If you aren’t clued up on what is Arc Flash and if your team needs arc flash protection that’s ok! You’re not alone. In fact, at LION we speak to people every day who are not too sure what an Arc Flash is, or whether they need to protect their staff from the risks of one. While Arc Flash is not a new problem, it is one that is, rightly so, gaining more traction in health and safety departments.
An Arc Flash can kill a person or leave them with life-altering injuries if they are not properly protected. PPE and safety workwear is your last line of defence, and likely you are looking into an Arc Flash study to determine whether or not you need arc-rated protection for your teams, as well as looking at better ways to mitigate the risk of an Arc Flash.
If that’s the case, this quick guide will help you on your way.
By the end of this article, you will know what an Arc Flash study is, what is involved in one, who needs to carry one out, and how to move forward.
What is an Arc Flash Study?
An Arc Flash study is a risk assessment dedicated to assessing a workplace environment to determine Arc Flash hazards. An electrical safety expert should carry out an Arc Flash study to ensure that a company fully understands the risks posed to its team and how to mitigate those risks best.
What is involved in an Arc Flash study?
An Arc Flash study aims to answer the question of how big the arc event would be.
Depending on your industry, there can be multiple components to an Arc Flash assessment, including fault level studies, comprehensive site surveys, and Arc Flash calculations.
An Arc Flash study identifies both low and high-risk areas of an Arc Flash incident. It assesses the potential severity of the injury at a given distance to locate the protection boundary at which there is a severe danger of second-degree burns.
Who needs to carry out an Arc Flash study?
While companies are not currently obliged to carry out an Arc Flash assessment in the UK, many organisations are starting to do so due for a variety of reasons, be it a new awareness of Arc Flash risk, or high-profile cases in the media where companies were sued following injury or death due to not mitigating the risks properly or providing adequate protection.
How do I carry out an Arc Flash study?
We recommend that a qualified electrical engineer carries out your study.
Here are some further resources:
- Electrical Safety UK (ESUK) are experts when it comes to Arc Flash and Arc Flash study. You can book a FREE pre-assessment, where you will receive a report and proposal detailing your next steps so that you can forward these details to any relevant people in your company.
- If you are concerned about Arc Flash risks but need some more information about how to manage them, ESUK has a page dedicated to Arc Flash Management with a great educational video that can help you on your way.
What do I do next?
If you have had, or are waiting to have an Arc Flash study, here are two articles that could help you on your way to Arc Flash protection success:
- Our article on HSG47, what is it, and who does it apply to? HSG47 applies to a large number of industries and job roles that require Arc Flash protection.
- Know what you need and where you need it? Awesome. Your next step is to choose the right kit for your teams. That can be an overwhelming task, but we’ve put together this list of top considerations when choosing the right Arc Flash PPE.
- If you are ready to talk about products, book a Discovery Call with our Director of Business Development today.
