Electrical safety is an important issue for those working on electrical facilities in utility networks and large industrial installations. A number of serious accidents including fatalities occur every year due to accidents involving electricity resulting in huge financial losses and wasted man-hours. Arc flashes in electrical equipment are now considered one of the major causes of electrical accidents even surpassing the well-known hazards of electric shock. Avoiding arc flash incidents and the resulting injuries is one of major challenges today facing electrical workers and requires adequate attention in the stages of system planning, design, installation, operation and maintenance.
Injuries due to arc flash can depend on many factors, one of which is the incident thermal energy on a worker exposed to a flash. Today, a considerable body of knowledge exists as a result of research efforts and is available to designers and maintenance engineers in the form of standards such as IEEE 1584 and NFPA 70E. This course will detail the basis of this approach and also about the major advances that have been made in the area of PPE made of FR fabrics and rated for different levels of thermal exposure.
Prevention however still remains the best form of protection and switchgear manufacturers have made considerable design advances to ensure that the effect of arc flash incidents is contained within the enclosure of switchgear (often called arc flash resistant switchgear) and methods of testing such switchgear have also evolved simultaneously. Another important factor is the approach to avoid arc incidents within the switchgear by proper design and maintenance and techniques to reduce the severity of the flash should such incidents occur.
These would form the key focus areas of this course.
COURSE BENEFITS
- Online electrical course
- Lectured recordings
- Study at your own pace
- Includes one (1) engineering eBook
- Highly affordable
- Certificate of Completion
YOU WILL LEARN:
- To identify the important hazards in O&M work in different parts of electrical installations
- To identify the dangers of arc flash events to working personnel and their impact on equipment
- The codes and standards related to dealing with arc flash danger
- The necessary theoretical knowledge to carry out arc flash impact studies by collecting system data and computing the arc flash incident energy and flash protection boundary
- To understand the importance of proper design of electrical equipment in avoiding arc flash incidents and ensuring safety in the event of an arc flash
- To select appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Flame Resistant (FR) clothing required for avoiding serious or lethal injuries
WHO SHOULD COMPLETE THIS COURSE?
- Consulting engineers
- Utility engineers
- Electrical design engineers
- Electrical inspectors
- Electrical contractors
- Electrical and instrumentation technicians
- Power system protection and control engineers
- Electricians
- Instrumentation and control engineers
- Purchasing engineers
- Project engineers
- Safety professionals
COURSE OUTLINE
Video 1: Fundamentals of Power Systems:
- Configurations
- Equipment used
- System earthing and its role
- Protective earthing and its role
- Faults and types of faults
Video 2 & 3: Fault Current Calculation:
- Fundamentals of short circuit calculations
- Simplifying assumptions
- Ohmic impedance and per unit impedance
- Infinite bus
- Base RVA of a system and its use in calculations
Video 4 & 5: Data Collection & System Modelling:
- Data for calculation of fault currents
- Modes of operation
- Lower short circuit conditions with long tripping times
Video 6: Flame Resistant Fabrics:
- The evolution of Flame Resistant (FR) fabrics
- The various types of FR fabrics that are available in the marketplace
- FR fabrics and the effects of undergarments
- Limitations of FR fabrics
- Garment construction standard ASTM F 1506-02a
Video 7 & 8: Overview of Electrical Hazards:
- Hazards with examples: electric shock, arc flash events, working at heights, working in confined spaces, fire and explosion, mechanical hazards
- Common electrical equipment and hazards posed
Video 9: Arc flash Studies - Codes and Standards:
- OSHA 29 CFR –part 1910
- National Electrical Code NFPA 70E - standard for electrical safety in the workplace: safety related work practices, installation safety requirements, table 130.2(C)
- IEEE Standard 1584: guide for arc flash hazard analysis
- Definitions used in arc flash study
Video 10: Arc flash study detailed procedure:
- Flash protection approach boundary: 1.2 calories per square centimetre, 4 foot boundary, calculated boundaries based on transformer size and bolted short circuit mva
- Detailed arc flash study: Calculation of incident energy and flash boundaries, warning labels, personal protective equipment requirements
- Calculation of working distance and flash boundary as per IEEE Standard 1584
Video 11: Determine Arc flash hazard risk category:
- Detailed examples and exercises simplified tables approach
- Matrix table
- Single line diagram approach
- Short circuit study report coordination
- Hazard risk category for metal clad switchgear 1kv and above
- NFPA 70E table 130
Practical: DIY Use of an IEEE arc flash calculator
- Use of an IEEE arc flash calculator.pdf
- IEEE 1584 simple calculator.xls
- NFPA70E_ARC_calculator.xls
