NFPA 70E: Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace 2012 Edition

NFPA 70E: Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace 2012 Edition addresses electrical safety requirements for employee workplaces that are necessary for the practical safeguarding of employees during activities such as the installation, operation, maintenance and demolition of electric conductors, electric equipment, signaling and communications conductors and equipment and raceways for (1) public and private premises, including buildings, structures, mobile homes, recreational vehicles, and floating buildings; (2) yards, lots, parking lots, carnivals, and industrial substations; (3) installations of conductors and equipment that connect to the supply of electricity; (4) installations used by the electric utility, such as office buildings, warehouses, garages, machine shops, and recreational buildings, that are not an integral part of a generating plant, substation, or control center.

Workplace safety in the United States is evolving due to better awareness and implementation of NFPA 70E: Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace. Yet hundreds of deaths and thousands of disabling injuries still occur each year due to shock, electrocution, arc flash and arc blast. NFPA 70E: Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace 2012 Edition responds to the challenges, making it easier to ensure an electrically safe working area and comply with OSHA 1910 Subpart S and OSHA 1926 Subpart K.

Originally developed at OSHA's request, NFPA 70E: Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace 2012 Edition responds to new information about the effects of arc flash, arc blast and direct current (dc) hazards, as well as recent developments in electrical design and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Coverage of direct current hazards is the first of its kind in the US.

The rising demand for alternative energy systems such as photovoltaic and wind power present greater dc shock and arc flash hazard exposures to workers. To protect personnel, NFPA 70E: Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace 2012 Edition includes a new shock protection boundary, hazard/risk table and incident energy calculation for direct current systems. Revised Article 320 focuses on safe work practices for stationary batteries and battery rooms, such as those used by alternative energy systems. Training and audit-related revisions impact your company's electrical safety program. NFPA 70E: Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace 2012 Edition explains when the energized work permit (EWP) is required and what it should contain; requires emergency procedure instruction on AEDs (Automatic External Defibrillators), adds a new three-year maximum interval for employee training and documentation of content, and more. This edition also contains new information about implementing NFPA 70E within the framework of ANSI/AIHA Z10 and other health and safety management standards.

• Make hazard/risk assessments and select proper PPE.
• Revised requirements delineate the essential difference between "risk assessment" and "hazard identification." Supporting information is in revised Annex F.
• Hazard/risk tables are expanded to include electrical system characteristics and arc-flash protection boundaries.
• The 2* designation has been eliminated to clarify that all H/R Category 2 tasks require full-head PPE.
• Change on "layering" for a combined arc-rating permits the use of arc-rated garments only.
• Clarified text for arc flash hazard warning labels.

Softcover.