc Flash Electrical Safety Publications For MCAA Members

The Mechanical Contractors Association of America has developed and produced two resources to assist mechanical service contractors in keeping their workers safe. A recent press release from MCAA states:

MCAA/MSCA Release New Publications on Electrical Safety for Service

ROCKVILLE, MD— The results of an electrical arc flash or uncontrolled electrical current can be devastating. That’s why the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has a code for electrical safety in the workplace, and why the Mechanical Contractors Association of America’s (MCAA) Safety and Health Committee developed and produced two resources to assist mechanical service contractors in keeping their workers safe.

Designed especially for mechanical service contractors and based on information from NFPA 70E – 2004, Article 130 – Working On or Near Live Parts, the Model NFPA 70E Electrical Safety Program for Service will help contractors develop an electrical safety program that is specific to their company’s needs if their technicians perform work on or near live parts of HVAC units that are pushing 480 volts or less. Developed in partnership with MCAA’s Mechanical Service Contractors of America (MSCA) subsidiary, the program is available to MCAA and MSCA members for $18 per copy and to nonmembers for $36 per copy.

While this program does not offer extensive information about electrical safety, contractors can find additional information in another MCAA publication: the Electrical Safety Guidelines for Mechanical Service (Based on NFPA 70E – 2004) Safety Training Kit. Designed especially for mechanical service workers who troubleshoot energized HVAC units pushing 480 volts or less, the kit will help contractors educate their workers about arc flash and electrical shock hazards.

It describes:

• Electrical arc flash and shock hazards associated with work on energized units pushing 480 volts or less,

• Safe work practices/protective measures, including arc flash and electrical shock
approach boundaries, and

• Personal protective equipment.

The kit includes a 14-minute safety training DVD, a set of 20 pocket guides that enhance the training by highlighting its key points, and a training documentation system.

Much of the critical information in the kit comes from a section of an addendum to the NFPA National Electrical Codes. The addendum, which is referred to as NFPA 70E, spells out the best present-day safety practices for workers exposed to energized electrical sources.

The kit is available to MCAA and MSCA members for $85 and to nonmembers for $170. The
items in the kit are also available separately in case contractors need more of just one or two.

Additional copies of the documentation system are $6 for MCAA and MSCA members and $12 for nonmembers; additional sets of pocket guides are $14 for MCAA and MSCA members and $28 for nonmembers; and additional DVDs are $65 for MCAA and MSCA members and $130 for nonmembers.

To order either of these publications, visit MCAA’s online store at ww.mcaa.org/store or call Linda Burke at 301-990-2200.

The Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA) serves the unique needs of
approximately 2,300 firms involved in heating, air conditioning, refrigeration, plumbing, piping, and mechanical service. We do this by providing our members with high-quality educational materials and programs to help them attain the highest level of managerial and technical expertise. MCAA includes the Mechanical Service Contractors of America, the National Certified Pipe Welding Bureau, the Plumbing Contractors of America, and the Manufacturer/Supplier Council.

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Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Chamber Offers NFPA 70E Training

I ran across this announcement from the Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce. They are holding an NFPA 70E training class in June 2007. Funding for the class is being supplied by the New York State Occupational Safety and Health Hazard Abatement Board. I'm mentioning this class here because a partnership between local Chamber of Commerce, the state safety board, and local industry is an outstanding way of improving safety throughout the community.

By offering classes through a Chamber of Commerce many smaller businesses, that may have not been aware of NFPA 70E and the hazards of arc flash, have the opportunity to improve electrical safety, and safety in general, within their organizations. The training is offered at a minimal cost of $15 making it easily affordable for any size company.

Here is a good idea that can easily be replicated in other locations.

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Friday, September 29, 2006

NFPA 70E Training

NFPA provides one day seminars on "2004 70E Electrical Safety in the Workplace". This seminar meets OSHA guidelines for training.

Seminar Description: "With approximately 7,600 reported electrical contact injuries each year in the United States and 1,000 near misses for every recorded injury, there are 7.6 million reasons to be up to date on NFPA 70E. This seminar will help you comply with applicable regulations including OSHA 1910 for general industry and OSHA 1926 for construction. It will also help to reduce the number of injuries, liability, and operating expenses. Most importantly, this seminar gives you the tools you need to provide a safe work environment."

Seminars are provided at various locations around the country. See the NFPA Events Calendar for the current schedule.

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Friday, August 18, 2006

IEEE Video - Arc Flash Hazards in Electrical Equipment

IEEE is offering a video, produced by an ad hoc safety committee whose intention was to learn more about electrical arc flash. They "had three main goals in mind: to develop new leanings or validate existing leanings around electrical flash hazards: to produce three training programs for electricians, engineers and general public around electrical hazards: to assimilate and catalog knowledge around all aspects of electrical hazards."

The video, along with the IEEE paper documenting all data collected during these tests, and a CD-ROM with more than 90 Microsoft PowerPoint slides with information supporting the tests and testing process, is available for purchase from IEEE.

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