Seguridad eléctrica en el trabajo

GRACE

ENGINEERED PRODUCTS,INC

Safer Lock-out Tag-out with Permanent Electrical Safety Devices
Electrically Safe Work Conditions Based Upon NFPA 70E and OSHA November, 2011
Philip B. Allen President, Grace Engineered Products philallen@grace-eng.com

5001 Tremont Avenue - Davenport, Iowa 52807 www.graceport.com - 800.280.9517

Safer Lock-out Tag-out with Permanent Electrical SafetyDevices
Electrically Safe Work Conditions Based Upon NFPA 70E and OSHA
Philip B Allen - Grace Engineered Products, Inc. philallen@grace-eng.com

Abstract – Article 120.1 of the NFPA 70E establishes the procedure for creating an electrically safe work condition. Since this was written, the day-to-day practice of electrical safety has changed and goes beyond the precise language of Article120.1(1-6). This is due to the increased usage of permanent electrical safety devices (PESDs) in Lock-out/Tag-out procedures (LOTO). The relatively new concept of permanent electrical safety devices actually improves the workers’ ability to safely isolate electrical energy beyond that which was originally conceived when Article 120 was written. PESDs go beyond the high standard, yet they still adhere tothe core principles found in Article 120.1. With PESDs incorporated into safety procedures, installed correctly into electrical enclosures, and validated before and after each use, workers can transition the once-risky endeavor of verifying voltage into a less precarious undertaking that never exposes them to voltage. Since every electrical incident has one required ingredient – voltage -electrical safety is radically improved by eliminating exposure to voltage while still validating zero energy from outside the panel. Index Terms - Voltage detectors, voltage portals, noncontact voltage detector, NCVD, power warning alerts, permanent electrical safety devices, voltage detector validation procedures, verification, voltmeters Introduction - To employees all safety – especially electricalsafety – is personal. Little else matters to them unless electrically safe work conditions can be created and maintained through their work environment. Article 120.1 of the NFPA 70E was, as its title suggests, penned with the important purpose of establishing the “gold standard” for creating an electrically safe work condition. Since then, however, innovation in the realm of electrical safety hassurpassed the precise language of Article 120.1(1-6) because it fails to speak directly to the value permanent electrical safety devices have in achieving an electrically safe work environment. The relatively new concept of permanent electrical safety devices (PESDs) actually improves the workers’ ability to safely isolate electrical energy beyond that which was originally conceived when Article120 was written.

The forward-thinking concept of PESDs goes beyond the high standard of safety for which competent companies strive, yet it still adheres to the core principles found in Article 120.1. With PESDs incorporated into safety procedures, installed correctly into electrical enclosures, and validated before and after each use, workers can transition the once-risky endeavor of verifyingvoltage into a less precarious undertaking that never exposes them to voltage. Let’s face it; every electrical incident has one required ingredient – voltage. Electrical safety is radically improved by eliminating exposure to voltage while still validating zero energy from outside the panel. Time-Tested Practices: The Foundation for Safety Improvements - The standard shoulder belt you (hopefully)use each time you are in a vehicle is an improvement on a simple lap belt found in many vehicles of the past. American car manufacturers offered seat belts only as options until Saab introduced them in 1958 as a standard safety element – an act that changed the landscape of passenger safety in vehicles. Later, driverand passenger-side air bags offered breakthrough safety advances beyond the...