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Many businesses across industries—including but certainly not limited to oil & gas, agriculture, manufacturing, and utilities—pose a risk of fire safety hazards. Depending on the exact nature of the fire hazards, workers could suffer from minor to severe burns, blindness, broken bones, and death. Fire safety training is about more than keeping your Class A fire extinguisher handy (although please do that!). Making sure your employees are trained on fire safety hazards is crucial not only for …

Arc flash is the exposure to the tremendous thermal energy released by an arc fault. All employees who work around energized electrical equipment (electricians, maintenance workers, operators, etc.) may be affected by an arc flash occurrence. Arc flashes are a primary hazard in the following industries: oil and gas, utility, solar, and wind power generation, paper and pulp manufacturers, hospitals, universities and colleges, food processing and packaging plants, breweries, bakeries, and …

An arc flash is a dangerous release of energy produced by an electrical fault in the air from one phase to another phase, or from one phase to the ground. The elements released during an arc flash event are: intense light, sound, pressure, and extremely high temperatures. Arc flash hazards exist in many professional environments, but those who work in or around energized electrical equipment are at the highest risk: maintenance workers, electricians, and operators engaged in working with elec …

Hand cuts and wounds are preventable, yet they still account for roughly 30 percent of all workplace injuries in the US. How do you choose the right cut resistant glove for your application? First, evaluate what types of gloves you are using now and if they do the job. Do you have any new projects that will require new PPE? Then, identify solutions - do you need to switch to a new brand or just need to upgrade the cut-level protection currently being used. Then, talk to a trusted supplier or …

Electricity has been generated in power stations since 1882. Due to increased efficiency, world energy consumption was cut down by 1.5% in 2009, for the first time since World War II. The continuous increase in efficiency will result in less electricity needed for a given demand of electrical power. But since the demand will continue to grow (mostly because of the electrification of heating and transportation and the growing economies in developing countries), the world energy consumption is …

By Melissa Gerhardt, FR Workwear and Arc Flash PPE Product Manager, NSA What is an FR Layering System? In general FR layering is a combination of two or more arc rated materials combined together to achieve higher protection and/or performance. FR layering systems are specifically made up of 2 or more arc rated garments that are worn together to achieve higher protection and/or performance. All FR layering combinations need to have an actual arc test performed to verify the offici …

Arc flash concerns were first published in 1982 in Ralph Lee's paper “The Other Electrical Hazard: Electric Arc Blast Burns.” Arc flash hazards were not formally studied until 1993, which is why they are still the least understood electrical hazard existing in most industries. Wikipedia defines arc flash as "the light and heat produced from an electric arc supplied with sufficient electrical energy to cause substantial damage, harm, fire, or injury." Because arc flash temperature can reach …

Flame resistant clothing is essential to workers in a number of trades. We've found Saf Tech work clothing to be both extremely high quality and an excellent value for electricians, power plant, and utility workers. Saf Tech clothing was started and continues to operate in Houston, Texas (Texas forever!). They use state of the art manufacturing processes to stay ahead of the requirements imposed by ASTM, NFPA and OSHA. Saf Tech is committed to both US manufacturing and a 100% guarantee …

An arc flash occurs when an electrical current leaves its intended path and travels from one conductor to another. This may result in fire, flying objects (traveling at more than 700 mph), blast pressure, sound blast (exceeding 160 dB) and heat (exceeding 30,000 F). If an arc flash makes contact with a person, injury and death may occur depending on proximity of the worker to the source, temperature, and time for the circuit breaker to be disengaged. OSHA last issued an arc flash related rule …