While electricity is essential for manufacturing, it can be a serious hazard and a costly burden if specific regulations are neglected. May is Electrical Safety Month, a month dedicated to promoting safety education and awareness to reduce the number of electrical accidents. One of the most common accidents in the manufacturing industry is arc flash.
“Injuries due to arc flash are common but are avoidable if the correct steps are taken,” says Bryan Scahill, CBT’s director of business development for Electrical Supplies.
An arc flash is a phenomenon where a flashover of electric current leaves its intended path and travels through the air from one conductor to another or the ground. An arc flash can cause severe burns, hearing loss, eye injuries, lung damage, and sometimes fatal. According to the Workplace Safety Awareness Council, there are about 30,000 arc flash events and 7,000 burn injuries annually in the United States. Arc flashes can significantly impact personnel and business, but explosions are entirely preventable.
The first step in preventing arc flash is to sign up for an arc flash study, which is an analysis of your overall facility to determine possible violations, hazards, and non-compliance for electrical equipment.
“It’s very time-consuming but equally as important. You take a tour of the factory floor and inspect various elements. Look inside all the electrical cabinets. You must know any cable lengths; you must know transformer sizes and motor sizes. A substantial amount of documentation is involved, but it’s worth it solely for the wellbeing of everyone in the plant,” Scahill explains.
During the arc flash study, electrical equipment, such as transformers, is properly labeled with information, including safe working distance, recommended personal protection equipment (PPE), and warning text that is easy to read. Scahill says. The safety standards are based on the National Fire Protection Association Standards, developed at Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) request.
Training personnel on the proper protocols is an important step, too, especially when it comes to PPE, Scahill adds. Depending on the equipment, a hard hat, gloves, and occasionally long protective sleeves or a flash suit hood may be required when operating on transformers or other electrical equipment. But equipping employees with the proper equipment is one of many precautions plant managers must take.
“There are other steps needed to maximize safety,” Scahill explains. “De-energize the electrical equipment if possible before any maintenance takes place and ensure personnel is operating on the device at a safe distance.”
Scahill says the cost is a large prohibitive factor for why companies may forgo being equipped for arc flash events.
“It is a shared responsibility throughout the whole company,” he says. “It doesn’t fall under one department. The cost is minimal compared to human lives.”
Dealing with the upfront cost will save you from multiple headaches. In 2022, OSHA cited over $330,000 in fines for non-compliance after a fatal arc flash incident in Boston.
“Think of an arc flash safety study as having insurance. It is a safety net and you’re protecting lives in the process,” Scahill added.
Ready to conduct an arc flash safety analysis? Contact a CBT Specialist today.
