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How to Properly Label Your Equipment to Meet NFPA 70E
/Arc Flash Labeling Requirements/NFPA 70E Changes
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is an organization that provides workplace guidance about electrical safety-related work practices in the form of regulations, like 29 CFR 1910.333(a), which emphasizes the use of safety-related work practices to prevent electric shock and other injuries when working on or near energized equipment.
While OSHA has specified the above regulation, you may not know exactly how to put it into action. This is why the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is needed. Through their NFPA 70E Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace, you can comply with OSHA regulation 29 CFR 1910.333(a). Their most current edition (2024) outlines 6 primary responsibilities facilities must meet:
Alerting personnel to electrical hazards is critical to safety. One of the best ways you can do this is visually through labels. Arc flash labels are a requirement listed in NFPA 70E Article 130.5.
The owner of electrical equipment is responsible for the documentation, installation and maintenance of the marked label. So, if you rely on contractors to perform electrical work, it’s your responsibility to ensure these elements are implemented or updated. Make sure you’re using high-performance labels that can outlast their environment.
According to NFPA 70E, labeling is required for any piece of electrical equipment that may need examination, adjustment, service or maintenance while energized. These labels communicate the electrical hazards an employee may be exposed to, including the potential for an arc flash incident.
Label where un-terminated wires or cables needing superior abrasion and chemical resistance exist.
Label where terminated or unterminated cables and wires that may be curved or become curved exist.
Label where terminated cables or wires that may need additional abrasion or chemical resistance exist.
Label where large amounts of data needs to be communicated in a small area, such as fiber optic cables.
Label where large amounts of voltage exist, either on the ground or mounted up high in a facility.
Label where multi-conductor cables or bundled wires/cables exist.
Old Label Versions. The recent update allows labels applied prior to the effective date of this edition of the standard to be acceptable if they complied with the requirements for equipment labeling in the standard in effect at the time the labels were applied (unless changes in electrical distribution system render the label inaccurate).
Document and Review. Document the method of calculating and the data to support the information for the label and review for accuracy at intervals not to exceed 5 years. Where the review of the data identifies a change that renders the label inaccurate, the label shall be updated.
The owner of the electrical equipment shall be responsible for the documentation, installation and maintenance of the marked label.
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