Safety: Unsafe Assumptions, Part 3

False assumptions can completely undermine the safety effort. In the event of an arc blast, they can leave you literally burned. Let’s review these three dangerous assumptions.

1. “I’m just checking voltages, so NFPA 70E doesn’t apply to me.” Or, a variation, “I’m doing infrared….” It doesn’t matter what you’re doing; a potential arc blast doesn’t check that first and then decide whether to happen. It does matter where you are relative to energized equipment, though.
2. “Wearing the bulky PPE for this job would actually be more dangerous.” This rationalizing doesn’t take into account that the energy levels haven’t changed based on whether you think the PPE is practical. If the PPE truly does interfere with the work, then the work itself must be redesigned. Installing IR windows is an example of this solution.
3. “We tested the breaker last month, so there’s no danger of an arc blast.” The breaker isn’t the only potential source of an arc blast. Base your arc blast safety practices on the parameters provided by NFPA 70E (e.g., distance and energy level).