Governing regulations
Since the arc flash incidents involve both electrical safety and fire safety in workplace environments, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in 1970 had incorporated fire safety standards as formulated by National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) codes. Even though all these codes are not made by OSHA, companies get compliance certificate if they follow NFPA guidelines to reduce or control arc flash incidents. The following codes detail the applicable regulations and the respective areas.
OSHA 29 Code of Federal Regulations Part 1910 Subpart S-vital electrical safety requirements, including design work practices, standards and maintenance requirements.
NFPA 70E Standard for Electrical Safety Requirements: This is applicable for Employee and Workplace safety requirements involving electrical equipment and systems.
NFPA 70 National Electrical Code: It provides a comprehensive set of electricity-related regulations which include quality power system, applicable safety standards, wiring parameters and quality electrical equipment.
IEEE Standard 1584: This offers guidelines to perform arc flash hazard calculations.