Quarterly eNewsletter

Issue 5

 

NFPA 70E: Changes Made with Your Safety in Mind

The 2012 edition of NFPA 70E, the Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace®, is now published and should be accessed by anyone who works near electricity. This standard, which is updated every three years, is an all-encompassing resource that explains in detail the steps that should be taken to ensure electrical workers can do their jobs without getting hurt or killed, and also addresses how to how to deal with electrical hazards as safely as possible while on the job.

At a hefty 103 pages, the new NFPA 70E is not a “light read” by any stretch of the imagination. While there are many articles available on the Internet and in print that provide overviews of the new standard, one of the best is an article titled “Significant Changes to 2012 NFPA 70E,” which was published in the winter edition of NETAWorld Journal.


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Coordination Study: Blending Safety and System Reliability through Equipment Adjustments, Modifications and Upgrades

Third in a four-part series on Arc Flash Mitigation

Thus far in our series on arc flash mitigation, we have emphasized that the ultimate goal is to ensure the safety of personnel who work in and around an electrical system, and that the system itself performs to the highest degree of reliability. Remote racking is essential to keeping workers at a safe distance from potential flash zones, and arc flash studies ensure personnel know the hazards to comply with OSHA. Such compliance is one thing; knowing that your system can adequately contain a failure event is another.

Electrical systems use fuses and circuit breakers to protect conductors, transformers, motors, and other components. Make no mistake: it’s not a matter of if a failure will occur—it’s a matter of when. Regardless of what precipitates the failure—aging equipment, force majeure, or even operator error—the resulting short circuit can be devastating, including injury to personnel, damage to electrical equipment, and costly downtime. You need to have confidence that the system has the capacity to isolate the event to affect only that portion of the system where the failure occurs.


Coordination Study: Blending Safety and System Reliability through Equipment Adjustments, Modifications and Upgrades

NETA-Accredited Companies Setting Industry Standards

The vision of the InterNational Electrical Testing Association (NETA) is to set the global standard for electrical power system testing through its technical competence, world-class programs, and consensus standards. With a relentless pursuit of safety compliance, accreditation of companies, certification of personnel, and a perpetual focus on training and education, NETA assures that safety, quality, and system reliability are basic foundations of any electrical infrastructure.

As a NETA-accredited company, National Field Services (NFS) is committed to advancing the industry’s standards for power system installation and maintenance to ensure the highest level of reliability and safety. That commitment is also reflected in NFS’ participation in the NETA Certification Level 4 question writing workshop, the number of NFS technicians who are NETA certified, and the company’s participation in the recent PowerTest 2012 conference in Fort Worth, Texas.