Electrical and Arc Flash Safety

Love the idea behind this device. Shunt arc flash energy from the worker and make the fault quicker. This was introduced a few months back and it has been a real innovation that can be retrofitted for older style equipment.
Read the article in the Bangalore Mirror.

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“BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Bozzuto’s Inc. for 25 alleged violations of safety standards at its Cheshire, Conn., food distribution warehouse. The company faces a total of $58,750 in proposed fines.

“These citations address a cross section of mechanical, electrical and exit access hazards that exposed workers to the dangers of electric shock, lacerations, amputation, and being caught in operating machinery or unable to swiftly exit the workplace in the event of a fire or other emergency,” said Kang Yi, OSHA’s acting area director in Bridgeport. “It is imperative that the company take effective action to ensure that all such conditions are corrected and do not reoccur.”

OSHA’s inspection found workers unable to open emergency exit doors from inside the workplace; a lack of specific procedures to lock out the power sources for compactors and other machines to prevent their unintended startup during service or maintenance; unguarded grinder, table saw, compactor and other machinery; missing guardrails; no workplace hazard assessment to determine what types of personal protective equipment workers would need; a deficient respiratory protection program; unlabeled lifting slings; improperly stored oxygen cylinders; and several electrical hazards.”

“Two NStar workers were hospitalized Friday morning after an overnight fire in a manhole at the corner of Summer and Otis Streets. Both men are at Mass General Hospital, but their conditions are not immediately known. NStar said the men were working in the manhole when an equipment failure sparked the fire. Both streets have been reopened.”

“OSHA identified additional safety and health hazards for Bullins employees, including improper anchorage points for the lifelines, an uninspected suspended scaffold, respirator protection deficiencies, overexposure to respirable dust, fumes and solvents, improper transfer of flammable liquids, smoking while mixing flammable liquids, electrical hazards and failing to appropriately monitor the inside of the water tank for oxygen-deficient atmospheres before workers entered it. Both employers also were cited for recordkeeping violations.”

“SAN DIEGO—The Navy says a 36-year-old sailor from San Diego was killed in an electrical accident aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan.

In a statement released Saturday, the Navy says Electrician’s Mate Chief John G. Conyers suffered severe electrical shock while conducting routine work as the ship underwent repairs at North Island Naval Air Station in San Diego Bay.

Conyers was taken by ambulance to Sharp Coronado Hospital, where he was pronounced dead Friday afternoon.

The statement says Conyers was an 11-year Navy veteran and is survived by a wife and daughter.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation. “

Employee complaints prompted an OSHA inspection of this plant. Some were repeat citations. Two other facilities had been cited in 2009.
Employee relations can affect safety and compliance and vice versa. Safety should be a team effort. Most companies we do electrical safety training in are wanting to do the right [...]

Sad another fatality which used to be common in the US. Grounding has almost totally eliminated these. The US OSHA 1910.269 legally required grounding in most medium voltage to high voltage applications or the worker must consider the conductors energized. Additionally arc rated clothing has been shown to save some shock victims. [...]

ConEd has an exceptional arc flash PPE program. Two injured. One critical according to one report but not critical according to a ConEd report. Most like a manhole arc flash. Standers-by might think the person in the hole was worse off than reality. Arc flashes have substantial smoke which looks [...]

This 2003 article is free with registration to the British Medical Journal. Thought the Brits don’t recognize NFPA 70E they have pretty impeccable results with their methods for electrical safety including “safety by design”. They have required “touch safe” designs installed since 1991 for many applications which makes the average worker much safer [...]