Page 14 - Occupational Health & Safety, December 2018

ELECTRICAL SAFETY
activity appropriate for the risk associated with electrical hazards. Its scope includes safety principles, policies, procedures, controls, awareness of hazards, risk assessments, job safety plans/job brief- ings, audits, incident investigation, and training, among others.
The Electrical Safety Program’s key objective is to provide over- all guidance. In order for the Electrical Safety Program to be ef- fective, it must be properly communicated to, and understood by, everyone in the organization.
2. Hazard Assessment
Energy sources, including electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneu- matic, chemical, thermal, and others, can be hazardous to work- ers. NFPA 70E Section 130.2 requires that all electrical equipment operating at voltages greater than 50 volts be put into an electri- cally safe working condition (disconnected from energized parts, locked/tagged, tested for absence of voltage, and grounded if nec- essary) before a worker performs any sort of work on the equip- ment. Organizations need to establish an effective lockout/tagout program to address this requirement.
These standards are general industry standards focused on addressing the practices and procedures necessary to disable ma- chinery or equipment. When an electrically safe working condition cannot be established, electrically safe work practices must be used before any worker is exposed to hazards. Section 130.5 requires an arc flash assessment to be performed to determine the risks, the safe work practices required, the arc flash boundary, the incident energy exposure level at the working distance, and additional pro-
tective measures required, including the use of PPE. In order to perform under these circumstances, an energized electrical work permit is required if the work is performed within the restricted approach boundary.
There are various approaches on how to accomplish an arc flash assessment, which is why there can be confusion around the best practice and all of the requirements. Along with the numerous standards, there are various methods used to calculate and qualify an arc flash hazard. The scope of the assessment is another aspect to take into account. High-level assessments ensure all points are thoroughly assessed, whereas a more “cost-effective” choice would determine fewer hazards and end up costing more in the long run.
There are also misconceptions, including one that equipment supplied from a panel rated at 1.2 cal/cm2 (hazard category 0) will also be rated the same. There are scenarios where this may not be the case. The lower the fault current, the longer it will take a fuse or circuit breaker to open. If there are long cable runs, transformers, or other overcurrent protective devices, the incident energy and hazard risks can increase at panels and equipment downstream.
According to NFPA 70E 130.5 (H) and NEC 110.16, all switch- boards, panelboards, industrial control panels, meter socket en- closures, motor control centers, and disconnect switches or circuit breakers that may be examined, adjusted, or maintained while ener- gized must be identified and marked prominently with a label to warn qualified workers of potential electrical shock and arc flash hazards.
Incident energy analysis needs to be reviewed whenever chang- es occur in the electrical distribution system that could affect the
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