Arc Flash Services
We have built our reputation by demonstrating our engineering expertise
and by being responsive to our clients’ needs.
Safety is important to your business,
particularly where electricity is concerned.
You want to protect your many assets,
especially your most important asset: your
staff. Gannett Fleming is committed
to providing a full range of arc flash
services to meet a wide variety of demands.
As your partner in arc flash safety, we
are well positioned to meet your project
challenges, offering a one-stop shop of
services and capabilities.
To stay abreast of the ever-changing
safety concerns and requirements,
Gannett Fleming is an active member of the
National Safety Council and ISNetworld, a
global resource for safety reporting.
Arc Flash Overview
The National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA) and Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) have
codes and standards aimed at reducing
the risk of an arc flash hazard to personnel
charged with operating and maintaining
electrical equipment. In response to these
requirements, our clients have been
developing electrical safety programs to
educate and protect their employees from
the dangers of an arc flash.
The primary value in implementing an
electrical safety program in accordance
with NFPA-70E “Standard for Electrical
Safety in the Work Place” is to minimize
the risk of exposure and enhance personal
protection when working around live
or energized electrical equipment. The
engineering required for compliance involves
the development of a detailed short circuit
evaluation of the electrical distribution
system(s). The short circuit analysis forms the
Successful Program Elements
Gannett Fleming’s Electrical Practice is
experienced in life safety-related projects.
We follow codes and standards, such as
those set forth by the NFPA and OSHA,
aimed at reducing the risk of an arc flash
hazard to personnel charged with operating
and maintaining electrical equipment.
An arc flash program includes:
basis for developing the arc flash energy at
specific locations, which then determines
the levels of personal protective equipment
(PPE) and levels of training required to
safely handle the equipment.
Another important benefit of a short circuit
study is that the fault current data can be
used to determine if the equipment has
the required over current protection and
capacity to safely interrupt the fault current
in the system. This type of data can be used
to predict potential equipment failures
or breakers that do not have sufficient
interrupting capacities. NFPA-70E assumes
that all “in service electrical equipment”
is properly coordinated and is properly
rated to handle the available fault currents
as a prerequisite condition for using the
arc flash calculations in an electrical safety
program. Equipment that does not have
the proper ratings falls outside the arc flash
categories, and the equipment cannot be
worked on when energized. In addition, the
equipment is at risk of failure and, from a
safety perspective, warning signs need to be
posted at the job sites.
An NFPA-70E program is intended to
be all inclusive covering both personnel
and equipment protection. In order for
the protection to be effective it has to
be supported by a regular maintenance
and testing program that uses the relay
coordination data from the fault study for
testing. An enhanced maintenance and
testing program is another benefit gained
when adopting a safety program.
Site Assessments. A site assessment
(equipment walk downs) of each facility
will be conducted to determine relay and
circuit breaker settings and equipment
and cable ratings. Existing short circuit and
coordination studies can be utilized
if available.
Short Circuit and Relay Coordination
Study. This study is a prerequisite analysis
to the arc flash program that will provide
the short circuit (three-phase and line to
ground) values at each bus location. This
information is needed to determine the
incident energy levels at each piece of
electrical equipment that would eventually
require arc flash labels.
Arc Flash Analysis. A Power Systems
Analysis program establishes the incident
energy levels for all equipment. The short
circuit data is used with the original
equipment manufacturer’s time-current
characteristics to develop energy values.
Other services provided include training
to facility personnel on the hazards of arc
flash. This can be done in conjunction with
modifying existing standard operating
procedures or developing a new electrical
safety program.
The goal of our arc flash analysis is to
mitigate the incident energy levels and
improve workplace safety. Particular
attention is placed on all motor control
centers, which have been shown to
experience a high number of arc flash events.
Arc Flash Experience
Gannett Fleming has performed more than 100 arc flash studies during the past 10
years. Our clients have facilities in the industrial, commercial, educational, utility,
and transit/transportation sectors.
Power Studies
In addition to our arc flash experience, Gannett Fleming has extensive experience
performing power studies, including short circuit, protective device coordination,
load flow, voltage drop, and harmonic analysis. All of our studies include
recommendations related to device settings, equipment ratings, and maintenance
procedures based on our interpretation of the study results. Our electrical
engineering staff uses SKM Power Tools or Etap software to model multi-building
power distribution systems.
800.233.1055
www.gannettfleming.com
George Campanella, P.E., LEED AP
gcampanella@gfnet.com
856.802.9930
TM
Offices Worldwide
00427-0116