Arc Flash & Blast

 

Arc flashes are caused by an electrical equipment failure (like a short circuit) or human error (such as holding a metal object too close to energized equipment). If you have two energized points which are not contacting each other solidly, the current can jump from one point to the other. This is called an electric arc or arc flash.

One-second duration
Unlike a flash fire, an electric arc can begin and end in less than a second. Bystanders see a flash and hear an extremely loud boom and it is over.

Electric arc
A person can be severely injured or killed by the huge amount of heat generated by this arc. Temperature of the arc can range from 15,000 to 35,000 degrees F. You can imagine what this heat can do to the human body. (Heat in excess of 122 degrees F. can cause third degree burns, which do not heal.)

Flying molten metal
The arc also immediately turns the electrical conductors into molten metal droplets that fly away from the source at near the speed of sound. These projectiles can travel quite a distance, starting clothing and other materials on fire.

Arc blast
Not only does the electric arc generate an excessive amount of heat, this heat causes an intense pressure wave that usually throws the employees working nearby away from the arc. This wave is so strong it can break ear drums and cause concussions and broken bones.

Explosions and/or fire
The heat from electric arcs can ignite combustible or flammable vapors in the air causing an explosion. Materials stored nearby can also start on fire.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Whenever electrical workers have the chance to be exposed to an electric arc they must wear clothing and eye protection resistant to the flash. Make sure your employer provides you with the necessary PPE. (Part II, Chapter 3 of NFPA 70E, Standard for Electrical Safety Requirements for Employee Workplaces covers the standards for PPE.)

Cost of an electric arc accident
The monetary cost of an electric arc accident can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Damage to equipment and facility, lost production time, increased insurance expense, medical bills, worker’s compensation, and legal costs can all be the result of one electric arc accident.

Questions?
Talk to your supervisor if you have any questions or concerns about working around energized electrical equipment.

This information is provided by Assurance Agency https:www.assuranceagency.com

Emergency Action Plans

 

Overview
There is always the potential for emergencies to occur at your facility. To reduce your exposure to potential emergencies, your employer has developed an emergency action plan.

Emergency actions plans are developed to provide guidelines on what actions to take if an emergency should occur at your facility.

What is an emergency action plan?
In 29 CFR 1910.38(c), OSHA lists the minimum elements which should be included in an emergency action plan. These elements include:

1. Evacuation procedures and exit route assignments. Your employer will also point out the location of internal shelter areas, and exterior safe areas for evacuation.

2. Procedures to be followed by employees who remain to operate critical plant operations before they evacuate. Some critical plant operations include gas, electrical, power, and water. Chemical manufacturing processes could also be included.

3. Headcount procedures to account for you and your coworkers after emergency evacuation has been completed.

4. Rescue and medical duties for those employees who are to perform them.

5. Procedures for reporting fires and other emergencies.

6. Names or regular job titles of persons or departments who can be contacted for further information or an explanation of duties under the plan.

Additional information
Your employer will also explain:

• How to report fires, hazardous chemical spills, and other emergencies.

• Procedures for sounding emergency alarms on-site.

• Who to notify in the event of an emergency.

• What phones to use and numbers to call.

• Location and use of emergency fire alarms.

• Critical plant operations and those responsible for their operation/shut down.

• Accounting for all employees after emergency evacuation.

• Personnel designated to perform rescue and medical duties.

• Alarm system.

• Recognition of different alarms, such as audio and visual.

• Who is to be contacted for more information on the emergency action plan.

• Where a written copy of the plan can be obtained.

This information is provided by Assurance Agency https:www.assuranceagency.com

Deenergizing Lines & Equipment

 

Before starting work on power transmission/distribution systems, crews must determine existing conditions by inspection or test. One critical condition that must be determined is whether lines and equipment are energized or deenergized.

Deenergizing lines and equipment
When deenergizing lines/equipment operated in excess of 600 volts, and the means of disconnecting from electric energy is not visibly open or visibly locked out, the following rules apply:

• The particular section of line or equipment to be deenergized must be clearly identified, and it must be isolated from all sources of voltage.

• Notification and assurance from a designated employee must be obtained that:
   - All switches/disconnectors through which electrical energy may be supplied to the particular section of line or equipment to be worked on have been deenergized.
   - All switches/disconnectors are plainly tagged indicating that employees are at work.
   - Where the design of the switches and disconnectors permits, they have been rendered inoperable.

• After all designated switches and disconnectors have been opened, rendered inoperable, and tagged, visual inspection or tests must be conducted to ensure that equipment or lines have been deenergized.

• Protective grounds must be applied on the disconnected lines/equipment to be worked on.

• Guards or barriers must be erected as necessary to adjacent energized lines.

• When more than one independent crew requires the same line or equipment to be deenergized, a prominent tag for each crew must be placed on the line or equipment by the designated employee in charge.

• When completed with work on deenergized lines or equipment, designated employees in charge must determine that all employees in their crew are clear, that protective grounds installed by their crew have been removed, and they report to the designated authority that all tags protecting their crew may be removed.

When a crew working on a line or equipment can clearly see that the means of disconnecting from electric energy are visibly open or visibly locked-out, the following provisions will apply:
• Guards or barriers must be erected as necessary to adjacent lines.

• Upon completion of work on deenergized lines or equipment, each designated employee in charge must determine that all employees in their crew are clear, that protective grounds installed by their crew have been removed, and they must report to the designated authority that all tags protecting their crew may be removed.

This information is provided by Assurance Agency https:www.assuranceagency.com

Protective Systems Handout-excavations

 

You are exposed to many hazards during a construction work day. If you work in excavations, the chief hazard is the danger of cave-ins.

OSHA requires that all excavations, where employees are exposed to potential cave-ins, must be protected by:
- Proper sloping and/or benching of the sides of the excavation.
- Supporting the sides of the excavation with timber or aluminum hydraulic shoring.
- Placing a shield between the side of the excavation and your work area.
- Employers are free to choose the most practical design approach for a particular circumstance. Once an approach is selected, the required performance criteria for that system must be met.

The standard does not require protective systems when an excavation is:
- Made entirely in stable rock, or
- Less than 5 feet deep and a competent person has examined the ground and found no indication of a potential cave-in.

Protective systems — There are many factors involved in designing a protective system. Some of them are:
soil classification, depth of cut, water content of the soil, changes due to weather and climate, or other operations at the work site. The OSHA rules provide several different methods and approaches.

Protective systems must be able to resist, without failure, all loads that are intended or could reasonably be expected to be applied or transmitted to the system.

Installation and removal of protective systems — The following steps are required for protecting employees when installing support systems: (1) securely connect, (2) safely install, (3) never overload members, and (4) install other structural members to carry loads imposed on the support system when temporary removal of individual members is necessary.

As soon as work is completed, the excavation should be backfilled as the protective system is dismantled. After the excavation is cleared, workers should slowly remove the protective system from the bottom up, taking care to release members slowly.

Materials and equipment — Employers are responsible for the safe condition of materials and equipment used for protective systems. Defective and damaged materials and equipment can result in the failure of a protective system and cause excavation hazards.

This information is provided by Assurance Agency https:www.assuranceagency.com

Cloth Face Masks and COVID-19

 

CDC Recommendations
The CDC continues to study the spread and effects of the novel coronavirus across the United States. We now know from recent studies that a significant portion of individuals with coronavirus lack symptoms (“asymptomatic”) and that even those who eventually develop symptoms (“pre-symptomatic”) can transmit the virus to others before showing symptoms. This means that the virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity—for example, speaking, coughing, or sneezing—even if those people are not exhibiting symptoms. In light of this new evidence, CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies) especially in areas of significant community-based transmission.

It is critical to emphasize that maintaining 6-feet social distancing remains important to slowing the spread of the virus. CDC is additionally advising the use of simple cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others. Cloth face coverings fashioned from household items or made at home from common materials at low cost can be used as an additional, voluntary public health measure.

The cloth face coverings recommended are not surgical masks or N-95 respirators. Those are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for healthcare workers and other medical first responders, as recommended by current CDC guidance.

Cleaning, Maintaining and Donning and Doffing Cloth Masks
Wash your cloth mask after each use, or at least daily. It’s best to wash in hot water, but if you can’t, make sure to dry on a hot setting of your dryer. Social distancing is still an important tool in reducing risks associated with the novel coronavirus. Stay home, if you can, but if you must go out for necessities, use a mask.

Cloth masks only help if they are carefully put on (donned) and taken off (doffed.)

When you're putting one on, hold the mask by ear loops and slip one loop over your ear, and then slip the second loop over your other ear, adjust mask to assure mouth and nose covered. Remember that cloth masks tend to slip less during use if the lower edge of mask is aligned with your jawbone rather than below it. If your mask has a "head loop" instead of ear loops, hold the mask by grasping both head loops at the edges, and then pull the elastic around your head. Put your chin into the cloth part first.

Stretch both head loops up over your head and adjust loops so mask fits snugly. It's also important to remove the mask with care when you're done wearing it. When you're ready to remove a cloth mask, grasp one of the ear or head loops. Try to avoid touching the front of the mask. Put it in your laundry to be washed – and then wash your hands.

Performing hand hygiene, every time you touch the mask, will really help you avoid cross-contamination. Try to avoid touching the outside of the mask and wash it regularly.

This information is provided by Assurance Agency https:www.assuranceagency.com