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The authors and their colleagues have used the methods in IEEE 1584 'Guide for Performing Arc Flash Hazard Calculations' to complete electrical hazard assessments for over 90 industrial sites, from small warehouse and office facilities to large chemical plants. This paper provides analysis of the results of those assessments, with an emphasis on the safety improvements that were made in design, work practices, and application of personal protective equipment. Modifying electrical equipment design, choosing good work practices, and applying sound engineering judgment can help to minimize arc flash hazard exposures and reduce costs due to injury and process downtime. Index Terms--Arc flash, electrical arc flash, flame-resistant (FR) clothing, incident energy, personal protective equipment (PPE), safety by design, safety study.

There have been recent advances in equipment design and arc flash hazard assessment. It is possible to design a complete site electrical system, from transmission to distribution to utilization voltage, with the estimated arc flash energy below 20 cal/[cm.sup.2] (80 J/[cm.sup.2]) for all equipment. This paper describes a preferred design, where all workers can have proper arc flash personal protective equipment by using single-layer flame resistant everyday clothes and add a single-layer coverall for the higher energy tasks. Inherently safer design is in our future to reduce hazards and keep our workers safe. Index Terms--Arc flash, incident energy, personal protective equipment (PPE), safety by design.

In 1960, a large global chemical company began documenting and implementing requirements for preventing injuries from electric arc flash hazards, including appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). Methods evolved from requiring a 100% natural fiber long-sleeve shirt for a specific task to a detailed analysis with multiple flame-resistant clothing options. This paper compares the PPE required by these methods, based on hazards analysis in more than 65 manufacturing and laboratory facilities. The total costs for the example company are estimated for each method. Index Terms--Arc flash, electrical hazards, electrical safety, protective clothing.

Recent research has been published on the hazards of an electrical arc flash. The calculations required for determining arc-flash incident energy exposure for our electrical workers are involved and sometimes difficult. The authors have completed arc-flash energy studies for many industrial sites, from small facilities to large chemical plants. This paper provides a summary of the results of these studies, with an emphasis on the wide range of results that were found. Learnings about electrical equipment design, installation, and operation are discussed that were found to be associated with high arc-flash energy values. In addition, some methods are described to evaluate the arc-flash energy values for a facility that can help the owner determine the most effective arc flash hazard management policy. Index Terms--Arc flash, electrical arc flash, flame-resistant clothing, incident energy, personal protective equipment, safety by design, safety study.

This paper will describe updates in an electrical reliability modeling process, first described in a 1994 paper for the Petroleum and Chemical Industry Committee of the IEEE Industry Applications Society. The paper will also describe an additional new method for evaluating power system design options. The electrical reliability model has been expanded with more extensive component failure and repair values. Additional modeling techniques have been developed for evaluating typical electrical systems found in petroleum and chemical facilities. The reliability calculation results, based on the actual modeling of many refineries in the U.S., are described. The paper also describes a new method which was developed to evaluate and compare power system designs, based on the resulting composite reliability values and other factors, including recovery from faults, availability for maintenance, safety, and cost. This new method provides an analytical approach to optimize the power system design to the plant operation and maintenance requirements. Index Terms--Electrical reliability, evaluation, modeling, system comparison.

When planning for the installation of a 1.3-MW photovoltaic (PV) system and its integration into an existing facility's electrical system, an arc flash study was performed to determine the best protective device settings to minimize the arc flash energy in the PV system and to determine the effect of the additional short-circuit current on arc flash calculations for the existing system. The existing system has distribution at 13.8 kV and two 10-MVA transformers to a 2.4-kV feeder system. The PV system adds the hazard of 500-Vdc subarray collection wiring and terminations. The dc arc flash exposure of PV systems, including those in the inverter enclosures, can be complicated, and this paper outlines the basic data collected for the study, the steps taken to complete the calculations, the methodology used, the results, and the team's learnings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In difficult economic times, companies sometimes delay the performance of maintenance on electrical power distribution equipment to save costs. If this happens, some circuit breakers (CBs) or protective relays will miss their scheduled maintenance and testing. This can create a significant safety risk if those protective devices are used to manage arc flash hazards. This paper describes a study method to determine which CBs and protective relays in a system are the most critical so that they can be prioritized for continued proper maintenance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A near-miss shock incident occurred on a heated air blower control panel during construction activities. This paper describes the investigation and findings of the team, with follow-up items to ensure that future equipment brought to the site will be properly inspected for safe design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]