ARC flash protection enhancements and mitigation

An arc flash is a serious workplace hazard. OSHA requires a workplace free of recognized hazards, of which electricity is a recognized hazard, so OSHA requires electrical work to be done in the deenergized state. The need for an arc flash assessment is in response to the number of injuries from electrical arc flash. Arc flash studies relate energy to current, time, and distance for maintained equipment which reacts to a circuit overcurrent in a timely manner. Benefits of an arc flash assessment are to identify safety hazards, determine appropriate PPE, and determine possible means to reduce the energy by affecting time and/or distance.