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Arc Flash Label Printers - Arc Flash Labeling

Arc Flash & Electrical Safety News

Friday, March 13, 2009

The Fine Print Notes In NFPA 70E 2009

The two most recent issues of the NFPA Journal include columns by Bill Buss about the fine print notes in NFPA 70E. He says this about the fine print notes:

"Section 90.5(C) of NFPA 70E, Electrical Safety in the Workplace®, defines fine print notes (FPNs) as explanatory material that is informational in nature. They are not a part of the requirements, but they do alert users to the technical committee’s concerns and provide additional information that helps users apply the standard. They should also be considered when developing a site safety program and doing the hazard/risk analysis for work tasks."

The first article is in the January/February issue and is called In 70E, the small print can be just as important as the big print. It points out fine print notes that discuss arc flash hazards when an enclosure has louvers, as well as fine print notes on training, hazard/risk evaluation, lock out/tag out, and electrical safety programs.

The second article is in the March/April issue and discusses topics such as fault clearing time and PPE. The topic of NFPA 70E fine print, arc flash and PPE was also discussed in the July/August 2008 Bill Buss column, but you must be a member of NFPA to read back issues. Non-members can read the current issue and the three most recent back issues.

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Monday, November 17, 2008

Revised NFPA 70E Clarifies electrical Safety

An article by Jim White in Plant Service magazine discusses the new NFPA 70E requirements. Mr. White is a member of two of the task groups (Words and Phrases Task Group and the Tables Task Group) that are working on the new NFPA 70E code.

Here is the introductory paragraph:

"During the June 2008 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) World Safety Conference and Exposition, the final content of the 70E standard began to take shape. Until then, nothing was firm because the NFPA Standards Council has the final say on 70E, as it does on any NFPA-derived documents. This structure is in place to administer the rules and regulations and to act as an appeals body for any disagreements to the codes and standards."

The article provides a brief history of NFPA 70E and then discusses thirteen changes to the code.

- Made more consistent and accessible
- No More Jargon
- Article 110.6(A) added new training requirements:
- Article 110.7(A) changed
- Chapter 4 is eliminated completely:
- Major wording changes in the tables
- Switchgear:
- Predictive maintenance
- Some hazard/risk categories have been changed:
- New category
- Ease of use:
- Hazard risk table changes
- Fine Print Note

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Thursday, September 04, 2008

IEEE / NFPA joint research update

The IEEE / NFPA Arc Flash Collaborative Research Project is ready to begin testing that, ultimately, should lead to more accurate and effective arc flash standards. An article on the IEEE site provides background on the project.

The goal of the IEEE / NFPA joint research is to create rigorously-tested models of arc flash phenomena that can serve as a reference in creating improved formulas and safety codes. In addition to exploring the effects of varying voltages, arc gaps, enclosures, and so forth on incident energy, researchers will be investigating secondary hazards of arc flash such as toxic gases, sound waves, and ultraviolet radiation.

A network of laboratories around the world, carefully vetted by IEEE / NFPA project members over the last year, will be participating in the study. Total costs of the research are expected to be $6.5 million, of which more than half has already been raised. Ben Johnson, project co-chair, stated: "I expect that we’ll gain information that can lead to improved equipment...if we can save just one life, all this is worth doing.”

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Tuesday, August 26, 2008

PPE: Better safe than sorry

A recent article in the NFPA Journal discusses the thorny question of whether, and in what circumstances, personal protective equipment should be worn when there are no live, exposed electrical parts. Technically, when there are no exposed parts, there is no flash protection boundary—but there may still be a risk of injury. Equipment doors can be blown open and panels blown off by an arc flash explosion, and hot gases can escape through louvers or cracks and cause burns.

In a facility using the PPE tables provided in NFPA 70E, there are a few instances where PPE is required even though no live parts are exposed. For instance, Table 130.7(C)(9)(a) lists the required PPE for "Circuit breaker (CB) or fused switch operation with doors closed" as hazard/risk category 2. However, even for facilities which do not rely on the NFPA 70E tables, safety-consciousness will often suggest wearing more PPE than is explicitly required.

In the 2009 edition of NFPA 70E, a new fine-print note will be added, which will state in part, The collective experience of the task group is that in most cases closed doors do not provide enough protection to eliminate the need for PPE for instances where the state of the equipment is known to readily change, i.e. doors open or closed, rack in or rack out.

While a fine-print note is not a formal requirement, arc flash safety isn't about following the letter of the law. True safety consciousness requires taking appropriate steps to minimize all hazards—and wearing PPE is often one of those steps.

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Sunday, July 27, 2008

Proposed Changes To NFPA 70E Seek To Revise Arc Flash Labels

An article in the May/June issue of the NFPA Journal discusses the changes in arc flash labeling requirements that are included in NFPA 70E - 2009. The opening paragraph states:

"Since arc flash labels were first required in 2002, there have been many differences throughout the industry between the wording and the choice of signal word and color. The 2009 edition of NFPA 70E, Electrical Safety in the Workplace, will require, for the first time, that one of two pieces of information be on the label: either the required level of personal protective equipment (PPE) to wear or the available incident energy. However, it leaves the color and signal word of the label and any other information the facility wants to put on the label up to the discretion of facility management."

This is currently the most read online article in the NFPA Journal. You can read the article here.

We are one of the largest suppliers of arc flash labeling equipment and supplies. We also offer the Vinyl Zapper, a device that quickly removes old labels without damaging te underlying surface. This allows old labels to be quickly and easily replaced.

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Friday, November 30, 2007

Removing the Confusion Over Electrical Standards

"Not sure whether to follow OSHA or National Electrical Code requirements for electrical safety at your construction site? Here is guidance to help you understand the differences in four controversial areas."

That is the subtitle for an article in Occupational Hazards Magazine. The article then defines the problem:

"Electrical safety on construction sites continues to be a major issue. While progress has been made over the years, electrical accidents continue to rank high on the list of construction accidents. In some areas of the country, they are the second leading cause of death or serious injury."

"One reason that electrical accidents occur is because of confusion between National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and OSHA requirements. Four areas in particular continue to spark controversy or are approached differently by different regulatory standards. There are ways to bring harmony to these four issues by providing recommendations to deal with the differences."

The four areas of confusion discussed in this article are:

  • Ground-fault circuit-interrupters and Portable Generators

  • Open Wiring on Insulators

  • Relocatable Power Taps

  • Arc Blast and Arc Flash Hazards

For the first three of the above there are updated codes that apply in these areas that are more restrictive than what OSHA requires. For example while OSHA does allow open wiring under some circumstance, NEC 527.4(B) and (C) does not allow it. The article recommends using the stricter code requirements, not because they are stricter but because they are safer.

Arc flash is on the list because arc flash hazards tend to be ignored during construction. The article states:

"In the last few years, considerable progress has been made in industrial facilities after the owners take occupancy. It is during the construction phase that there is little or no attention to this hazard. In many of our code classes for construction electricians, the majority states that this is the first time they have heard about this issue."

The article points out that arc flash is a danger during construction and the requirements of NFPA 70E must be followed during construction.

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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.

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Monday, January 22, 2007

Arc Flash Protection In The Mining Industry

Because of the unique requirements of mining the underground mining industry has not been required to comply with NFPA 70E. This has been recognized as a problem because arc flash is a significant source of injuries in underground mining. A report published by NIOSH states:

"Between 1990 and 2003, 2,326 traumatic mine electrical injuries occurred. The largest single category of electrical injury was burns from electrical arcing, which accounted for 893 (38%) of all electrical injuries. Electrical burn injuries of all types accounted for more than 21,500 lost work days."

Why was there such a significant problem. Mainly because arc flash hazards were not recognized as being a problem. The NIOSH report states:

"Findings thus far indicate a general lack of awareness of common arc-flash hazards in the mining industry. Accident reports show that two-thirds of arc-flash injuries involve circuit breakers, cables, hand tools, meters, and plugs. The equipment and PPE needed for safe troubleshooting in arc-prone situations are seldom used. Circuit breakers are often operated beyond their design parameters and many are repaired by third-party rebuilders using substandard components."

As a result NIOSH is creating a program to address arc flash hazards in the underground mining industry. The NIOSH report states:

"This project will produce practical guidelines to determine arc flash boundaries in mines and prep plants. Recommended improvements in work practices regarding the use of hand tools, meters, PPE, and other engineering controls will increase miners’ understanding of arc-flash hazards. Training guidelines will show how to most effectively present this information to the mining audience."

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Wednesday, November 29, 2006

NFPA 70E: Why comply?

An article in Plant Services magazine talks about why compliance with NFPA 70E is important. It also discusses the relationship between OSHA and NFPA 70E.

"NFPA 70E was originally developed at OSHA’s request to address electrical hazards in the workplace. OSHA bases its electrical safety requirements on the comprehensive information in NFPA 70E. Even though OSHA does not mandate compliance with NFPA 70E itself, it considers NFPA 70E to be an effective how-to manual for OSHA regulation compliance."

The article answers questions such as:

How does NFPA 70E complement OSHA regulations?

Can you avoid OSHA citations by complying with NFPA 70E?

What about OSHA-approved state plans?

You'll find the article at: http://www.plantservices.com/articles/2004/405.html

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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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Tuesday, August 29, 2006

APPA’s Influence on the 2008 National Electric Code

This is an interesting article that discusses how the National Electrical Code has been influenced by APPA, forestalling "at least $250 million in regulatory conformity costs." APPA is a professional organization for educational facilities professionals. In 1999, APPA received voting privileges on the content of the National Electric Code.

This article provides a good overview of the history of the arc flash electrical code (and NFPA 70E), the trade-offs that had to be made, and how the current code was arrived at. It also provides a look into the future and what might be expected when the code is next updated.

One of the major concerns in developing the code has been labeling requirements. For example, the article states:

"Many engineers embraced the incident energy labeling proposal because it held out hope for more funding for engineering. We saw flash hazard regulations as a way to get funding to fix stuff. Sensing the market, the IEEE updated its standard 1584, 'Guide for Performing Arc Flash Hazard Calculations'."

However, as the article explains, incident energy labeling was not included in the current code. The trade-offs between safety and economics become visible in this article.

You can read this article on the APPA web site.

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Monday, August 28, 2006

Keys to Understanding NFPA Standard 70E

A detailed article about NFPA 70E is provided in EC&M Magazine (May 2005 issue).

It provides an overview of the OSHA regulations and a detailed explanations of terms such as "incident energy" and "fault current". The article is written with the objective of bringing a greater technical understanding of NFPA 70E so as to improve safety, and it accomplishes that goal.

The conclusion of the article makes an excellent recommendation:

"Most contractors acknowledge that the calculations required by 70E are too complex for the everyday work environment. That's why it's recommended that the tables in Section 130 be distributed to each and every field worker and that each worker be outfitted with a minimum Category 2 PPE. Electricians' tools should also be reviewed to make sure they comply with 70E. Just simply knowing 70E guidelines will help reduce the number of arc-flash injuries."

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Thursday, August 24, 2006

NFPA 70E - More Than Labels and PPE

We are a labeling machine company, so of course labeling is important to us. And labeling is a key component of NFPA 70E and arc flash safety. It's important not because we are a labeling machine company, but for safety. Labels and signs communicate information about arc flash hazards, and required protection, at the point of need. But there is more to arc flash safety than labeling and PPE.

An article by Chet Davis in Plant Engineering magazine points out that employees must also understand the reason why the arc flash label is there. The article quotes Gary McGuire, a safety manager for a large pulp and paper mill in the Northwest who says, "'Safety must be operated by principle, not practice.' He stresses the 'why' of safety, not just the dos and don'ts of a task. This knowledge gives people confronted with something out of the ordinary the background to understand the potential dangers, enabling them to make safe choices. Safety is a culture that must be ingrained with principle. This culture starts from management and filters down to the worker where ultimate responsibility rests."

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Thursday, July 20, 2006

FREE Copy of NFPA 70E Code

We're pleased to announce that our new NFPA 70E Arc Flash Labeling Starter Kit includes a free copy of the NFPA 70E code. The code book normally costs $40.

The NFPA 70E Arc Flash Labeling Starter Kit provides everything needed to make arc flash warning labels for your facility. It's based on the DuraLabel 4TTP thermal transfer printer, a popular industrial quality label printer. The DuraLabel printer comes with specialized database software designed specifically for printing and tracking arc flash labels.

The kit also includes a variety of supplies for printing arc flash labels, as well as other types of labels.

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Friday, July 14, 2006

Do You Need NFPA 70E?

This article from Maintenance Technology is subtitled, "Questions and answers about this set of guidelines for workplace electrical safety."

The article provides a brief history of NFPA 70E and discusses in general what NFPA 70E covers. It then introduces the OSHA "general duty clause" and discusses whether compliance with NFPA 70E is mandatory.

Overall this is a good article for those who need to learn about NFPA 70E and arc flash labeling. It concludes with the following points to remember:

• Several of the OSHA regulations are written in general terms leaving the details up to the employer on how to comply. The employer is expected to use consensus standards to help in the selection of the best method to achieve compliance with OSHA regulations. NFPA 70E is a "how to comply" standard for specific OSHA regulations.

• NFPA 70E is not a federal regulation; it is just a national consensus standard like hundreds of other standards that are not laws or regulations. But compliance with 70E will assure compliance with specific OSHA electrical regulations.

• Some OSHA state plans are more restrictive than federal OSHA and as such may have adopted or incorporated NFPA 70E.

• In the event of an injury or death due to an electrical accident, if OSHA determines that compliance with NFPA 70E would have prevented or lessened the injury, OSHA may cite the employer under the "general duty clause" for not using 70E to protect the employee(s)

• It is important to get training on NFPA 70E and to implement it into your electrical safety program.

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Monday, July 03, 2006

Implementing NFPA 70E At Your Facility

This article from the June issue of Occupational Health and Safety magazine provides a concise overview of the safety related work practices outlined in the National Fire Protection Association's (NFPA) Standard For Electrical Safety in the Workplace--2004 Edition.

The article opens with this statement:

"Some 600 workers are electrocuted annually and electrocution is the fourth leading cause of workplace fatalities in the United States. If you have employees working on or near exposed energized electrical parts, electrical safe practices are essential."

The article then summarizes the requirements in four chapters of NFPA 70E that describe what should be included in written procedures those working on electrical equipment must follow.

Chapter 1: Safety-Related Work Practices

Chapter 2: Safety-Related Maintenance Requirements

Chapter 3: Safety Requirements For Special Equipment

Chapter 4: Installation Safety Requirements

The article concludes by pointing out that "The likelihood of an incident with one of your workers involving an electrocution or electric arc flash is significantly reduced by maintaining a safe electrical work environment that includes three major components: proper installation, safe electrical work practices, and an effective, ongoing electrical maintenance program"

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Saturday, July 01, 2006

Doing It The Right Way: NFPA 70E

"Sad stories abound. Money can be wasted. Ensuring electrical safety in the workplace is not an option--it's one of the most important things you'll ever do." A noted expert on electrical safety, John C. Klinger, P.E., offers several suggestions for effective compliance in an article in the May 2006 issue of Maintenance Technology magazine.

Using a bullet point list of do's and don'ts, Mr. Klingler provides a comprehensive introduction to implementing and following the requirements and standards of NFPA 70E. He starts by discussing why NFPA 70E is important:

"NFPA 70E is the most comprehensive electrical safety standard available today. There are other excellent electrical safety standards including the National Electrical Code, but NFPA 70E is the only on that addresses electrically safe work practices, electrical maintenance safety, special electrical equipment and electrical installation safety in one document."

He goes on to explain that NFPA 70E not only results in complete compliance with OSHA requirements, it addresses the need for electrical protection for your employees, vendors, contractors and others who work in your facility.

The article provides a series of practical suggestions that both improve safety and eliminate waste, and thus reduce costs. It covers topics such as proceedures, PPE, training, documentation, labeling and evaluation.

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