The establishment of agencies like OSHA and the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) have positively impacted workplace fatalities, injuries and illnesses. Over the past 40 years, the overall workplace fatality rate has dropped 60 percent while the occupational injury and illness rates have dropped more than 40 percent. The NFPA, specifically, specializes in reducing the risk of fire and other hazards, including tasks related to electricity.
In an important update, the NFPA published final changes to the 2012 edition of NFPA 70E, which addresses electrical safety-related work practices for employees who may come into contact with “hazards associated with electrical energy during activities such as the installation, inspection, operation, maintenance, and demolition of electric conductors, electric equipment, signaling and communications conductors and equipment, and raceways.”
The following are just a few of the updates added to the newest edition of the regulation:
- Basis for retraining
- Frequency of retraining
- Selection of qualified persons
These updates are meant to ensure the most qualified employees are performing electrical work. The recent additions to NFPA 70E address that retraining should be conducted when an employee is not complying with safety-related work practices, working in a new environment where the safety-related work practices have changed or if retraining has not been conducted in more than three years. The new edition also encourages employers to use only qualified individuals to complete tasks like testing, troubleshooting and voltage measuring within the Limited Approach Boundary, an approach limit set at a certain distance from an exposed live part where a shock hazard exists.
To ensure current regulations are being implemented and practiced, ISN has updated several requirements within the NFPA 70E safety program protocol. Impacted subscribers will have a 90-day grace period to update and resubmit written safety programs.
For questions regarding NFPA 70E safety program updates or to learn more about ISNetworld, please contact the ISN Customer Service Team at 1 (800) 976-1303.
Resources:
http://www.nfpa.org/aboutthecodes/AboutTheCodes.asp?DocNum=70E&cookie%5Ftest=1
http://www.iaei.org/magazine/2009/05/occupational-electrical-injury-and-fatality-trends-and-statistics-1992%E2%80%932007/
http://www.nfpa.org/categoryList.asp?categoryID=143&URL=About%20NFPA
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