Arc Flash Loss Prevention

The Arc Flash Quick Fix

The U.S. Department of Labor, during a seven year study, reported that more than 2,000 people died and another 32,000 receive lost-time injuries as a result of arc flash explosions.  

As a result of this startling number of deaths and injuries, OSHA enacted a ruling in 2007 requiring employers to safeguard their employees against arc flashes. Unfortunately, what we are seeing is that, despite that ruling, few businesses are putting comprehensive arc flash prevention programs in place.

A sizable risk management exists today between OSHA requirements and the current situation at most businesses. To fill that gap, many companies are implementing the band-aid approach for a quick fix.

Instead of a comprehensive arc flash loss prevention program, companies are having arc flash studies or conducted. BUT, in too many instances, that’s all that is being done. There is no follow through. No equipment is labeled. No guidelines for PPE (proper protective equipment) are set. Personnel are not trained on the do’s and don’ts. No documentation is created. Required PPE goes unpurchased. Of if PPE is purchased, it is often misapplied, giving a false sense of security.

The solution is comprehensive arc flash loss prevention program that both reduces risk AND offers peace of mind.

White Paper Outlines How to Meet OSHA Arc Flash Requirements

Ever since OSHA mandated that businesses follow NFPA guidelines to protect workers from arc flash explosions, people have asked me how they can meet OSHA requirements and prevent arc flashes at their companies.

In answer to those questions, M.C. Dean, Inc. developed a specific Arc Flash Loss Prevention (AFLP) program which is outlined in  "Establishing an Arc Flash Loss Prevention Program," a new white paper that I helped co-author.

The M.C. Dean, Inc. white paper explains the impact and causes of arc flashes, includes a glossary of key terms, answers frequently asked questions, and explains the six steps for a thorough arc flash loss prevention (AFLP) program. Those six steps are -

1. Discovery and Engineering

2. Identification and Documentation

3. Program Preparation and Administration

4. Program Training and Certification

5. Field Execution and Document Review and

6. Program Review and Update.

A critical point to know is that the key to arc flash loss prevention is that to do it right, you need more than just an arc flash study and outfitting your employees with PPE. You an AFLP program that includes on-going training, a way to monitor that the program is being carried out, up-to-date documentation, and a third party firm you can trust to audit and update the program for sustainability.

If you have a specific question regarding AFLP, send me an email at john.welch@mcdean.com.

Arc Flash Injuries 3 in Canada

The news out of Canada isn't too good. Three employees at Abitibi Bowater's Fort Frances paper mill in Canada were injured in an arc flash accident Wednesday. The injured, two electricians and a pre-apprentice electrical student, were airlifted to hospitals in Toronto and Winnipeg wtih burns to their necks, hands and faces.

The blast occured while the three were performing a maintenance procedure on a paper machine drive.

According to news reports, the Ministry of Labour and Electrical Safety Authority are investigating the accident and an internal investigation at the mill is also underway.

North Carolina Electician Burned in Arc Flash Explosion

It happened again today...another arc flash, another severe injury.

This time an electrician from Ashoskie, N.C. was badly burned in an arc flash explosion while he was changing a breaker at a restaurant in Elizabeth City, N.C.

According to reports, the electric current flashed, setting the worker's clothing on fire. He was rushed immediately to the hospital and was listed in serious condition.

The injured man is reported to be a licensed worker employed by an electrical company that services restaurants in North Carolina. (For details about the accident, read the news report on the DailyAdvance.com.) 

Many questions  need to be asked about an accident such as this, but two come to my mind right away: Did the restaurant follow OSHA guidelines? Was the electrician properly trained on NFPA regulations?

What was needed here was a thorough arc flash loss prevention program, one that included an arc flash analysis, identification of the proper PPE needed and training on what to do and what not to do.

The Power of an Arc Flash

People who have lived through an arc flash explosion will tell you just how powerful the blast can be. Experts say that the heat of the blast is four times hotter than the sun.

You can see for yourself the power of an arc flash is this video captured by a security camera. Here a worker, not wearing the proper PPE, is racking a breaker when an arc flash occurs. http://www.metacafe.co.il/watch/1555440/arc_flash_while_racking_a_breaker/.

Hopefully, the regulations put in place in 2007 by OSHA will prevent arc flash explosions like this one. OSHA, in August 2007 ruling, required employers to do a better job of protecting their employees from arc flashes.

Arc flash hazards in our homes

So at work we hear the rumble of risk managers requiring building owners to instill a new program around their current lockout/tagout program called ARCSTOP.

But what about our own personal lives?

Most of us have a 200A 240/120VAC single phase panel in our home.

Why isn't NFPA70E and OSHA requiring all residential owners to calculate and understand the ArdFault?

We know you have put your hands in there with it energized, or maybe your brother-in-law did for you when you where finishing your basement.

Well, bottom line is there is huge risk and hazards being in that 200A panel with it energized.  However, IEEE1584 calculations prove that a panel 240Vac and 200Amps and smaller cannot sustain an arc long enough to burn you with 2nd degree burns, thus the reason we don't implement ARCSTOP programs at our homes.

Arc flash on You Tube

Until you have seen an arc flash, you really can't grasp the power of such an energy blast. If you go to You Tube, you can see an actual arc flash test. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iClXrd50Z8 .

One of the world's leading manufacturers of flame retardant clothing, Westex has a series of extremely graphic videos showing an arc flash in both real time and in slow motion and with and without a mannequin dressed in proper protective gear.

Check out this link http://www.westexinc.com/flash_video/westex.html and see for yourself that an arc flash is not something you want to be happen to you or to your employees.

Why a blog on arc flashes?

The first question one probably asks when they visit this blog for the first time is, “Why blog about arc flashes?” The answer is simple. 

Every day between five and ten people are injured in an arc flash or arc blast explosion. Worse yet, an estimated 46 people die each year from injuries sustained in an arc flash incident. In fact, electrical injuries are one of the leading causes (second on the list to be exact) of fatalities in the construction industry.¹

As an engineer trained in critical power and in the dangers inherent in working with electrical equipment, I know firsthand the impact an arc flash has on human life and on business operations.

The purpose of this blog is to alert employers and employees on arc flash hazards and causes, to point out examples of arc flashes and, more importantly, show readers how they can help prevent arc flash losses.

¹Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 1992-99.