Electrical and Arc Flash Safety

Indian Engineer credited with GE Arc Flash Innovation

Hugh Hoagland — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:46:20 +0000

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.

OSHA proposes nearly $59,000 in fines against Cheshire, Conn., food distribution warehouse

Hugh Hoagland — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:50:42 +0000

"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."

ArcWear.com/e-Hazard.com Electric Arc Newsletter February 2010

admin — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 12:47:45 +0000

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In This Issue

NEW Online & DVD NFPA 70E Training with a Twist

Arc Test Dates

NFPA 70E TIA Reportedly Fails in Narrow Committee Vote

Florida Electrical Contractor’s Licensing Board Approves e-Hazard.com

IEEE-ESW Keynote Flies Safety Home

Articles Accidents & Videos

CSA Proposes Maintenance Standard for Canada

Fines by OSHA & OHSA on Electrical Hazards

Electrical Safety Program Book Updated

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February 2010

Dear ArcLetter Member,

The ArcWear™ Electric Arc and Flash Fire Newsletter NOW from e-Hazard.com too.

It is a quick update on Flame Resistant Clothing issues and news from OSHA and standards committees. The newsletter is FREE, reaches over 15,000 people and will bring you up to date on the issues that surround flame resistant clothing for flash fire hazards and the electric arc. For previous newsletters or to sign up, visit http://www.arcwear.com or http://www.e-Hazard.com

NFPA 70E Training with a TWIST e-Hazard.com Offers Online & DVD NFPA 70E experts online to answer your questions

Want to do refresher training online or train a worker at a small location?

e-Hazard’s Best Training Now Online or DVD too!

Don’t use just any video and hope OSHA does cite you.

e-Hazard offers online OSHA Electrical Safety training.

- Your workers do 7 modules with homework.

- Just like our on-site 8 hour class.

- No cut-down version this is our full training.

- Live 1 hours Q&A session with a specialist.

Click here to see the online module sign up.

The DVD version e-Hazard NFPA 70E Training includes:

- Five e-Hazard workbooks

- Five NFPA 70E Standards

- A DVD you can use time and time again.

- Live 1 hours Q&A session with a specialist.

- Add live sessions and seats to your class for a $100.

Click here to see the DVD Version.

So in our online and our DVD version we do something no competitor we know of does. We get online with your worker, go over the homework assignments, answer questions and evaluate the training knowledge. ONLY then does e-Hazard offer a certificate of training. Just like in our classroom version. And unlike most of our competitors, you can have an NFPA 70E member answer your questions (members do not speak for NFPA).

We still recommend our live training but now you have an option.

Use our Online modules for a Tool Box Talk.

You can even use the video modules for quick safety meetings to cover parts of the training your folks have already received from us or to supplement other training (no certificate without the live session for each worker but you can show the video in a training room for a high quality Toolbox Talk). Most of the videos are less than 20 min long.

e-mail Hugh for a $25 coupon to try a free module.

ArcWear™ Arc Testing Dates

Need Arc Testing?

2010

Feb. 15 – 19
Mar. 15 – 19

May 3 – 8

May 31 – June 4

July 12 – 16

ASTM F1959, ASTM F2178, ASTM F887 fall protection arc testing and mannequin testing at the Kinectrics Lab in
Toronto on the dates above.

Ship materials or clothing to:

Hugh Hoagland
ArcWear.com
13113 Eastpoint Park Blvd.
Suite E
Louisville, KY
40223
PH: 502-314-7158
arctesting@ArcWear.com

We must receive one week before the test date for sample preparation or make arrangements to ship to lab. New and non US/Canadian Customers must make payment before test date. Testing is offered on a first come/first served basis with priority for consulting customers. New policy: $100 per material for prep/washing and cutting panels and $150 for international report shipping. No guarantee is made of when testing will occur.

NFPA 70E TIA Narrowly Fails in Committee Vote

NFPA 70E, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace® proposal for a TIA (Tentative Interim Amendment) failed in a close committee vote according to numerous committee members.

This TIA would have removed the exemption for 240V and below circuits from arc flash analysis. The committee is considering different language for the 2012 standard which would make the exemption narrower while still affording ease of analysis for lighting circuits, for instance while not making a blanket exemption for 208 circuits with 3-phase arc flash potential.

Proposed TIA No. 981 – Comment Closing Date: 2/1/2010

Click here read or comment on the TIA at the NFPA site.

Florida Electrical Contractor’s Licensing Board approves e-Hazard.

Though not the first time we have been approved for continuing education credit. We proudly announce another state approval. Our online course is now under going several state approvals. Without state approval the courses still meet OSHA requirements but we seek license approval so workers can learn about safety and help maintain licensure at the same time.

The Electrical Contractor’s Licensing Board reviewed and considered your course applications at a duly-noticed public meeting held in January 2010. The Board voted to grant approval for the following continuing education course applications.

COURSE TITLE:   Electrical Workplace Safety-NFPA 70E
COURSE NO.:      0008199
LENGTH:            8 Hours (S)
EFFECTIVE:        January 22, 2010

Please note that both your providership and all courses will expire May 31, 2011.

ESW Keynote Flies Safety Home
The Monday IEEE Electrical Safety Workshop keynote speaker was impressive. A fighter pilot, he spoke to the culture’s effect on safety. He cited an article I found very interesting. The article is based on a book by the same name. Try out the article and see if you might not want the book. Darker Shades of Blue: A Case Study of Failed Leadership By Major Tony Kern United States Air Force

Articles, Accidents & Video on Arc Flash

Here are some articles published recently on arc flash and electrical safety.

Articles

Common PPE Mistakes in Electric Arc Flash Training Programs, by Hugh Hoagland, Ezine Articles, January 2010.

Click here to see the latest articles including:

Every Statistic Has a Name by Jim Phillips.

Videos

New FREE Video Site at e-Hazard.com

Four New Videos This Month. More coming

Video Online NFPA 70E Training in Eight Hours at Your Own Pace.

Use for Certification Training with our exclusive NFPA 70E Expert Q&A or Play a Module for a Safety Meeting or Toolbox Talk.

CSA Proposes Electrical Safety Maintenance Standard for Canada

The CSA Z462 committee announced that CSA (Canadian Standards Association has approved the formation of a new standards committee, CSA-Z463, Guideline on Maintenance of Electrical Systems.

Currently CSA Z462 and NFPA 70E recommend using manufacturer’s guides, NFPA 70B or NETA MTS-2007 for electrical maintenance.

Some maintenance is mission critical for arc flash mitigation and arc flash prevention. We welcome a strategy to maintain reliability and safety in one standard.

Should you have any questions, contact the committee acting chair, Kerry Heid by email at kheid@magnaelectric.com.

Fines by OSHA on Electrical Hazards this Month
Most citations this month include electrical hazards. Click here to see the citations and our commentary.

Electrical Safety Program Book Updated

by Ray & Jane Jones

New for 2009 NFPA 70E, The Joneses have updated the ESP book and they always invite us to keep up with them. These two think through a safety program and push the envelope with new ideas and documentable help for a beginner or the most experienced. We always have one on the shelf when we help folks build a program.

The Second Edition will be available from Jones & Bartlett Publishers in May 2010 but you can pre-order from them today.

Click here to see the book.

Our newsletter is sponsored by many companies around the world. If you have ideas for articles or have questions, don’t hesitate to write.

Sincerely,

Hugh Hoagland
ArcWear.com

13113 Eastpoint Park Blvd. Suite E

Louisville, KY 40223

PH: 502-314-7158

hugh@arcwear.com

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Probable Arc Flash Boston, MA NStar Workers. Two workers allegedly injured.

Hugh Hoagland — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 22:28:09 +0000

"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 includes Electrical hazards in citation of NC & GA contractors for fall from water tower in NH

Hugh Hoagland — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:06:13 +0000

"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."

Navy seaman dies from electrocution. NFPA 70E Training not legally for ships but can guide.

Hugh Hoagland — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:33:44 +0000

"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. "

OSHA cites Cranesville Block Co. for chemical & electrical hazards at Kingston, NY, plant. Fines $45K.

Hugh Hoagland — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:11:37 +0000

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 thing but not overdo. Tough to balance those goals. We find companies audit have much better compliance than those who do not do so.

Click here to read the OSHA press release.

Click here to sign up to receive the White Paper on Training, Auditing and Safety Compliance.

Poletop Electrocution in Nigeria Totally Avoidable

Hugh Hoagland — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 02:16:27 +0000

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. Ignition of clothing is a common contributor to fatalities in which medium voltage shocks occur.

Proper training, use of insulated coverup and insulating rubber gloves are real life savers. We have a Nigerian Engineer attending our Arc Flash Training, Train the Trainer to begin using the e-Hazard electrical and arc flash safety training materials in Nigeria in April 2010.

Public education helps too.

Read the Story in Leadership Nigeria.

Probable arc flash incident ConEd in Brooklyn. Two reportedly injured

Hugh Hoagland — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 01:38:31 +0000

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 like serious burns but often turns out NOT to be. The clothing they wear is an 88/12 Arc-Rated cotton/nylon blend which might look very charred yet allow no burn on the worker. ConEd also uses in some instances Arc Flash Protective Blankets compliant with ASTM F2676. They have done most of the research on how to use these blankets and the ASTM F2676 Testing is performed by ArcWear.com.

As a utility they fall under the NESC-2007 and OSHA 1910.269.

Hope these guys are OK.

Click here to read the Fox News Story.

Electrocutions Still Lead Deaths At Work Article in British Medical Journal

Hugh Hoagland — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:51:07 +0000

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 from shocks.

Good statistics from the Brits.

Click here to see the page to link from to sign up and get the article and others.