1. “Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace”
NFPA 70E ARC FLASH
“Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace”
2009 to 2012
Standards Review
Listed on Page 3 of 2012 Edition – 19 Significant Changes
Discussion of historical development of Electrical Safe Work Practices from 1969 OSHA

2. OSHA does not reference 70E - ARC FLASH
70E Development History
Evolution
OSHA “Electrical Safe Work Practices”
1/7/76 NFPA – established “electrical standards development committee”
OSHA 6(b) process
1979 first edition published as 1 Part; ‘81-2 Parts; ‘83 – 3 Parts
2004 (seventh edition) – name and format changed to present
OSHA does not reference 70E - ARC FLASH
Present Format is exactly like NFPA 70 the NEC
OSHA “incorporated by reference” to establish the electrical standard. Initially the 1968 NEC and then the 1971 editions were “incorporated” . It was then recognized that the 6b process would be required to revise OSHA.
Asst. Secretary of Labor asked NFPA to address and develop a standard for worker safety.

3. OSHA and NFPA 70E 1910.137 PPE design 1910.269 Generation; T&D
Subpart S – equipment design and use
– “Electrical Safe Work Practices” – action of “Incorporated by Reference”
– Training requirement – the Qualified/ Unqualified person
– De-energization, Lock out/Tag out,
Distance requirements, INFEASABLE (70E – Section a)
– Testing, Tools, cords, operating switches
– PPE, Signs, Barricades
– Definitions
Subpart “S” Construction Standard
OSHA does not address Arc Flash. It only discusses electrical shock hazard.
In 1991 OSHA did begin referencing “shock and other electrical hazards” in the standards.
Lock out/ Tag out has been and continues to be the foundation of electrical safety
Classification of Hazard Locations – Class 1 Div 1 – Class 3 Div 2

4. OSHA Construction 1926 Subpart K -- Electrical General
  Introduction   [Reserved] INSTALLATION SAFETY REQUIREMENTS   Applicability   General requirements   Wiring design and protection   Wiring methods, components, and equipment for general use   Specific purpose equipment and installations   Hazardous (classified) locations   Special systems   [Reserved]
All this is a discussion of construction and maintenance requirements not directed to action necessary to protect workers. More closely associated with NEC than NFPA 70E

5. OSHA Construction - Continued 1926
SAFETY-RELATED WORK PRACTICES   General requirements   Lockout and tagging of circuits   [Reserved]
SAFETY-RELATED MAINTENANCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS   Maintenance of equipment   Environmental deterioration of equipment   [Reserved]
SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIAL EQUIPMENT   Battery locations and battery charging   [Reserved]
  Definitions applicable to this subpart.
Again, construction and maintenance of electrical systems. Not specifically addressing the methods to keep workers safe from exposure.

6. Favorite Item 1910.333(a)(1) and NFPA 70E Section 130.2(a)
"Deenergized parts." Live parts to which an employee may be exposed shall be deenergized before the employee works on or near them, unless the employer can demonstrate that deenergizing introduces additional or increased hazards or is infeasible due to equipment design or operational limitations. Live parts that operate at less than 50 volts to ground need not be deenergized if there will be no increased exposure to electrical burns or to explosion due to electric arcs.
Note 1: Examples of increased or additional hazards include interruption of life support equipment, deactivation of emergency alarm systems, shutdown of hazardous location ventilation equipment, or removal of illumination for an area.
Note 2: Examples of work that may be performed on or near energized circuit parts because of infeasibility due to equipment design or operational limitations include testing of electric circuits that can only be performed with the circuit energized and work on circuits that form an integral part of a continuous industrial process in a chemical plant that would otherwise need to be completely shut down in order to permit work on one circuit or piece of equipment.
Lock out tag out is the best method to protect from Arc Flash.
Note 1 – “additional hazards”
Note 2 – “infeasable”

7. 70 E Format Article 90 – Introduction
Chapter 1 – Safety Related Work Practices
Chapter 2 – Safety-Related Maintenance Requirements
Chapter 3 – Safety Requirements for Special Equipment
Annex’s A – P
The format for the 2012 Standard was adopted with the 2004 Seventh Edition formatted to correspond with NFPA 70 the NEC.
The Annex’s ( Appendices) provide information and examples supplemental to the Standard

8. E Changes
There are 19 Major revisions to Article 90 and Chapter 1.
Major revisions to Article 320 “Safety Requirements Related to Batteries and Battery Rooms
Chapter 2 and 3 revisions are primarily for clarification and editorial purposes
Annex’s D,F,H, J and O received substantial changes
Annex P is new – Aligning 70E implementation with Safety Management standards
19 Major “Significant” revisions listed on page 3 of the 2012 Standard.
Direct Current - First time inclusion of discussion and Arc Flash requirement for batteries (Direct Current)
Annexes – D - pg. 63 “Incident Energy and Arc Flash Boundary Calculation Methods” ;
F – pg. 73 “Hazard Analysis, Risk Estimation, and Risk Evaluation Procedure”;
H – pg. 83 “Guidance on Selection of Protective Clothing and other Personal Protective Equipment” J - pg. 89 “Energized Electrical Work Permit”
O – pg. 97 “Safety Related Design Requirements”
Annex P represents the formal notice to Standardize

9. Chapter 1 Changes 70E Scope had been revised to align with NEC.
Definitions of terms not used in the standard have been deleted.
“Flame Resistant (FR)” has been changed to “arc-rated (AR) in regard to PPE.
New Article 105, “Application of Safety Related Work Practices” with requirements formerly included in Article 110 that apply throughout Chapter 1 has been added.
3 year intervals for employee retraining and for electrical safety program auditing have been included
Work practices requirements on use of GFCI’s to protect employees has been added
Former “Working While Exposed to Electrical Hazards”, has been moved to 130.3
Article 90 - pg. 7
Article definitions (paragraphs) eliminated;
FR to AR; No more Flame Resistant (FR) now it is (AR) Arc Rated
Pg.14 new Article 105 stating “Application” pg. 14
Pg. 15 Employee Training – Risk Assessment – Annex F; Job Briefing required; 110. D. 3 “retraining …”
Pg.17
Moved to pg. 23

10. Chapter 1 Changes - Continued
New safety related work practice for underground electrical lines and equipment has been added
Individual qualified employee control procedure has been deleted from Article 120.
Clarification that requirements of Article 130 apply whether energy incident analysis or hazard/ risk table is used to determine use and level of PPE has been provided.
New equipment and information have been added covering use of PPE to protect against arc-flash hazard associated with enclosed electrical equipment
The content of “energized electrical work permit” (EWP) has been revised and its use clarified.
8. pg e “a hold card tagging tool… be permitted”
pg D.1 – 2009
pg General
pg FPN 2&3
pg B ; Energized Electrical Work Permit;

11. Chapter 1 Changes - Continued
New approach boundary and hazard/risk category tables for direct current circuits have been added, as well as information in Annex D on arc flash calculations
A requirement for hearing protection when working within “arc flash boundary” has been added.
Arc-flash protection for hands has been revised to specify “heavy – duty” leather gloves.
Hazard/ risk category tables have been changed to include short-circuit current, fault clearing time and potential arc flash boundary information in each of the major equipment categories instead of in “specific notes” at the end of the table.
pg a ; .b - pg. 25
pg C.5;
pg C.7 a
pg. 33 – H/R Table C.15;

12. Chapter 1 Changes - Continued
2* delineation for certain H/R Category 2 tasks have been deleted.
Former Tables (C) (10) and (C) (11) on PPE selection when hazard/risk category method is used have been combined into a single table
New information requirements to the equipment labeling provisions have been clarified and added, and an exception for existing installations has been added.
2* a “special” designation in 2009 has been deleted
130.7.C.16; pg. 39
130.5.C; pg. 26

13. Chapter 2 Safety-Related Maintenance Requirements
Article Introduction Article General Maintenance Requirements Article Substations, Switchgear Assemblies, Switchboards, Panelboards, Motor Control Centers and Disconnect Switches Article Premises Wiring Article Controller Equipment Article Fuses and Circuit Breakers Article Rotating Equipment Article Hazardous (Classified) Locations Article Batteries and Battery Rooms Article Portable Electric Tools and Equipment Article Personal Safety and Protective Equipment
Begins on Pg. 44 through pg47 – 3 pages

14. Chapter 3 Safety Requirements for Special Equipment
Article Introduction
Article Safety-Related Work Practices for
Electrolytic Cells
Article Safety Requirements Related to Batteries
and Battery Rooms
Article Safety-Related Work Practices for Use of Lasers
Article Safety-Related Work Practices: Power Electronic Equipment
Article Safety-Related Work Requirements: Research and Development Laboratories
Begins on page 48 through page 56 – 8 pages

15. ANNEXs
A - Referenced Publications – part of the 70E requirements B - Informational References – not part of the requirements unless listed in A C - Limits of Approach – visual depiction D - Incident Energy and Arc Flash Boundary Calculation Methods E - Electrical Safety Program F - Hazard Analysis, Risk Estimation and Risk Evaluation Procedure G - Sample Lockout/ Tagout Procedure
Begins on page 57 through page 98 – 41 pages
A. pg 57 - As stated this is a listing of all the referenced publications cited in 70E. Naturally NFPA is listed first. ANSI, ASTM, ICRP, IEC, and IEEE are listed in order. American National Standards Institute American Society for Testing Materials International Commission on Radiological Protection International Electromechanical Commission
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
B. pg.59 - additional references that are not requirements unless listed in A
C. pg Limited / Restricted / Prohibited Approach Boundary depiction
pg as stated
pg 72
F pg. 73—79
G. pg LO/TO typical

16. Annex Continued
H - Guidance on Selection of Protective Clothing and other Personal Protective Equipment I - Job Briefing and Planning Checklist J - Energized Electrical Work Permit K - General Categories of Electrical Hazards L - Typical Application of Safeguards in the Cell Line Working Zone M - Layering of Protective Clothing and Total System Arc Rating N - Example Industrial Procedures and Policies for Working Near Overhead Electrical Lines and Equipment
H – pg.83-87
I – pg. 88
J – pg. 88 – 90
K – pg. 91; Shock, Arc Flash; Arc Blast
L – pg. 92
M – pg.93
N – pg

17. Annex Continued
O - Safety-Related Design Requirements P - Aligning Implementation of This Standard with Occupational Health and Safety Management Standards
O pg. 97
P pg. 98

18. SUMMARY My Personal Favorites
Article 100 Definitions – “Working On”
130.2(a) Infeasable
130.7(C)(15)(a) Hazard/Risk Category Classifications
130.7(c)(9) (a) Layering
Annex C – Limits of Approach
Annex J – Energized Electrical Work Permit
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Pg. 11 Working on
Pg. 22 Infeasable
Pg. 33 Hazard Risk Category Classifications
Pg. 29 Layering
Pg. 61 Limits of Approach
Pg. 89 Energized Electrical Work Permit