Bobby Gray teaching 2012 NFPA 70E and its applicability to our lab.

Participants from across the lab gaining greater knowledge of 70E and the intent behind the requirements.

Last month, we held a two-day seminar on Electrical Safety in the Workplace (NFPA 70E) in preparation for the roll-out of our revised Electrical Safety Program (Chapter 8 of PUB-3000) and our new Electrical Safety Manual. Bobby is very familiar with Berkeley Lab and the complex. As a nationally recognized expert on Electrical Safety, he sits on several technical committees including those responsible for writing and revising the National Electrical Code (NFPA 70) and Electrical Safety in the Workplace (NFPA 70E). Bobby is an invaluable resource, having retired from the DOE complex. We were very fortunate to have him come to our site to not only teach 70E, but to also provide the background behind the various regulations, and the reasoning used to make determinations. Bobby also provided a separate 4-hour session on the upcoming changes to 70E in the 2015 revision. The lab is adopting the 2012 70E standard during our current program revision and has no plans to adopt the 2015 revision until after the next National Electrical Code update. There were over 30 participants from all over the lab that got to benefit from this experience.

OSHA cited an employer and is seeking $150,000 in fines after a temporary worker received an electrical shock and burn. Click here for article.

What is a LOTO Authorized Person? We get this question a lot. Every person involved in working on a system with a LOTO has a very specific role with associated responsibilities. From Chapter 18 of the PUB-3000: A person who has completed the required LOTO training (general and procedure-specific) and is authorized by the supervisor or work lead to perform LOTO on energy isolation points to perform service or maintenance. Only LOTO Authorized Persons shall apply locks and tags to control hazardous energy.

Any person performing work on a system or piece of equipment that meets the threshold for LOTO, must take LOTO training for Authorized Persons, EHS-370. LOTO Authorized Persons shall only apply their own personal LOTO lock prior to commencing work on the equipment to be Locked and Tagged Out (LOTO’d). When you attend EHS-370 you are given personal LOTO tags.

Some LOTO Authorized Persons may also be Qualified Electrical Workers (QEW). Authorized Persons are not required to be QEWs when the work they are performing doesn’t present an electrical hazard. Examples of this would be when a piece of equipment is LOTO’d out because someone needs to replace a belt. Replacing a belt, does not present an electrical hazard; however turning on the equipment while the belt is being replaced could pose other hazards due to rotating machinery such as eye hazards from flying debris and the potential for fingers to get caught up in the machinery among others.

There are quite few roles identified in our LOTO program. For more information regarding Authorized Persons and other LOTO-related information, please check out Chapter 18.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), there are 28,600 electrical fires per year. These fires cause $1.1 billion in property  damage and loss and are responsible for 310 deaths and 1,100 injuries each year.

The months with the most electrical fires are December and January due to increased use of heating appliances and lights. Most electrical fires start in the bedroom, but the highest number of fatalities occur with fires located in the living room, family room and den.

Some electrical fires happen because of problems in house wiring or appliance failure, but many occur due to mistakes that homeowners make like overloading electrical outlets or extension cords. Just because there is an unused outlet on a multi-outlet plug strip doesn’t mean that you should plug more appliances or lights into it. Look at them the same way you do your checkbook – having checks available is not an indication of funds available.

In order to prevent yourself or someone you love from becoming an electrical fire statistic, it is important to be aware of the common causes of electrical fires.
Here are the 5 most common causes of electrical fires:
1. Most electrical fires are caused by faulty electrical outlets and old, outdated appliances. Other fires are started by faults in appliance cords, receptacles and switches. Never use an appliance with a worn or frayed cord which can send heat onto combustible surfaces like floors, curtains, and rugs that can start a fire.
Running cords under rugs is another cause of electrical fires. Removing the grounding plug from a cord so it can be used in a two-prong electrical outlet can also cause a fire.

2. Light fixtures, lamps and light bulbs are another common reason for electrical fires. Installing a bulb with a wattage that is too high for the lamps and light fixtures is a leading cause of electrical fires. Always check the maximum recommended bulb wattage on any lighting fixture or lamp and never go over the recommended amount.
Another cause of fire is placing materials like cloth or paper over a lampshade. The material heats up and ignites, causing a fire. Faulty lamps and light fixtures also frequently result in fires.

3. Misuse of extension cords is another electrical fire cause. Appliances should be plugged directly into outlet and not plugged into an extension cord for any length of time. Only use extension cords as a temporary measure. If you do not have the appropriate type of outlets for your appliances, hire an electrician to install new ones.

4. Space heaters are a major cause of electrical fires. Because these types of heaters are portable, many times people put them too close to combustible surfaces such as curtains, beds, clothing, chairs, couches and rugs. If you do use space heaters, use the radiator-type that diffuse heat over the entire surface of the appliance. Your safest bet is to keep all flammable items at least 3 feet away from your space heaters.

5. Outdated wiring often causes electrical fires. If a home is over twenty years old, it may not have the wiring capacity to handle the increased amounts of electrical appliances in today’s average home, such as computers, wide screen televisions, DVD players, microwaves and air conditioners.
Breakers should be triggered when circuits get overloaded, but outdated breaker boxes often have worn connectors that do not work, causing the system to overload and start an electrical fire.