Protect Your Team and Stay Compliant with NFPA 70E & OSHA
May is National Electrical Safety Month, and there's no better time to evaluate your facility's approach to preventing arc flash hazards. According to the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI), U.S. workplace electrical incidents result in an average of 150 fatalities per year, and there were 3,260 non-fatal electrical injuries involving days away from work between 2021 and 2022.
Among these hazards, arc flash is one of the most dangerous—an explosive release of energy that can cause severe burns, hearing loss, blindness, or even death. Yet, arc flash incidents are often preventable with the right training, equipment, and procedures.
In recognition of this critical issue, we’ve put together a comprehensive checklist to help you mitigate arc flash risks and promote a culture of electrical safety. This checklist also serves as an entry point for organizations looking to implement solutions like GracePort, GracePESDs, and the Proxxi Band—tools designed to help your team work safer, smarter, and more productively.
1. Perform an Up-to-Date Arc Flash Risk Assessment
NFPA 70E requires facilities to perform a risk assessment to identify arc flash hazards. These assessments should be reviewed and updated every five years or whenever major system changes occur. Use this as your baseline for implementing a broader safety strategy.
2. Label All Equipment with Arc Flash Boundaries and PPE Requirements
Clear, consistent labeling not only complies with NFPA 70E standards but also gives workers immediate access to life-saving information. Include incident energy levels and approach boundaries.
3. Use Panel Interface Connectors to Keep Doors Closed
Opening an electrical panel door increases the risk of exposure to energized components. GracePort panel interface connectors allow safe, external access to PLCs, drives, and other controls, enabling diagnostics, programming, and data access without cracking open a single door.
4. Integrate Permanent Electrical Safety Devices (PESDs)
GracePESDs, like voltage indicators, ChekVolts, and Safe-Test Points, allow for voltage presence indication and absence of voltage testing through closed doors. These devices support compliance with NFPA 70E 120.6(7) and dramatically reduce the time and risk involved in Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) procedures.
5. Establish a Robust LOTO Program
LOTO violations consistently rank among OSHA’s top ten citations. Ensure your program includes written procedures, employee training, and annual audits. Complement it with PESDs to enhance safety and efficiency.
6. Provide Arc-Rated PPE and Ensure Proper Use
All qualified electrical workers should be trained to use PPE rated for the potential incident energy levels identified in your arc flash risk assessment. Remind workers that PPE is their last line of defense—engineering and administrative controls must come first.
7. Train and Retrain Regularly
Electrical safety training is not a one-and-done event. OSHA requires that workers be retrained every three years or whenever their job changes. Use this time to reinforce safe work practices and new technologies.
8. Monitor Safety Compliance in Real Time
The Proxxi Band is a wearable voltage detector that alerts workers with haptic, visual, and audible feedback when in proximity to energized equipment. This real-time awareness not only improves safety compliance but also helps prevent accidental contact with live components.
9. Conduct Incident Investigations and Share Lessons Learned
If an electrical incident occurs, conduct a root cause analysis and share your findings across the organization. Creating a feedback loop of lessons learned is vital for continuous improvement.
10. Promote a Culture of Safety from the Top Down
Leadership must model and support electrical safety policies. When safety becomes a shared value across all levels of an organization, compliance becomes part of the culture.
Ready to take the first step? Talk to one of our experts today about how the ChekVolt can become part of your electrical safety strategy.
