If you will be, or can be in the Spokane area and you work in the power system arena a seminar like this is the perfect way to start the New Year.

Major Changes and General Overview of the 2012 National Electrical Safety Code

The Major Changes and General Overview of the 2012 NESC® seminar is a two day class focusing on the major changes in the 2012 Edition of the National Electrical Safety Code® (NESC®). The class will cover in detail the major changes to the NESC® 2012 Edition and also provide a general overview of each part of the NESC® (Day 1). Applying the Code to day-to-day work will be stressed by focusing on practical NESC® examples and applications (Day 2). The class is intended for engineers, staking technicians, power linemen, communications linemen, safety personnel and inspectors. Prior working knowledge of the NESC® is not required.

The class includes ample time for questions and attendees are encouraged to share their NESC® applications with the entire class. The presentations are rich in graphics and practical applications. Learning the changes in the NESC® is a must for personnel responsible for operating a safe utility system.

Modern power system design is the application of sound engineering practices to electrical systems primary develoted to the generation, distribution, and consumption of electrical power.  Ideally, this process is  governed by minimum code requirements, standards from agencies such as IEEE and ANSI, and commonly accepted industry standards.  Occasionally, the process is marred by little appreciation for tribal knowledge, incomplete understanding of standards, or the rote execution of a design with little appreciation for the application.     As engineer, we strive to avoid these pitfalls by furthering our understanding though the acquisition of additional source materials.  Unfortunately, despite the ubiquity of the internet, groups such as IEEE and ANSI don't provide their standards for free, and the availability of regionally enforced code is an area of ambiguity.  Fortunately, some manufacturers have provided resources that are invaluable to engineers:

General Electric provides The Art and Science of Protective Relaying free for download.  A quick perusal of the Bibliography for each chapter reveals the history of this document, and despite the dates, this document remains as relevant as ever.  The principals are still applied in modern protective relays, and numerous Defense Plant Corporation era facilities still employ electromechanical protection to great success.

As a modern supplement to GE's definitive guide, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories provides numerous resources under their Literature section.  In addition to the Journal of Reliable Power, they provide white papers and technical papers outlining the methodologies used in a modern digital relay and their appropriate application.  Be warned, they do require a free account for access to their library.

Eaton publishes a Consulting Application Guide, a rather fancy name for the Eaton/Cutler-Hammer catalog of all relevant industrial equipment.  Despite the commercial nature, the first chapter provides substantial reference material on all manner of subjects.  From protection, to system layout and generation, the Eaton catalog touches on many relevant subjects.

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Or how does NFPA 70E apply to me?

The typical workplaces that are covered by NFPA 70E are buildings, utilities, yards, parking lots, etc. However it does not cover ships, watercraft, underground mine installations, communication equipment and installations that are under the exclusive control of the electric utility.

In the last few years, NFPA 70E has been known synonymously with Arc Flash and Arc Flash PP. However that is only a small part of the standard in the whole. Arc Flash and Arc Flash PPE are covered only in Article 130, Working On or Near Live Parts. It is in this section that NFPA 70E talks about Limited Approach Boundarys as based on System Votage (Table 130.2(C)), the Protective Clothing and PPE Matrix (Table 130.7(C)(10)) and has many other useful tables to help to educate how to work on live equipment in the safest manner.

In fact if you go to the index the only place that the term Arc Flash is used is in Annex K. It is here where you can find a definition of what Arc Flash is, and the difference between Arc Flash and Arc Blast.

Some of the topics that NFPA 70E do discuss in depth is how to do maintence in different situations including Hazardous Locations, rotating equipment, Battery Rooms, and the PPE required in these situations. One thing the NFPA 70E stresses is that PPE is a last line of defense. Whenever possible Electrically and Mecahnically isolated the system that you or your employee is going to work on.

Finally NFPA 70E has great information in its Annexes. Some of this includes establishing a "Electrical Safety Program", "Job Briefing and Planning Checklist" and "Cross reference Tables".

If you work on energized equipment, even if it is only once a month or less. NFPA 70E will be evaluable to you in educating yourself and others on the risks involved and how to mitigate them most reasonably.

Finally if you liked this article or have questions please leave a comment.