To comprehend the significance of arc flash hazard assessments, you must first comprehend the dangers that arc flashes pose to your people and facility. An arc flash is a flash of heat and light caused by an arc fault — a discharge in an electrical system caused by a low-impedance connection to ground or another voltage phase. This happens when a gas undergoes an electrical breakdown, resulting in a bright, plasma-based discharge that is extremely hot — often hotter than the Sun — and can cause immediate harm, if not death, to those nearby. Arc flash injuries can result in skin burns, respiratory problems, hearing loss, eye damage, and other complications.

This differs from an arc blast, which is a shockwave caused by the same arc fault but occurs when the metal in the conductors vaporizes. This can result in dangerous, even lethal, debris and hot metal. While appropriately rated PPE can protect workers from arc flashes, the same cannot be said for an arc blast due to what the worker may come into contact with as a result of the explosion.

It is critical for safety managers, plant managers, and other facility workers to understand what an arc flash study is and why it is so important. Arc flashes not only endanger your employees, but they can also cause damage to your electrical assets and the surrounding environment, especially if there is enough energy within the arc fault to cause a blast rather than a flash. They can also result in exorbitant regulatory fines, insurance premium increases, and other consequences.

Companies that use electrical equipment — whether in a production environment or as part of their facility’s infrastructure — can better understand the amount of energy that could be released as a result of an arc flash with an arc flash hazard assessment. This evaluation has four objectives:

1. To create a flash protection zone around the source.
2. Determine the level of arc-rated clothing and other PPE required.
3. Improve and maintain industry regulations compliance
4. Make certain that all assets are properly documented and labeled.

What Factors Influence an Arc Flash Hazard Assessment?
Because arc flashes are frequently caused by minor mistakes, an ideal arc flash hazard assessment should take into account a number of risk factors that may not be immediately apparent to safety managers, facility supervisors, and employees. These are some examples:

-The presence of dust and condensation within or on an electrical asset -Accidental contact with an asset due to a lack of training or signage -Tool mishandling resulted in conductive items being left near live assets
-Condensation within electrical assets
-Corrosion of electrical assets and faulty installation

The service starts with an on-site electrical system equipment assessment, during which inspectors will identify potential correctable issues in your distribution system. Inspectors will identify available short circuit currents as well as the interrupting time of each asset. They will then calculate the maximum incident energy at the specified working distance. Inspectors can use this calculation to determine the arc flash boundary and hazard risk category.

After establishing the boundary and category, the inspectors can make recommendations to help reduce the incident energy level and determine the appropriate PPE required to work around the assets. All results are documented, and labels for the equipment can be generated. These labels provide employees with location-specific safety information and ensure that your organization adheres to National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) standards to improve employee safety when working on or near exposed live electrical parts.