Sometimes, a facility’s safety policy specifies a minimum level of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for everyone who works on energized equipment, regardless of how low the calculated incident energy may be.
As such, arc flash hazard labels that would normally be PPE #0 must be created as PPE #1. The quickest, easiest way to accomplish this is to simply edit the PPE levels table in your device library within EasyPower. Continue reading
Below are a few questions our tech support team often answer, related to conducting arc flash analysis with EasyPower.
What’s the minimum level of data I need to perform my Arc Flash Hazard Analysis?
As many of you know, NFPA 70E 2012 was released in early September. One of the new additions to the 2012 revision are arc flash equations for DC systems.
In order to calculate DC arc flash hazards, we are developing DC rectifiers and DC/AC inverters for EasyPower. This will allow us to model both rectifiers for loads, as well as photo voltaic (PV) generation. Our engineers have performed extensive computer simulations based on actual field data to develop the models, resulting in a 78-page internal document, verifying how inverters and rectifiers act to DC and AC faults.
Proper safety precautions should assume all mechanical devices have failed to operate properly until proper operation is verified.
The following information is a good example of why safety procedures are so important for even simple tasks like opening and closing switches and breakers. The Square D, HVL switch, in some cases, may not properly open all blades even though the mechanism is operated properly and appears to be in the “open” position. As indicated on the Square-D HVL warning label, you should verify that all blades are cleared before proceeding with any work. The HVL switch design may go back several years, but the warning labels appear to be relatively recent.
We’ve been busy designing and writing new code with the most advanced features on the market … and making videos about them.
Code, for example, that changed the whole graphical interface of EasyPower; we added a super intuitive ribbon interface, serving up only the tools you need when you need them. And new multiple one-line diagrams make the creation of complete electrical document sets a snap.
Plus, we’ve been busy making videos, like the one below, and posting them to our new YouTube channel so you can see EasyPower’s super-charged features in action.
Stay tuned for more posts and videos coming soon.
Watch Other Videos Here and Subscribe to Our Channel
With industry adopting NFPA 70E, and Canada’s Z462 as the consensus electrical safety standard, North American facilities and many of their counterparts worldwide are performing arc flash hazard studies to label their electrical equipment for safety. The requirement for arc flash hazard labeling is found in the National Electrical Code, Article 110.16 for new equipment, NFPA 70E-2009 Article 130.3(C) for existing equipment, and OSHA 1910.335(b)(1) for general safety hazards.
Welcome to the ESA, EasyPower blog. The purpose of this blog is to keep you informed about current arc flash events in industry, NFPA 70E safety issues, questions from users, and of course tips on EasyPower. We look forward to your feedback and input.
