Electrical and Arc Flash Safety » Arc Flash Training Articles

Electric Co-op Safety Article

Hugh Hoagland — Fri, 18 May 2012 17:56:27 +0000

This is a great article highlighting the importance of safety in an entire organization.

Good quotes:

“The absence of injuries does not mean the presence of safety. You can have an organization with no injuries that’s very unsafe—and extremely lucky.”

“The goal in my mind should always be zero (injury and incident rate). We may never get there, but if the goal is not zero, what message are we communicating? That it’s OK to have accidents? It’s OK to have injuries? I don’t think that’s what we want.”

“A strong safety culture is one where people think not only is it a responsibility for me to speak up, it’s required of me to speak up, and I expect the same from you, my co-worker.”

“We make sure our employees understand they’re our most valuable asset, and we want a world class safety program to make sure they go home every day in the same condition they went to work in.”

“The vast majority of our injuries are caused by the tiny personal decisions employees make each day: to walk across the bad spot in the parking lot, or the weed-covered area, rather than recognizing the hazard and avoiding it. Personal decisions are formed by the corporate culture that we’ve created and allowed at Dakota Electric.”

“Collectively we’ve been recognizing and celebrating our entire group of employees when we meet our safety goal each year. What we’ve been missing is recognizing them on a more individual level when they do something right about safety, and our ACT (Achieving Cultural Transformation) process provides us with that mechanism.”

“Getting to zero can be a long process. But when does it start? Whom does it start with? Somebody has to make that commitment and that’s why we’re pushing so hard, first with the CEOs.”

Click here to read the ECT.coop article dated 4/23/12.

Electrical Workplace Safety & Sudden Cardiac Arrest Article by NFPA

Hugh Hoagland — Fri, 18 May 2012 17:54:24 +0000

SCA (Sudden Cardiac Arrest) is not a heart attack (lack of blood), but rather involves the heart’s electrical impulses. CPR and AED (automated external defib) are needed when employees experience SCA in the workplace. 13% of workplace fatalities are due to SCA, with survival rates of only 1-5% if occuring outside of a hospital. If trained employees are not able to procure an AED for use within the 1st 4 minute window, the chance of the victim’s survival decreases substantially. NFPA 70E^®-2012, Section 110.2(C) requires employees whose duties warrant such training to be regularly instructed in methods of first aid and approved methods of resuscitation. Training in approved methods of resuscitation – CPR and AED use – must be certified by the employer on an annual basis. Employees who are trained in CRP and AED use, and who have an AED available for use, can substantially improve the chance of survival of a fibrillation victim, whether the fibrillation is due to an electrical shock hazard or sudden cardiac arrest.

Click here to read the NEC article by Michael Fontaine.

Webinar by Hugh Hoagland on 10 PPE Mistakes is Available Online

Hugh Hoagland — Fri, 18 May 2012 17:45:44 +0000

The recent webinar that I hosted for Magid Gloves & Safety Manufacturing Company is now available online. The topic was “10 Most Common PPE Mistakes in Electrical Arc Flash Training Programs.”

Click here to view the recorded webinar.

Arc Flash Hazard Calculation Article

Hugh Hoagland — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 20:28:20 +0000

James Phillips has written an article on arc-flash hazard calculation studies and the steps involved. Jim is a top expert in AF calculations and a fellow member of IEEE 1584,

Click here to read the article from IAEI Magazine dated 4/4/12.

New Article: “What About My Hands?” by Hugh Hoagland Arc Flash Protection for Hands

Hugh Hoagland — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 20:21:21 +0000

Just published in the April 2012 version of ISHN Magazine is my latest article entitled, “What About My Hands?”. This article addresses the glove issue since the hands are the closest body part to an arc.

Click here to read the ISHN article.

Electrician Listed as 1 of 10 Deadlist Jobs in RI

Hugh Hoagland — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 20:19:15 +0000

According to statistics from the Division of Worker’s Compensation of the State Department of Labor and Training, Rhode Island electricians suffered 3 deaths and 2207 injuries during the 10 year period of 2001-2010. Rhode Island’s Committee on Occupational Safety and Health indicates that the most common cause of workplace injuries and fatalities is failure to recognize hazards involved; second most common scenario for serious injuries are workplaces where employees are aware of the hazards, but are effectively powerless to say or do anything about it.

Click here to read the article dated 3/23/12.

Article by GE Energy/Canada on Arc Flash Hazard

Hugh Hoagland — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 19:52:42 +0000

Read this article on reducing exposure in LV Distribution Systems as written by Maurice M’Mello, PE-Systems Engineer of GE Energy / Industrial Solutions / Canada.

Article conclusion: “….arc flash hazard analysis now tells us that the setting of protective devices on this basis could be detrimental to operational and maintenance personnel if an arcing fault occurs when the electrical equipment is worked on in the energized state. We must take into account the thermal limits of the human body (onset of second degree burns at 1.2cal/cm2 when selecting protective devices and their settings. Arc flash hazards are an extremely important consideration when designing electrical distribution systems.”

Click here to read the article distributed 4/5/12.

Medical Report of Electric Shock Injury Results

Hugh Hoagland — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 19:42:15 +0000

A study was performed utilizing a combination of imaging techniques and chemical analysis to assess damage to tissues from electrical shock. The studies showed an interesting, albeit complex, picture of electrical injury, where several pathological events occur contemporaneously.

Click here to read the results of the study published on the website of SPIE (International Society for Optics and Photonics) on 4/5/12.

Arc-Flash Energy Reduction Workbook by Littelfuse Available Online

Hugh Hoagland — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 19:39:55 +0000

The purpose of the “Arc Flash Energy Reduction Workbook” by Littelfuse is to help the plant engineer or electrician create a preliminary calculation of the reduction of Incident Energy by applying the PGR-8800 Arc-Flash Relay.

Click here to access the workbook made available online on 4/10/12.

Electrical Safety Training: Testing for Absence of Voltage by Jim White

Hugh Hoagland — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 21:10:43 +0000

Training for electrical safety. Article on use of voltage testers for testing absence of voltage.

Click here to read Jim White’s excellent article on Voltage Testers and Testing for Absence of Voltage.