Arc Flash Training: 2021 Changes To NFPA 70E

Electrical Safety Specialists offers arc flash training in Kansas City and across the United States. Our introductory course covers the complex standards and regulations per OSHA and NFPA 70E, and the latest in OSHA’s enforcement direction of arc flash training. Although OSHA doesn’t enforce NFPA 70E, the agency can use the standard to support violations by showing that a hazard is recognized and a suitable means of abatement exists.

Every employer whose workers deal with electricity can benefit from staying up to date with NFPA 70E, which is revised every three years. The 2021 edition of NFPA 70E features five major changes.

Article 110

Article 110, titled is the basis of all electrical safety related work practices. This article contains a new subsection – 110.5(K) – which mandates employers’ electrical safety programs to “include an electrically safe work condition policy.”

Capacitors

Article 360, titled “Safety-Related Requirements for Capacitors,” puts additional emphasis on these energy storage devices. Capacitors have always been included, but they now have their own article. The article contains measures to keep workers safe, perform an arc flash risk assessment, and establish an electrically safe work condition for a capacitor.

Energy Threshold

Section 350.9 changes energy thresholds for electrical equipment and systems in laboratories to 50 volts and 5 milliamperes for alternating current or 100 volts and 40 milliamperes for direct current unless proper controls are put into place.

Arc Flash Hazards

The 2021 edition of NFPA 70E includes a revised Table 130.5(C), designed to be utilized in estimating the likelihood of an arc flash incident. The table consists of over 30 tasks to assess arc flash likelihood.

Hazardous Work

Two sections of Article 130, “Work Involving Electrical Hazards” – 130.1: General and 130.2: Energized Electrical Work Permit – have been revised to include information moved from other sections of NFPA 70E. They now incorporate details focused on safety-related work practices, assessments, procedures, and precautions where an electrically safe work condition can’t be instituted, as well as the elements and exceptions of work permits.

Arc Flash Training From ESS

Our trainers are Certified Electrical Safety Compliance Professionals (CESCP), certified to ensure they can provide the highest quality arc flash training possible. Our team of safety experts will help you identify a training program that suits your team’s needs, specific to the various tasks and job requirements of the different individuals in your facilities.

For more information on nationwide arc flash training from ESS, call (816) 925-0443. To request a quote, click here.