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Arc Flash Assessment Helps Achieve OSHA and NFPA Compliance

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Graymont, a family owned company in operation for over 70 years, is a global leader in lime and limestone solutions. The company’s products address today’s environmental issues while supporting industrial processes and agricultural needs. Uses for Graymont’s products include the purification of air and water, and the production of essential items including steel, paper, and metals. The Genoa, Ohio Graymont location employs 48 and is primarily engaged in manufacturing quicklime, hydrated lime, and “dead-burned” dolomite from limestone, dolomite shells, or other substances.

In order to ensure their employees’ safety as well as to be compliant with OSHA, in cooperation with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) requirements, Graymont needed to conduct an Arc Flash Assessment. An Arc Flash Assessment is a study of the facility’s power system to determine the incident energy available at specific electrical devices that employees would be exposed to while “interacting with” the electrical equipment at the facility.

OSHA 1910.132 requires that employers identify and protect their workers from workplace hazards. Every industrial/commercial power system includes inherent risks – specifically electrical shock and Arc Flash, anytime employees are “interacting with” electrical equipment while energized. Interacting with electrical equipment includes operation of fully enclosed switches and power circuit breakers as well as any exposure to energized equipment or circuit parts, including all energized testing or troubleshooting activities.

NFPA 70E – Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace, Section 110.1 – requires “the employer shall implement and document an overall electrical safety program that directs activity appropriate to the risk of electrical hazards. The electrical safety program shall be implemented as part of the employer’s overall occupational health and safety management system, when one exists.” The section specifically includes identifying and quantifying the risks of both shock and arc flash hazards, before work begins.

CIFT, the northwest Ohio MEP, coordinated an Arc Flash Assessment for Graymont using Matrix Technologies, a service provider with expertise in this field. The project consisted of a short-circuit analysis and an Arc Flash analysis, to meet OSHA and NFPA 70E compliance standards. The requirements for an Arc Flash study were met by Matrix, and included field verification and audit, software modeling and design, short-circuit analysis, protective device coordination, and Arc Flash analysis. The Arc Flash labels provided by Matrix Technologies defined the incident energy values for the proper level of personal protective equipment (PPE) the employees at Graymont wear.

OSHA and NFPA requirements were achieved as a result of this Arc Flash Assessment conducted for Graymont and coordinated by CIFT/Ohio MEP.

“Working with Ohio MEP was a seamless process. Ohio MEP did most of the heavy lifting on the project. They established excellent lines of communication throughout the project, frequent updates, and worked well with our contractors through completion. I highly recommend Ohio MEP as a valuable resource if you are looking to invest in your process or operation.” — Greg Jess, Maintenance & Kiln Operations Supervisor at Graymont

Manufacturing Resources

CIFT offers a variety of manufacturing services from lean implementation to DOD support. For a complete list of our manufacturing services, please visit our manufacturing webpage.

Categorized: Manufacturing, Success Stories

Tagged: arc flash assessment, compliance, manufacturing, ohio mep, OSHA

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