Electrical arc flashes are no joke. In fact, they can be deadly.
With temperatures able to reach three times hotter than the sun, it’s no wonder such extreme measures are taken on safety.
An arc flash study is a general assessment of a facility’s electrical system. These safety assessors look for any potential electrical hazards. Going a step further, arc risk assessments look to identify areas where a potential arc flash could occur.
What’s The Difference Between Study Vs. Risk Assessment?
Both the arc assessments and studies are similar as they are tools used by safety experts to check on the health of the electrical system in a building or outside facility. These safety checks are done to avoid workplace accidents and injuries. As both safety reviews look for different things, it’s important to get both to ensure an arc flash or other electrical mishap doesn’t happen.
Arc Flash Study
The Flash study can be viewed as the all-around wellness check of the entire electrical system. Someone who is specialized in reading electrical systems and the safety requirements for these systems will tour a facility, taking note of the health, structure, cleanliness, and even outside elements like temperature and moisture.
These experts will then provide a detailed analysis of any possible risks they’ve found. Along with receiving this report, they will give you helpful tips on how to remedy those risks. Recommendations can include adding more PPE equipment or running new wiring to replace old faulty lines. Listening to these experts can save you the expensive lesson of going through something like an electrical fire.
Arc Risk Assessment
The risk assessment goes into more detail than the study, and looks for specific instances where an arc flash could happen. The safety expert who performs the risk assessment will be able to do the following:
1) Identify the possible cause of the arc flash:
They will locate any hazards or potential pitfalls that can cause an arc flash. Poor equipment or wire maintenance, environmental factors like moisture, and even human error can potentially set off an arc flash. Locating these compromised areas is crucial.
2) Determining what the likelihood of an arc flash occurring is:
Once an area has been found to be in danger of an arc flash happening, an expert will determine how likely this event could occur. Along with examining the electrical components, they will also look at any actions that could lead to an event taking place.
3) Estimating the severity of injuries and damage:
An arc risk assessment will also evaluate how severe worker injuries and property damage could be if a flash were to take place. At this point the safety expert will provide you with a detailed report and steps to remove the dangers.
A Thoroughly Checked System Will Keep You Safe
Now you can see the difference between an arc flash study and a risk assessment. Both are extremely crucial for electrical safety and should not be overlooked. Knowing any probable causes of an arc flash at your facility, and remedying those dangers can keep you and the people working in your facility safe.
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