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February 2, 2023As an employer to protect your workers’ safety while they are at work. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 70E is a standard that gives standards for electrical safety in the workplace. Organizations must comply with this standard in order to safeguard their workers from electrical risks. In this article, we will go through the actions you may take to achieve NFPA 70E compliance in your business.
Conduct a hazard assessment: Conducting a hazard assessment is the first step in achieving NFPA 70E compliance. A hazard assessment entails detecting electrical dangers in your workplace, assessing the risk of electrical hazards, and putting control measures in place to reduce the risk of electrical hazards. You should examine elements such as the kind of electrical equipment utilized, the circumstances under which the equipment is operated, and the degree of electrical danger during the hazard assessment.
Train staff:
After you have conducted the danger assessment, you should give electrical safety training to your employees. This training should include the electrical dangers in your workplace, the procedures to follow to reduce the risk of electrical hazards, and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) to guard against electrical hazards.
Control measures should be implemented based on the findings of the hazard assessment to reduce the risk of electrical hazards in the workplace. Installing barriers to guard against electrical risks, employing grounded electrical equipment, and adopting lockout/tagout procedures to avoid unintentional energization are examples of control techniques.
Use personal protective equipment:
PPE is crucial to establishing NFPA 70E compliance. PPE should be utilized to protect personnel from electrical risks, and the amount of electrical hazard in your workplace should be considered. Examples of such goods are rubber gloves, arc flash suits, and hard caps.
Create and implement processes:
Create and implement procedures to guarantee that electrical risks are successfully controlled in your workplace. These procedures should contain recommendations for using electrical equipment, wearing PPE, and managing electrical dangers. To ensure that the processes remain effective, they should be evaluated and modified on a regular basis.
Compliance with NFPA 70E must be monitored regularly to guarantee the continuous safety of your personnel. This might include performing frequent inspections of your workplace to detect and resolve electrical risks, providing regular electrical safety training to staff, and assessing your processes and control mechanisms on a regular basis to ensure they stay effective.
Maintain records:
Keeping records of your hazard assessments, control methods, staff training, and other pertinent information will assist you in demonstrating NFPA 70E compliance and identifying areas for improvement.
Finally, NFPA 70E compliance is critical to ensuring the safety of your personnel in the workplace. You can guarantee that your business complies with this crucial standard by completing a danger assessment, educating staff, adopting control measures, employing PPE, establishing and implementing procedures, monitoring compliance, and maintaining records. You may assist safeguard your workers from electrical risks and establish a safe and healthy work environment by following these actions.
NFPA 70E / ARC FLASH – Electrical Safety / Arc Flash Training (Onsite Instructor-Led)