You might find this week’s post somewhat shocking!
One of the survey findings that I’ve noted as trending towards a standard “gotcha” (primarily during state surveys) relates to the topic of arc flash safety and, most particularly, to the labeling of your electrical panels. Generally speaking, much of this stuff is covered by NFPA 70E-2012 Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace, with the labeling requirements (section 130.5 (C)) being: “electrical equipment such as switchboards, panelboards, industrial control panels, meter socket enclosures, and motor control centers that are in other than dwelling units, and are likely to require examination, adjustment, servicing, or maintenance while energized” to be field marked with a label containing all the following information: (1) at least one of the following: a. Available incident energy and the corresponding working distance; b. minimum arc rating of clothing; c. required level of PPE; d. highest hazard/risk category (HRC) for the equipment; (2) nominal system voltage; (3) Arc flash boundary. NFPA 70E also requires the method of calculating and data to support the information on the label to be documented.
I know we tend to focus on hospital-specific safety concerns in this forum, but findings relating to the absence of arc flash safety labeling have surfaced enough (at least to my mind) to make it worth a mention. Part of my concern in this regard is that I see a fair number of electrical panels, etc., for which there is no arc flash safety labeling and, as near as I can tell, there appear to be no provisions for “grandfathering” existing non-compliant conditions. So you may want to take a look at your electrical panels and any other energized equipment that are “likely to require examination, adjustment, servicing, or maintenance while energized.”
And, while we’re on the subject, EC & M has a very nicely crafted presentation on arc flash safety and compliance; you’ll probably have to pony up an e-mail contact in exchange for a viewing, but I found the content to be fairly illuminating (and yes, that was a pretty gosh-darn hideous pun). Visit their site to find this info (and some other stuff as well).
About the Author: Steve MacArthur is a safety consultant with The Greeley Company in Danvers, Mass. He brings more than 30 years of healthcare management and consulting experience to his work with hospitals, physician offices, and ambulatory care facilities across the country. He is also a contributing editor for Healthcare Safety Leader. Contact Steve at stevemacsafetyspace@gmail.com.