Weekly Informational and Training Webinars

• Presented by Jim Chastain, Support Engineer at EasyPower
• Completed - Watch Video Now

Description - During this Tuesday Refresher, given by Jim Chastain at EasyPower, we approach the topic reducing the cost of doing an arc flash study from two perspectives. The first is a follow up of last month’s discussion on low voltage elements. The second approach explores justification for ‘group classification’ to reduce the need to collect specific data on EVERY 480 volt panel. You want to attend this refresher!

• Presented by Jim Chastain, Support Engineer at EasyPower
• Completed - Watch Video Now

Description - This Tuesday Refresher, presented by Jim Chastain, uses specific examples to show how to set up relays, fuses and breakers specifically for transformer and switchgear protection. The discussion illustrates recommended guidelines from the applicable standards and standard industry practice. 

• Presented by Jim Chastain, Support Engineer at EasyPower
• Completed - Watch Video Now

Description - This refresher, presented by Jim Chastain at EasyPower, is the first session in a two-part series and covers the first half of the list of common errors encountered when conducting an arc flash study. Some are beginner mistakes, others occur even with experienced qualified personnel doing the study. This Refresher is a good place to sharpen your arc flash study skills.

• Presented by Jim Chastain, Support Engineer at EasyPower
• Completed - Watch Video Now

Description - This refresher, presented by Jim Chastain at EasyPower, is the second session in a two-part series and covers the last half of the list of common errors in arc flash, that was started in Part 1. Most if not all of the list are discussed during a typical PowerStart session which EasyPower will provide when new customers first purchase the tool. See if any of these mistakes afflict your study results.

• Presented by Jim Chastain, Support Engineer at EasyPower
• Completed - Watch Video Now

Description - We kick of the first part of a 4-week series on how to meet NFPA compliance and control costs with a discussion of safety related to arc flash hazards and the evolution of regulator standards in the 15 years since their introduction. This will be similar to the prior instances of this presentation, but updated to include changes to the IEEE 1584-2018 standard.

• Presented by Jim Chastain, Support Engineer at EasyPower
• Completed - Watch Video Now

Description - Of the overall time involved in an Arc Flash study,  data collection can be the most costly if not properly planned. Eliminating the need for repeated trips to the site and avoiding excessive delays and cost is the focus for this presentation. Second in the Arc Flash Risk Assessment series, this presentation emphasizes the benefits that can be recognized both in cost reduction and employee education when facilities maintenance teams are part of the process. This will be similar to the prior instances of this presentation, but updated to include changes to data collection, which are many, as dictated by new calculation parameters in the IEEE 1584-2018 standard.

• Presented by Jim Chastain, Support Engineer at EasyPower
• GoToMeeting info - Register Now
• Webinar starts at 8:00am PST

Description - The third installment of this series focuses on the use of the EasyPower Arc Flash Suite #2 to construct the one-line model from the collected data and then proceeds to the initial steps required to calculated arc flash incident energies. Industry standards describing the use of the IEEE-1584 model are detailed and examples provided. This will be similar to the prior instances of this presentation, but updated to include changes in EasyPower to reflect those made to the IEEE 1584-2018 standard.

• Presented by Jim Chastain, Support Engineer at EasyPower
• GoToMeeting info - Register Now
• Webinar starts at 8:00am PST

Description - This last installment in the Arc Flash Risk Assessment series will highlight the EasyPower tools utilities which facilitate compliance with the requirements of NFPA-70E. Included in the presentation is the ability to print and export reports, customize the report layout, customize label content, and printing. In addition, the EasyPower label editor permits the use of QR codes to extend the information available to anyone able to scan the equipment label.

• Presented by Jim Chastain, Support Engineer at EasyPower
• GoToMeeting info - Register Now
• Webinar starts at 8:00am PST

Description - This Tuesday Refresher session, presented by EasyPower apps engineer Jim Chastain, will cover recommended procedures to use EasyPower PowerProtector features to properly set ground fault protection with relays or LVPCB devices. The discussion will cover protection schemes for solidly grounded and resistor grounded systems.

• Presented by Jim Chastin an EasyPower Support Engineer
• Completed - Watch Video Now

Description - The growth in electric power consumption during the last two decades has imposed significant strain on an aging power grid in the US. In an effort to encourage more efficient use of the infrastructure, utilties are starting to assess a power factor demand penalty if large customers exceeded a given power factor limit. Power factor correction was the prescription often suggested. Today companies are choosing electronic motor control systems, incorporating digital frequency conversion, that are becoming the ‘go to’ solution to improve energy consumption. The result can mean that many industrial facilities, built even 15 years ago, are seeing harmonic frequencies which were not part of the original design specification. In this webinar, Jim Chastain will demonstrate the use of the Spectrum Module, the EasyPower harmonics tool, to analyze both system harmonic generation and areas of the plant which could be sensitive to those frequencies.

• Presented by Mark Mollison at Predictive Service
• Completed - Watch Video Now

Description - In this webinar, given by Mark Mollison at Predictive Service, an overview is provided of arc flash and electrical safety. Attendees will learn the OSHA and NFPA 70E requirements for workers and the workplace. Ralph starts with an overview of what arc flash is and who is affected by arc flash and electrical safety. He covers a number of topics regarding compliance including what drives compliance and his approach to it.

• Presented by Jim Phillips, founder of BrainFiller.com and ArcFlashForum.com and also Vice-Chair of IEEE 1584
• Completed - Watch Video Now

Description - In this webinar, given by Jim Phillips, founder of BrainFiller.com, ArcFlashForum.com and also Vice-Chair of IEEE 1584 and International Chair of IEC TC78, Jim takes you through the long history of what it took to develop the next edition including establishing a collaboration between IEEE and NFPA, creating a project team for the almost 2000 new arc flash tests, model and equation development and more. He then discusses the major changes, why they were made and what they mean. The changes include equations for five different electrode configurations, more choices for enclosure sizes, an enclosure correction factor calculation to adjust for specific enclosure sizes, and the grounded vs. ungrounded difference has been eliminated. Note - with Jim's permission, we are replaying this video which he recorded earlier for his own customers.

• Presented by David Durocher, Global Industry Manager of Eaton Corp
• Completed - Watch Video Now

Description - In this webinar, given by David Durocher, Global Industry Manager of Eaton Corp, Dave takes you through recent changes in industry standards related to arc flash. These include the soon to be released Second Edition of the IEEE1584 “Guide for Performing Arc Flash Calculations”, NFPA70E-2018 “Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace”, the National Electrical Code Article 240.87 and ANSI/IEEE C37.20.7-2017 “Guide for Testing Metal-Enclosed Switchgear Rated Up to 38kV for Internal Arcing Faults”. The session will conclude with a case study outlining one industrial plant that recently installed an innovative solution to reduce arc flash exposure for workers withdrawing vacuum circuit breakers from 1980’s vintage 5kV switchgear during lockout/tagout procedures prior to performing routine maintenance.

• Presented by Lee Marchessault at Workplace Safety Solutions
• Completed - Watch Video Now

Description - This presentation, given by Lee Marchessault at Workplace Safety Solutions, covers the new NFPA 70E emphasis placed on maintenance requirements of facility electrical infrastructures and how this impacts arc flash hazards. The discussion is based on NFPA 70E Electrical Safety Program requirements. Also discussed are case studies of high civil penalties in litigation cases related to lack of maintenance where injuries and/or significant equipment damage result. Attendees will walk away with knowledge of arc flash hazards and how they may be accurately determined by ensuring breakers operate as designed and also mitigation techniques as it relates to electrical equipment such as lowing trip times, increasing main transformer impedance, or installing remote devices. Some knowledge of NFPA 70E is suggested. 

Bio - Lee Marchessault, CUSA, CUSP, is the current President of Workplace Safety Solutions, Inc. Lee started his career in the Electric Industry in 1978 at hydro power station, then worked up to Meter Specialist, then a substation maintenance Electrician 1st class. After nearly 20 years in the field, he became the Safety Manager for the power company. Lee is a licensed Electrician and has a BS from Johnson State College. Now, a safety consultant, he specializes in Electrical Safety. He is an instructor for the OSHA Training Institute Regions 1, 2, and 8 responsible for electrical standards programs. Lee has written numerous articles in national publications and continues to present electrical safety topics for International venues. He is on the Electrical Committee for NFPA, ASTM F18 Committee, and an active member with other organizations including ASSP, USOLN, NEPPA, and NSC Utilities Division.

• Presented by Greg Pagello at EasyPower
• Completed - Watch Video Now

Description - This webinar, given by Greg Pagello at EasyPower, is an introduction to changes in the new IEEE 1584-2018 Guide for Performing Arc Flash Hazard Calculations recently, approved by the IEEE Standards Association. Following publication, this second edition of the widely adopted industry standard includes an entirely new arc flash model with revised procedures and calculations to predict arc flash hazard levels. The focus of this webinar is on major changes to the standard and their implementation in EasyPower.

• Presented by Adams Baker and Christopher Conners, both of Eaton Corp
• GoToMeeting info - Register Now
• Webinar starts at 10:00am PST

Description - In this Thursday webinar the presenters, Adam Baker and Christopher Conners, both of Eaton, go over the advantages of using arc quenching switchgear in the protection of personnel, switchgear and process uptime. This specialized equipment reduces incident energy to a level where the switchgear will survive an arc flash event, while providing enhanced safety and minimal equipment downtime.

• Presented by Joe Richard at Schneider Electric
• GoToMeeting info - Register Now
• Webinar starts at 10:00am PST

Description - Traditional medium voltage circuit breaker switchgear was largely developed in the 1970s and has experienced limited and minor changes since its original conception. In order to address modern needs, the industry can look to new designs of medium voltage switchgear. This webinar, given by Joe Richard at Schneider Electric, discusses how the new features of solid insulated and gas insulated switchgear can help solve safety, maintenance, and footprint complications with contemporary designs. In order to implement these modern switchgear designs it is important to understand the architectural and application differences between traditional switchgear and the new generation of medium voltage switchgear.

• Presented by Ryan Bergeron at ABB, IEEE Senior Member
• GoToMeeting info - Register Now
• Webinar starts at 10:00am PST

Description - Understanding how to apply, model, and evaluate various arc flash reduction strategies is an important skill.  Proper modeling and evaluation of the results are key components to selecting appropriate arc flash reduction techniques and selecting the setting(s) to optimize application method(s). This webinar, presented by Ryan Bergeron at ABB, IEEE Senior Member, will provide you with an understanding of how to model two of the methods cited in the new NEC 2017 Article 240.67 for Fuses 1200A or higher – (B) 0.07 seconds or less at the available arcing current and (B)(2) Maintenance Switching – for a low voltage system, using EasyPower® analysis software with the new equations contained in the IEEE 1584-2018 IEEE Guide for Performing Arc-Flash Hazard Calculations.