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Arc Flash Compliance

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) field inspectors refer to NFPA 70E and the National Electric Code (NEC) 2002 to determine compliance with safety procedures related to arc flash. To comply, companies must provide the following:

• A well-documented, comprehensive safety program
• Arc flash calculations showing the amount of energy available
• Personal protective equipment (PPE) for all maintenance personnel or people who might be subject to an arc flash
• Training for workers
• Proper tools for safe work
• Flash hazard labels on equipment

In the next NFPA 70E and NEC revisions, it is expected that labels will be required to include the equipment’s flash protection boundary, incident energy level, and required PPE. Incident energy is the amount of energy an arc flash can produce, while flash protection boundary is an imaginary sphere that surrounds a potential arc point within which a person could receive a second-degree burn if an arc flash were to occur.

What Can Be Done to Meet the Requirements?

In order to comply with OSHA regulations, companies have to perform an arc flash analysis before work is performed on energized equipment. Arc flash analysis determines the incident energy, necessary PPE, and the arc flash boundary. L&S Electric can perform this analysis, provide recommendations, help with understanding the regulations, and provide labels for tested equipment with all required information, including safe approach distances.