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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.

Many system reliability predictive methods are based solely on equipment failures, neglecting the human component of man-machine systems (MMS). These methods do not consider the identification of the root causes of human errors. The reliability and safety of industrial and commercial power systems and processes (i.e., MMS) are dependent upon human characteristics and many dependent and dynamic interactive factors [1]. The consequences of human errors are very diverse and can range from damage to equipment and property, injury to personnel or fatalities, to disruption of scheduled system operation, all of which represent a significant cost to society. This paper will focus on accidents-injuries and the disruption of scheduled system operation caused by human element factors [2] and show that the human element is a very significant factor affecting the reliability and safety of electrical systems. The paper will initially present several case studies to reveal the frequency of human errors which disrupted scheduled computer and utility system operation. This paper will also present statistics on the injury accident rate in utilities and the number of days lost to injury accidents. This paper will present some of the factors that direct human behavior and discuss how these factors help identify the possible root causes of electrical accidents, using an accident-injury sequence model to determine the cause of human errors. Knowledge of human factors can be used to mitigate their impact on system interruptions and injury accidents (e.g., increased productivity, increased reliability, decreased errors, increased safety, etc.). Index Terms - Accidents, human factors, injuries, modeling, reliability, safety.

Deficiencies in the design, selection, and use of test instruments commonly used for troubleshooting and testing for absence of electrical energy can contribute to the cause of mishaps, resulting in personal injury and plant downtime. Some common voltage test instruments can cause unwanted disturbance of sensitive electronic instrumentation and control circuits. Attention to detail in managing the selection and use of voltage test instruments can enhance safety performance and manufacturing productivity. This paper reviews case histories, the evolution in test instrument safety design, standards related to specification and use, and common practices in managing the selection and use of test instruments in the workplace. Index Terms - Industrial plant reliability, personnel safety, selecting voltage test instruments.

Increasing OSHA regulation and industry's desire to reduce accidents, injuries, and related costs has focused interest on improving industrial electrical safety performance. Efforts to improve the safety of personnel exposed to industrial electrical hazards may be considered part of an overall strategy to eliminate defects in manufacturing processes. This paper presents a blue print for strategy, design, and implementation of processes to link electrical safety to total quality improvement. Based on the experiences of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., (hereafter referred to as 'the Company'), applied methods, results, and future strategies are discussed. A continuous improvement process is applies to several examples, including the previously published Electrically Hazardous Task Classification Flow Sheet.

A test program has been completed to measure incident energy from 6-cycle arcs on 600 -V three-phase electric power distribution systems. Testing was performed using an arc electrode gap of 1.25 in that had previously produced maximum incident energy for a 600-V power system with a 36.25-kA prospective fault current. The effect on incident energy of enclosing the arcs in a cubic box was determined. Simple algorithms were developed to allow estimation of incident energy at a specified distance from arc electrodes as a function of the available bolted fault current on a 600-V electric power distribution system. A comparison is made with previously published methods for estimating incident energy and safe approach distances. The impact of the estimating algorithm on the management of the electric arc hazard is discussed. Index Terms--Arc burn, arc energy, arc protective clothing, incident energy.