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TOP 7 MISTAKES FOR ARC FLASH & ELECTRICAL SAFETY PROGRAMS

Waiting for an accident or for NFPA 70E to become a legal requirement before implementing arc flash requirements.
NFPA 70E addresses electrical hazards including shock and arc-flash. If you implement the requirements of NFPA 70E, you will avoid that electrically related accident that causes grief, suffering, financial settlements, investigations, and citations.

Believing that labeling alone will create a safe environment.
While labeling is essential, many companies stop there believing that compliance equals safety.  If you are truly concerned about the safety of your workers, and we all should be, then it is important that training and a proper electrical maintenance and safety program are implemented.  If the workers don’t know how to use the proper tools and take proper steps in preventing arc flash, the labels provide little use.  Your program should contain training and a preventive maintenance program.

Purchasing flame-resistant (FR) clothing without proper knowledge.
Yes, FR clothing is probably needed for several tasks in your facility, but there are several ratings of FR required for different arc flash boundaries, all of which are relatively expensive. You don’t want clothing that is too light-weight exposing your employees to a hazardous injury nor do you want to burden them with wearing too much clothing that can overheat them or hinder their visibility or movement.  Until an arc flash analysis is properly done, it’s almost impossible to tell what the ideal PPE is for your employees.  Furthermore, arc-flash hazards can often be reduced or in some cases even eliminated by making changes in fuses or circuit breakers, possibly avoiding the need for heavier PPE.

Purchasing insulated tools that are too bulky for the tasks your employees perform.
NFPA 70E requires employees to use insulated tools when working inside the Limited Approach Boundary of exposed, energized parts where tools might make accidental contact with the energized parts. Insulated tools are easy to find, but many tool sets are designed for big equipment that linemen work on and are not well suited for industrial control panels and drives. Make sure the tools you select are not too big and bulky to be used on the equipment in your plant.

Implementing an "Energized Electrical Work Permit" without full understanding.
An Energized Electrical Work Permit as required by NFPA 70E is an excellent means of discouraging energized work/maintenance/repair unless absolutely necessary, and if it is necessary, complying with the permit assures every possible measure has been taken to keep the worker safe while performing the task. However, before implementing an Energized Electrical Work Permit Policy, give serious thought to how permits will be handled in the middle of the night, weekends and holidays. Will the appropriate personnel be available to sign the permits when needed? Will work be delayed until the appropriate signatures are collected?  Is it acceptable to fill out and sign a permit after the fact? And what about those tasks that everyone already knows must be completed without de-energizing the equipment, are you going to delay the task each time until the permit is filled out and appropriate signatures are obtained?  These are just some of the considerations of an Energized Electrical Work Permit.

Implementing policies you are not willing to enforce.
It is a waste of time, money, and effort to develop policies that are not going to be enforced. Regulatory agencies will not be impressed by well-written policies; they are looking for results – a safe work place with no accidents.  Facilities that have great policies, but have workers who respond, “Most of the time”, when asked if they always comply with the policies, are not achieving the level of safety needed. The facilities with the best safety results are those that have good safety policies with zero tolerance for non-compliance.

Forgetting about shock hazards.
Today arc-flash hazards and FR clothing are getting much attention, however fatality statistics still show that more workers die from electrocutions than from arc-flash. It may be that more people go to the hospital with arc-flash injuries than shock injuries, but shock is still the greater threat.  So when purchasing PPE for electrical hazards, writing your electrical safety policies and training your workers, don’t forget about shock hazards. NFPA 70E does an excellent job of addressing shock hazards.