Arc flash safety

Elements of an effective arc flash safety program

The threat of arc flash is real, and the consequences of an event can be devastating: lawsuits, fines, equipment damage, operations downtime, lost production and most significant, personnel injury or death. An effective arc flash safety program incorporates the elements shown below.

Are you prepared? How many of the following elements have you incorporated into your arc flash safety program?

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	Single-line diagram	Shows how electrical distribution equipment is connected and how power flows, from the incoming power source through each individual load, and is necessary to understand the system as a whole
	Protective device coordination study	Ensures that only the affected portion of the system is taken offline if there is a fault
	Incident energy analysis	Calculates the arc flash boundary, working distance and incident energy per NFPA 70E
	Short circuit study	Calculates available fault current, compares it to the equipment ratings, and identifies overdutied equipment that needs to be replaced
	Arc flash warning labels	Label affixed to electrical equipment to indicate the incident energy, working distance and arc flash boundary for that piece of equipment, and is used to select the proper personal protective equipment (PPE)
	Safety training	Educates employees about how to interpret the study, the one-line diagram, the arc flash warning labels and choosing proper PPE
	Documented electrical safety program	A documented system consisting of electrical safety principles, policies, procedures and processes that directs activities appropriate for the risk associated with electrical hazards
	Mitigation solutions	Helps to lower incident energy at locations of concern, typically those with high incident energy over 40 cal/cm2
	Personal protective equipment	Protects a qualified worker in the event of an arc flash event, and is meant to be used only after recognizing the hazards and taking steps to minimize or eliminate them
	Electrical maintenance	Helps to ensure that protective devices such as breakers, relays and trip units will clear a potential arcing fault
	Arc flash study update	Required when changes occur in the electrical system that could affect the results of the analysis, or every five years, and ensures that the arc flash study results and labels are accurate
	Did you miss any?	Eaton can help you enhance arc flash safety in your facility and protect what matters most. Contact us to learn more.

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