{"id":16428,"date":"2019-09-25T15:22:35","date_gmt":"2019-09-25T23:22:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2019\/09\/25\/news-10168\/"},"modified":"2019-09-25T15:22:35","modified_gmt":"2019-09-25T23:22:35","slug":"news-10168","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2019\/09\/25\/news-10168\/","title":{"rendered":"Protecting Against Arc Flash"},"content":{"rendered":"

Credit to Author: Erhan Cokal| Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2019 14:57:57 +0000<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>An Arc flash <\/strong>is defined as a hazardous explosion of energy from an electrical circuit, or a type of discharge that results from a low-impedance connection through air to ground or to another voltage phase in an electrical system.<\/p>\n

In the United States, Arc Flashes occur as often as five to ten times per day. Many of these incidents result in injuries and some are even deadly.\u00a0 Creating a heat blast of up to 35,000 degrees Fahrenheit, arc flash incidents can also damage equipment and interrupt business operations, leading to significant economic losses.<\/p>\n

To protect electrical systems from these disastrous effects, electrical professionals must comply with OSHA enforced electrical safety standards in their state and local jurisdiction. The National Fire Protection Association\u2019s NFPA 70E<\/a><\/u>,\u00a0Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace<\/em> outlines a six-step process for the proper design and installation of electrical systems:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Develop and audit electrical safe work practices policy<\/li>\n
  2. Conduct an arc flash risk assessment to evaluate the likelihood of occurrence and severity of arc flash hazards<\/li>\n
  3. Follow strategies to mitigate and control arc flash hazards<\/li>\n
  4. Conduct regularly scheduled safety training and audits for all electrical workers<\/li>\n
  5. Maintain electrical distribution system components<\/li>\n
  6. Ensure adequate supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) and proper tools that act as the \u201clast line of defense\u201d for exposed workers<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong>New Technologies <\/strong><\/p>\n

    To help address this critical safety issue, new technology has been introduced to Motor Control Centers<\/a> that is a gamechanger in equipment protection and safety-related work practices. This new equipment design is not just a barrier to arc flash events, but it also helps to prevent arc flash causes from originating, extinguishing and containing the arc energy if they would occur.<\/p>\n

    Check out this demonstration video:<\/p>\n