Industry News & Links

The Electrical Safety Opportunity

from Industrial Supply magazine, July/August 2010

By: Robin Roberts, vice president of sales - Protective Industrial Products

Electrical safety is a matter of “mortal” risk. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that there were well over 100 fatalities in US  industry due to electricity in 2005. Industrial plant managers, facility  managers, electrical contractors and safety professionals are among the many people who need to know the facts about “NFPA 70E - Standard for Electrical Safety in The Workplace – 2004 Edition”. This is a comprehensive document which  has been developed over the years by the NFPA’s “Committee on Electrical Safety Requirements for Employee Workplaces” established in 1976. This committee was  formed to assist OSHA in preparing electrical safety standards that would meet OSHA’s needs.

The current edition provides information on “Safety Related Work Practices”, “Safety Related Maintenance Requirements”, “Safety Requirements for Special  Equipment” and “Installation Safety  Requirements”. Various appendixes include a complete Electrical Safety Program and procedures for performing a hazard/risk analysis and simple lockout/tagout. NFPA 70E applies to installations of electrical conductors and  equipment for public or private buildings, yards, industrial substations, and installations that connect to the supply of electricity.

OSHA relies on this document to help evaluate electrical  safety programs in the workplace. The document is available from NFPA by anyone who is responsible for the development and implementation of an electrical safety program. This makes it imperative that anyone responsible for electrical  safety in the workplace study and understand NFPA 70E.

The basic premise of NFPA 70E and OSHA regulations when working with electrical equipment is to render the equipment or circuits to be worked on, “electrically safe”. The points of contact with personnel are disconnected from the power source and secured from being reactivated until the  job is finished and personnel are no longer in harm’s way. This procedure is better known as lockout/tagout.

NFPA allows work on energized electrical equipment or circuits with certain practices, training and personal protective equipment required. Responsibility for each phase is clear, “The employer shall be provide the  safety-related work practices and shall train the employees, who shall  implement them”. The employer must assure that the employee is “qualified” to do the work required under the particular circumstances.

Energized electrical equipment and conductors present two distinct types of hazards to workers, electrocution and arc flash. The level of these hazards generally differs from location to location in a factory or facility. The hazards at each location must be identified and rated in terms of level so  that the proper approach boundaries, work procedures and personal protective equipment  (PPE) can be determined. The information found in NFPA 70E will help employers conduct effective Hazard/Risk  analysis.

The best approach to understanding NFPA 70E is to take one step at a time and try to apply the information to your particular situation. Every article may not apply to the location and task being reviewed for compliance. Knowing and applying this standard will result in high levels of electrical safety. The prevention of one serious accident or fatality is extremely valuable in terms of human, corporate image and monetary cost savings. Distributors should become familiar with this standard and the problems posed to industry because as many as 80% of facilities are not in compliance today.