NFPA 70e Regulations

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See also: What Is NFPA 70e? NFPA 70e Compliance Checklist NFPA 70e PPE Requirements

NFPA 70e regulations have been developed by the National Fire Protection Association as a standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace. It is one of the foremost consensus standards for electrical safety. It covers employee protection from the electrical hazards of shock, arc flash and arc blasts.

Here is a detailed breakdown of how the NFPA 70e regulations are organized:

Chapter 1 - Safety–Related Work Practices - is the central part of the NFPA 70e regulations. It covers electrical safety training requirements for Qualified and Unqualified electrical personnel and determines who is permitted to work on or near exposed energized parts. It also requires an Electrical Safety Program and specifies what that electrical safety program should include. Requirements for Lockout/Tagout are also covered, as well as the procedures for the three levels of Lockout/Tagout control: individual, simple, and complex.

Chapter One is also the home of the “hot topics”: Electrical Hazard Analysis for Shock and Flash, Energized Electrical Work Permits, Approach Boundaries for Shock, Arc-Flash Boundaries, and selection of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) for electrical safety.

Chapter 2 - Safety-Related Maintenance Requirements - is a chapter that basically requires that electrical components, wiring, and equipment be maintained in a safe condition. Most electricians will find that this chapter only documents what they already know as good electrical maintenance practice.

Chapter 3 - Safety Requirements for Special Equipment - covers batteries, lasers and power electronic equipment. This chapter addresses a few very specific types of electrical equipment that may have hazards different than the common shock and flash hazards. Many facilities now use lasers in laboratories and in workshops, and batteries are common for many uses including in UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) systems. Included in chapter 3 is a section on Safety-Related Work Practices for Power Electronic Equipment which specifically includes such things as electric arc welding equipment, and process equipment that have rectifiers and inverters such as: motor drives, UPS systems, and lighting controllers.

Chapter 4 - Installation Safety Requirements; is a very truncated version of the NEC®. This chapter is based on applicable sections of the NEC®, but is not intended to be used in lieu of the NEC®.

Annexes A through M include very useful information such as defining approach boundaries, how to calculate flash protection boundaries, a sample LOTO procedure, a simplified method for selecting flame-resistant clothing, and a sample Energized Electrical Work Permit.

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