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How to Properly Label Your Equipment to Meet NFPA 70E
/Arc Flash Labeling Requirements/NFPA 70E Changes
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) details how to comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) regulation, 29 CFR 1910.333(a), through the NFPA 70E standard.
According to the NFPA 70E standard, there are six primary responsibilities that facilities must meet. These responsibilities include:
Arc flash labeling is the responsibility of the employer, not the manufacturer or installer of the equipment. Labeling is required for any piece of electrical equipment that may need examination, adjustment, service or maintenance while energized, creating the potential for an arc flash incident to occur.
In order to comply with the label requirement of NFPA 70E, your team should understand what electrical equipment needs to be properly labeled for arc flash.
Here are a few examples of locations an arc flash label should go.
Switchboards
Ideal for un-terminated wires or cables needing superior abrasion and chemical resistance.
Panel Boards
Ideal for general marking of terminated or unterminated cables and wires that may be curved or become curved.
Industrial Control Panels
Ideal for terminated cables or wires that may need additional abrasion or chemical resistance.
Motor Control Centers
Ideal for getting larger amounts of data on small diameter wire and cables such as fiber optic cables.
Production Line
Ideal for multi-conductor cables or bundled wires/cables.
Disconnect Switches
Ideal for multi-conductor cables or bundled wires/cables.
Now that you’re familiar with the equipment that needs labeling, here are the elements you will need to include in your arc flash label.
A common guideline is to use the "Danger" header when the voltage is over 600 or when the incident energy is over 40 cal/cm2. If it is less than this threshold, an orange "Warning" header is typically used.
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) defines this as, “the dimension between the possible arc point and the head and body of the worker positioned in place to perform the assigned task.”
A measurement in calories/cm2 or Joules/cm2 of thermal energy at a working distance from an arc fault.
This is the shortest distance at which a person working at the time of an arc-flash may receive permanent injury (the onset of a second degree burn or worse) if not properly protected by flame-resistant (FR) clothing.
Each hazard risk category requires a different level of protection. Categories range from 1 to 4. Category “0” was removed in the NFPA 70E 2015 Changes.
These boundaries are defined in more detail in our Arc Flash Workplace Safety Guide. The “prohibited approach” boundary was removed in the 2015 NFPA 70E edition.
The voltage of the equipment.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) details how to comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) regulation, 29 CFR 1910.333(a), through the NFPA 70E standard.
According to the NFPA 70E standard, there are six primary responsibilities that facilities must meet. These responsibilities include:
Arc flash labeling is the responsibility of the employer, not the manufacturer or installer of the equipment. Labeling is required for any piece of electrical equipment that may need examination, adjustment, service or maintenance while energized, creating the potential for an arc flash incident to occur.
In order to comply with the label requirement of NFPA 70E, your team should understand what electrical equipment needs to be properly labeled for arc flash.
Here are a few examples of locations an arc flash label should go.
Switchboards
Ideal for un-terminated wires or cables needing superior abrasion and chemical resistance.
Panel Boards
Ideal for general marking of terminated or unterminated cables and wires that may be curved or become curved.
Industrial Control Panels
Ideal for terminated cables or wires that may need additional abrasion or chemical resistance.
Motor Control Centers
Ideal for getting larger amounts of data on small diameter wire and cables such as fiber optic cables.
Production Line
Ideal for multi-conductor cables or bundled wires/cables.
Disconnect Switches
Ideal for multi-conductor cables or bundled wires/cables.
Now that you’re familiar with the equipment that needs labeling, here are the elements you will need to include in your arc flash label.
A common guideline is to use the "Danger" header when the voltage is over 600 or when the incident energy is over 40 cal/cm2. If it is less than this threshold, an orange "Warning" header is typically used.
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) defines this as, “the dimension between the possible arc point and the head and body of the worker positioned in place to perform the assigned task.”
A measurement in calories/cm2 or Joules/cm2 of thermal energy at a working distance from an arc fault.
This is the shortest distance at which a person working at the time of an arc-flash may receive permanent injury (the onset of a second degree burn or worse) if not properly protected by flame-resistant (FR) clothing.
Each hazard risk category requires a different level of protection. Categories range from 1 to 4. Category “0” was removed in the NFPA 70E 2015 Changes.
These boundaries are defined in more detail in our Arc Flash Workplace Safety Guide. The “prohibited approach” boundary was removed in the 2015 NFPA 70E edition.
The voltage of the equipment.
Use our arc flash program checklist tool to quickly identify your needs
Now that you’re familiar with the equipment that needs labeling, here are the elements you will need to include in your arc flash labels.
A common guideline is to use the "Danger" header when the voltage is over 600 or when the incident energy is over 40 cal/cm2. If it is less than this threshold, an orange "Warning" header is typically used.
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) defines this as "the dimension between the possible arc point and the head and body of the worker positioned in place to perform the assigned task."
A measurement in calories/cm2 or Joules/cm2 of thermal energy at a working distance from an arc fault.
This is the shortest distance at which a person working at the time of an arc-flash may receive permanent injury (the onset of a second degree burn or worse) if not properly protected by flame-resistant (FR) clothing.
Each hazard risk category requires a different level of protection. Categories range from 1 to 4. Category "0" was removed in the NFPA 70E 2015 Changes.
These boundaries are defined in more detail in our Arc Flash Workplace Safety Guide. The "prohibited approach" boundary was removed in the 2015 NFPA 70E edition.
The voltage of the equipment.
Retraining should occur every 3 years, and employees must also be retrained if their job duties change, or when procedures are not being followed (as observed by annual inspections or supervision).
Training should include:
Training sessions must be documented and verified at least annually, and participants must be able to demonstrate knowledge. To help keep your workplace safe and compliant, Brady Safety offers a custom approach to Arc Flash Training.
The NFPA 70E standard was updated for 2021, including adding detail to term definitions, clarifying requirements and reorganizing information for a more logical progression. The most notable changes are:
Better Understand arc flash, risk assessments, and labeling requirements.
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The NFPA 70E gets updated every three years. See what’s new in 2018.
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