Competency in Arc Flash Protection

Overview

Key Facts 

Electrical safety is a critical issue for those working on electrical facilities in utility networks and large industrial installations. Several serious accidents, including fatalities, occur every. Arc flashes in electrical equipment are now considered one of the major causes of electrical accidents — even surpassing the well-known hazards of electric shock. 

Avoiding arc flash incidents and the resulting injuries is one of the biggest challenges facing electrical workers. It requires adequate attention in the stages of system planning, design, installation, operation, and maintenance. Today, a considerable body of knowledge exists as a result of research efforts, and is available to designers and maintenance engineers in the form of standards such as IEEE 1584 and NFPA 70E.

This Competency in Arc Flash Protection  course from the Engineering Institute of Technology  will detail the basis of this approach, and also the significant advances that have been made in the area of Personal Protective Equipment made of Fire Resistant fabrics and rated for different levels of thermal exposure.

Prevention, however, remains the best form of protection, and switchgear manufacturers have made considerable design advances to ensure that the effect of arc flash incidents is contained within the enclosure of switchgear (often called arc flash resistant switchgear). Methods of testing such switchgear have also evolved simultaneously.

Another critical factor is the approach to avoid arc incidents within the switchgear by proper design and maintenance and techniques to reduce the severity of the flash should such incidents occur. These will form the key focus areas of this course.