Establishing a competent and compliant arc flash and shock hazard plan can be extremely difficult. Every machine in a facility needs to be tested, the entire circuit needs to be tested, and the results need to be compared against the very difficult to understand NFPA 70E. And there is no real OSHA standard to compare NFPA 70E to, so the only point of reference is the document itself or third party documents, which may or may not be credible.
But after you overcome the challenge of establishing an arc flash and shock hazard plan, there is still a constant need to monitor the plan. As machinery, employees, or regulations change, so too do your plans need to change. And each time a change is made, the entire plan needs to be reworked to ensure nothing else is out of compliance from the changes.
To help avoid difficulties with changes, many companies hire a professional safety and health management company to monitor and update their plans. But when hiring a company, you need to ensure you are hiring a qualified company with auditors who are properly prepared to help your business transition into the future, no matter what changes may lay ahead. In order to properly vet auditors, make sure to not only ask them questions about what to do now, but also how to handle potential future changes. If they have difficulty in articulating how to compensate for potential future changes, it might be a good idea to look elsewhere; you do not want someone reviewing your arc flash and hazard plan who cannot manage it indefinitely.
If you have any questions about arc flash and shock monitoring, please contact us. And if you have anything to add about the importance of arc flash and shock monitoring, please leave a comment.