Intelligent Power Today Magazine

Reduce the risk of arc flash hazards with CSA Z462

BY ROBERT BURGESS, Lineman’s Testing Laboratories

Safe electrical maintenance practices and on-going personnel training can minimize the likelihood of electrical injuries and fatalities due to electrical shock, electrocution, arc flash and arc blast. At risk are employees who work on or near exposed energized electrical conductors or circuit parts including electrical maintenance personnel, operators, troubleshooters, electricians, linemen, supervisors, site safety personnel or anyone exposed to energized equipment of 50 volts or more. The majority of hospital admissions following electrical accidents are due to arc flash burns, not
electrical shock...

While the threat of shock and electrocution from inadvertent contact with energized parts has long been recognized, the arc flash and arc blast hazards have only fairly recently been incorporated into the electrical safety standards.

The U.S. federal agency the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enforces electrical workplace safety standards outlined in the National Fire Protection Association’s NFPA 70E: “Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace”. Basic compliance with guidelines in the NFPA 70E 2015 Edition, can be established with a five-step process.