In 2012, a new update has been issued by the National Fire Protection Association standard 70E. This standard is responsibility of the NFPA’s Committee on Electrical Safety in the Workplace. Article 130 details to Arc Flash. The first major change is that the word “protection” is taken out of the statement “arc Flash protection boundary”. This, to be clear, does not mean that staying out outside the boundary does not eliminate but only limits possible injury. The next is obvious in practice but has not been specified, PPE Equipment should be used in any Arc Flash potential situation and not just when an analysis has been made.
The labeling requirements detailed in NFPA standard 70E Sect 130.3 (C) are changing to the following, “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 shall 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 for the equipment; (2) Nominal system voltage; (3) Arc flash boundary.
With all of this said, the new NFPA Standard 70E can be daunting, fortunately, The Tech Products, Inc. art department has been going to seminar’s to understand how this affects our customers. Tech Products, Inc. can help your company design an Arc Flash label that will work for you and meet all of the newest standards.
Please contact your local distributor, UPSC or call us direct at 800-221-1311 and our account manager’s will be able to answer any of your questions.