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Test & Measurement

Tip of the Week: The First Four Annexes of NFPA 70E

Sept. 14, 2015

Delving into the annexes provides a gold mine of useful information.

Nearly half of the text of NFPA 70E consists of “Informative Annexes” (40 pages). These Annexes aren’t informative in the “Just FYI” sense. They are a gold mine of useful information. There are 16 of them (A through P). Here’s an overview of the first four:

Annex A — The bibliography of documents referenced by requirements in the standard. One way this is helpful is that you can go to the background source of a particular requirement for more detailed information.
Annex B — Additional references, not part of the requirements in the standard. One way this is helpful is that you can dig deeper into a particular safety issue by locating relevant standards and other publications.
Annex C — An explanation of how to determine the limits of approach to the arc flash boundary. It includes a helpful illustration.
Annex D — An explanation of methods for calculating the incident energy and arc flash boundary. It includes five tables, an illustration, and a large number of equations and examples.

About the Author

Mark Lamendola

Mark is an expert in maintenance management, having racked up an impressive track record during his time working in the field. He also has extensive knowledge of, and practical expertise with, the National Electrical Code (NEC). Through his consulting business, he provides articles and training materials on electrical topics, specializing in making difficult subjects easy to understand and focusing on the practical aspects of electrical work.

Prior to starting his own business, Mark served as the Technical Editor on EC&M for six years, worked three years in nuclear maintenance, six years as a contract project engineer/project manager, three years as a systems engineer, and three years in plant maintenance management.

Mark earned an AAS degree from Rock Valley College, a BSEET from Columbia Pacific University, and an MBA from Lake Erie College. He’s also completed several related certifications over the years and even was formerly licensed as a Master Electrician. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and past Chairman of the Kansas City Chapters of both the IEEE and the IEEE Computer Society. Mark also served as the program director for, a board member of, and webmaster of, the Midwest Chapter of the 7x24 Exchange. He has also held memberships with the following organizations: NETA, NFPA, International Association of Webmasters, and Institute of Certified Professional Managers.