Industrial digitalization supports safer conditions for electrical workers and equipment

Learn how modern electrical system technologies are helping simplify electrical safety

How digitalization can help support safe working conditions

Hazard elimination is the act of establishing an electrically safe working condition. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 70E Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace provides clarity around this topic by defining an electrically safe work condition as:

“An electrically safe work condition is not a procedure, it is a state wherein all hazardous electrical conductors or circuit parts to which a worker might be exposed are maintained in a de-energized state for the purpose of temporarily eliminating electrical hazards for the period of time for which the state is maintained.”

When working on or near electrical equipment, it is important to de-energize the equipment to the greatest extent possible, follow lockout tagout procedures, and verify the absence of voltage. In the past, the verification step was performed by electrically qualified workers in personal protective equipment (PPE) using portable voltage test instruments. However, this process relies on meticulous human performance to be effective.

By leveraging equipment-level smart sensors for electrical safety, organizations can prevent exposure to the electrical hazards encountered during this testing process. These devices provide real-time indication of power present in wiring devices, the amount of power flowing through them and the quality of that power through detailed reporting. The trend reports make it easier to spot anomalies that can lead to potentially dangerous situations — without the need for workers to physically interact directly with equipment. This capability can advise when conditions are safe to access the equipment as well as what level of PPE may be required if equipment needs to remain energized.

Today’s advanced analytics can also warn of underperforming equipment conditions without physically removing any protective enclosures by hand. The ability to complete much of the diagnostic work without opening the enclosures on the equipment using this combination of sensors and software can help prevent workers from being exposed to potential electrical hazards unless absolutely necessary.

However, there will remain situations when workers need to interface directly with equipment. In these instances, digital technologies can help minimize the likelihood of an occurrence and the severity of injury should an accident occur.

How digitalization can help reduce the likelihood of an occurrence

There are many layers of safety that can be employed to reduce the likelihood of arc flash, arc blast and/or shock when electrical workers must interact with equipment. Here’s how digitalization can help take that level of protection one step further:

• Visibility: Equipping a panelboard with sensors enables workers and management to confirm that equipment is disconnected without opening the panel door or using handheld test equipment to reduce the likelihood of an incident.
• Indication: The presence of voltage can be intelligently and remotely sensed with alarms to provide electrical workers a visible indication of which side of the disconnect is energized and which isn’t. This capability is particularly impactful in circumstances when all power sources cannot be de-energized.
• Knowledge: Real-time and historical insights on the condition and maintenance of equipment can provide electrical workers with details that are critical to safety when performing justified energized work. For example, workers can more easily identify “hot spots” that may develop over time due to thermal expansion and contraction, leading to lose and therefore unsafe electrical connections. Using the traditional method of periodic IR (Infrared) scans, it’s highly unlikely that loose connections will be identified. Knowledge of the equipment itself is critical to recognizing hazards, and a prepared worker is a protected worker. 

How digitalization can help reduce the severity of injuries should an incident occur

When justified energized work must occur, minimizing the danger associated with electrical hazards to the point at which injuries may be minor can be designed into the system. To that end, I see a variety of ways in which digital technologies can help reduce the severity of injuries to workers should an accident occur, including the following:

• Preparation: Real-time equipment data helps ensure maintenance staff can be deployed fully prepared with the necessary tools, parts and PPE to perform needed maintenance or repairs. At the end of the day, this ability to perform maintenance with better informed and prepared workers can help significantly reduce risk.
• Remote monitoring: Personnel can see issues like electrical failures and gas and water leaks without ever entering hazardous areas. To put it simply, when you’re digitally monitoring equipment, you eliminate the need to visit potentially hazardous locations unless absolutely necessary. As a result, risk is decreased simply by reducing workers’ routine exposure to energized equipment and hazardous environments.

How digital technology is creating a new frontier of electrical safety

The effort to protect electrical workers and electrical equipment always comes back to the three pillars of safety by design:

1. Eliminate the hazard
2. Reduce the likelihood of an occurence
3. Reduce the severity of injuries

The number one goal should be to establish an electrically safe working condition. And today’s remote insights enabled by digital technologies allow organizations to make smarter maintenance decisions based on the actual equipment and environmental data.

These capabilities not only helps support safer working conditions but can ease compliance with the 2023 NFPA 70B Standard for Electrical Equipment Maintenance. By comparing baseline equipment performance data with historical maintenance logs for a given piece of equipment, it becomes easier to understand when maintenance should be performed. Digitalization can further enhance these benefits by enabling condition-based monitoring, combining historical data with real-time and continuous monitoring insights. For example, similar to how modern cars indicate when an oil change is needed based on real-time engine data, digitalization allows electrical equipment to provide maintenance alerts based on actual performance, rather than a fixed schedule.

Some platforms even enable prescriptive maintenance by going one step further to incorporate machine learning and artificial intelligence that can prescribe specific mitigation solutions for optimal results.

When designing industrial electrical systems, a critical goal needs to be simplifying and safeguarding designs. This means always striving to implement the best-in-market solutions that help ensure the electrical safety of workers and critical equipment.

To learn more, visit Eaton.com/brightlayerindustrial

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