brainfiller wrote:
Have you or anyone you know performed energized work at a location where the prospective incident energy is above 40 cal/cm^2?
Of course, years ago we would not have known whether the prospective incident energy was above or below 40 cal/cm^2 which is why the "No" vote selection also includes "not that I am aware of".
Stories and discussions are always encouraged!
CSA Z462 and NFPA 70E do not restrict work at greather than 40 cal/cm2, users of these Standards need to develop comprehensive Electrical Safety Programs and define their company's policies. We need to balance off incident energy level with potential arc flash blast pressure. Arc flash suits are available up to 140 cal/cm2. We should NOT let ETAP, SKM or Easypower dictate policy with their incorrect default labels and HRC table where they identify greater than 40 cal/cm2 as Dangerous and NO PPE available which is not true.
Again a company should develop a comprehensive Electrical Safety Program and define their policies and take control of the engineering indicident energy analysis studies and TELL the Professional Engineer the label template they want and the target incident energy levels for mitigation after the baseline study is completed. We need to ensure we have the ability to engineer mitigation that is reasonable in cost and technically feasible.
Regards;
Terry Becker
