Ground Rules by John Cadick: Industry organizations & societies (Part 3)

Source: Cadick Corporation

By John Cadick, P.E., Cadick Corporation

I'll return to the industry organizations coverage next week. This week I want to cover a couple of items that both relate to electrical safety. I don't believe that we can ever overemphasize safety.

Electrical Safety Workshop 2001
Sponsored jointly by the Safety Sub-committee of the Petroleum and Chemical Industry Committee and the Maintenance, Operation and Safety Sub-Committee of the Power Systems Engineering Committee, this workshop is the premier gathering of electrical safety professionals.

The Industry Applications Society (IAS) of the IEEE deals with all of the electrical technologies of spe-cific interest to worldwide industrial and commercial facilities. For example, the IAS is responsible for the publication of the classic "Color Book" series of electrical engineering standards. The IAS contains many different committees including the two that sponsor the annual Electrical Safety Workshop. The IAS organization manual describes the two sponsoring committees as follows:

    The Power Systems Engineering Committee is responsible for the treatment of all matters within the scope of the IAS in which the emphasis or dominant factor specifically relates to the design, equipment application, analysis, installation, grounding, operation and maintenance of safe and reliable power systems, including emergency and standby systems for industrial, and com-mercial, and institutional facilities.

    The Petroleum and Chemical Industry Committee is responsible for all matters within the scope of the IAS in which the emphasis or dominant factor specifically relates to production, manufactur-ing, and transportation of petroleum and chemical products.

Many changes are occurring in the electrical safety arena. For example, research into electrical arc injuries is moving forward at an incredible pace. (See more on electrical arcing later in this column.) But this is only the tip of the iceberg. The Electrical Safety Workshop will be holding its eighth annual meeting in January of 2001.

According to the Workshop's website at www.ieee-pcic.org/safety/20001wksp.htm, the purpose of the gathering is to:

    "...provide a forum for people to meet and exchange ideas for preventing electrical acci-dents and injuries in the workplace."
While Toronto, Canada may seem an unusual choice for a January meeting, I think that attendees will thoroughly enjoy this beautiful city and its friendly people. I have visited there on several occasions and have enjoyed each time.
This year's meeting will cover a variety of topics including:
  • Electrical Safety Standards and Regulations Review
  • Designing for Reduced Exposure and Risk
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Arc Flash Hazard Analysis
  • Auditing
  • Hazards in Construction
  • Electrical Industries Research
  • Implementing Electrical Safety Programs
  • Grounding Integrity
  • Accident Case Histories
The people who attend this workshop each year are truly those on the cutting edge of electrical safety research and practice. While the technical papers are of great interest, I have found that the informal discussions provide the best information during the workshop. The opportunity to ask peers about problems and solutions that they have encountered is invaluable in a time when electrical safety concepts are changing so rapidly. Plan now to set aside January 24-26 for a visit to Toronto and a quantum leap in your knowledge of electrical safety.

Flash Hazard Analysis
This issue continues to confuse many people, even with the release of NFPA 70E 2000. Here are the key steps to follow in making certain that your personnel have the required preparation and equipment for electrical flash: (Note that this explanation is not intended to be rigorous, and actual implementation require organization and effort for each individual location.)

  1. Using one of several available methods, calculate the flash boundary for each of the locations where your personnel may be exposed to energized conductors. Generally the flash boundary is the distance at which the worker is exposed to energy levels of approximately1.2 cal/cm2. (See NFPA 70E for more detail.) Any approach closer than this boundary will require the use of flash protection.
  2. To determine the amount type of flash PPE that is required, you use three different methods:
    1. Use the data from your short circuit analysis and coordination study (required for part 1 anyway) to calculate the specific levels of flash energy to which your personnel will be exposed at each work point in your system. Then select protective clothing with ratings sufficient for that energy. While somewhat work intensive, this task is the most precise and will result in the overall best results.
    2. Use tables 3-3.9.1, 3-3.9.2, and 3-3.9.3 from NFPA 70E. This method is less rigorous than 1a and will result in some cases of more clothing than may be required.
    3. Use the simplified method from Part II, Appendix F of NFPA 70E. This is a very simple method, but may also result in more clothing than is strictly required.

Questions? Comments? Send them to editor@electricnet.com.

A registered professional engineer, John Cadick has specialized for three decades in electrical engineering, training, and management. In 1986 he created Cadick Professional Services (forerunner to the present-day Cadick Corporation), a consulting firm in Garland, Texas. His firm specializes in electrical engineering and training, working extensively in the areas of power system design and engineering studies, condition based maintenance programs, and electrical safety. Prior to the creation of Cadick Corporation, John held a number of technical and managerial positions with electric utilities, electrical testing firms, and consulting firms. Mr. Cadick is a widely published author of numerous articles and technical papers. He is the author of the Electrical Safety Handbook as well as Cables and Wiring. His expertise in electrical engineering as well as electrical maintenance and testing coupled with his extensive experience in the electrical power industry makes Mr. Cadick a highly respected and sought after consultant in the industry. (Back to top)