Your Incident Energy study is complete, with your bright orange new labels and you bought your PPE and it’s in a locker. Now what? Is it time to turn your attention to more important things now? We’ll assume that your corrective actions have been implemented regarding maintenance and that you’ve thoroughly reviewed – and updated – your electrical safety program. The next step we must take is electrical safety training.
Why is training important?
It’s critical to inform those who are likely to be affected and who might put their team in danger working in a hazardous environment what an arc flash is, what shock is and how it occurs, and what precautions have been taken to reduce or at least minimize the risk of it.
Employees will see the value in the improvements that have been implemented if the reason for them is presented in terms that everyone can comprehend. Clear, with hands-on compennent , and relevant principles with real-world stories. We understand that there’s little point in providing detailed information regarding voltage protection systems to a group of political experts that don’t know what they don’t know.
What are the requirements of NFPA 70E Training?
Employees who are at risk of electrical dangers must be adequately educated about the risks connected with electricity and the safety-related work methods and practices. The tasks an employee is competent to complete are determined by the level of arc flash training they have received. Therefore, individuals who are not specifically ‘Qualified People’ may not work on or near exposed and energized electrical conductors or circuit parts.
The following are the arc flash training requirements:
- Understand the potential risks
- Recognize energized from non-energized parts
- Calculate the voltage of exposed energized electrical conductors
- Understand the link between the hazard and injury
- Avoid the dangers
- Use personal protective equipment (PPE)
- Follow specific work practices and processes
- Know the procedures for assisting those who have been exposed to electricity
- Analyze hazards and risks
- Set flash protection boundaries
In the United States, NFPA 70E’s Article 110.2 specifies electrical safety training requirements for employees working on equipment with an electrical danger. The training requirements introduced by the NFPA are as follows:
“Such employees shall be trained to understand the specific hazards associated with electrical energy. They shall be trained in safety-related work practices and procedural requirements as necessary to provide protection from the electrical hazard associated with their respective job or task assignment. Employees shall be trained to identify and understand the relationship between electrical hazards and electrical shock and possible injury.”
How often should you be trained on arc flash?
Retraining in safety-related job tasks and any needed modifications to this standard are required to be performed no less than every three years. There are times when retraining in electrical hazard safety is needed, even if the last training was less than three years ago.
In one of the following circumstances, an employee will be given further training (or retraining):
- The supervisor’s or annual inspections show that the employee is not following safety-related work procedures.
- New technology, specialized equipment, or altered procedures necessitate the use of safety precautions unfamiliar to the employee.
- Employees must use safety-related work methods not employed in their regular occupation.
If your workers’ actions reveal that they aren’t clear on electrical safety, or if their tasks have changed and they must now work with electrical equipment with which they were previously unfamiliar, they will need to undergo arc flash training. If the electrical equipment in your workplace has been updated or handling instructions have changed, you’ll need to train the affected staff.
Electrical Safety Online Training with Bowtie
Our Bowtie Engineering’s Safety NFPA 70E Online Training program includes a certificate of completion. The new online safety education course is designed to fit around your working schedule and is divided into several sessions that you may complete on different days. Contact us today to get a quote.
Learn more about the course here: www.nfpa70eonlinetraining.com