ARC FLASH HAZARD ANALYSIS (AFHA)
NFPA-70E
You know the statistics involving arc flash, don't you? Some you should know are:
- There are 5-10 arc flash accidents occurring in the United States every day
- More than 2000 people are treated in hospitals with 2nd & 3rd degree burns as a result of an arc flash incident each year
- 1-2 deaths/day from an arc flash incident
- $1.5M average cost of medical treatment
- 8-12 months away from work and possibility of permanent disability
- $8-9M average litigation cost for general industry
Although many companies are just now getting into the "Arc Flash" frenzy, our engineers have been involved in Arc Flash since its inception. In fact, one of our Power PE's actually conducted the first commercial Arc Flash Hazard Analysis study in the United States. We have been conducting AFHA in nearly every industry. An arc flash study is performed to:
- Determine the appropriate PPE requirements for persons working on live equipment by analyzing your power distribution system configuration
- Determine the arc flash boundary distances based on your equipment, protective device settings and cable sizes
- Provide engineered solutions for reducing available short circuit energy and PPE requirements
- Protect workers (employees and contract workers) from the danger of an Arc Flash
- Label affected equipment of potential hazards
- Adopt the NFPA-70E 2004 "Standard for Electrical Safety Requirements for Employee Workplaces" as a Best Practice for electrical safety
NFPA-70E-2004 "Requires facility owners to perform a flash hazard analysis (AFHA) prior to allowing a worker (not just employee) to work on energized equipment."
2005 NEC Article 110.16 states, "Switchboards, panel boards, industrial control panels, and motor control centers that are in other than dwelling occupancies and are likely to require examination, adjustment, servicing or maintenance while energized shall be field marked to warn qualified persons of potential arc flash hazards."
In addition to the above, the affected workers MUST be trained in the Hazards of Arc Flash and that shall be documented in order to become Arc Flash Compliant.
Power Engineering Services
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