Data Center Best Practices: Arc Flash & PPE Considerations
2.0 Compliance With NFPA 70e & OSHA Requirements:
Step 1: Establish and Audit an Electrical Safety Policy with Defined Responsibilities
Step 2: Arc Flash Hazard Analysis and Labeling of the Electrical Equipment
Step 3: Provide Adequate Supplies of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)
Step 4: Training and Re-training of All Workers
Step 5: Electrical Distribution Maintenance is the Key to Personnel Safety
Step 6: Engineering Solutions to the Arc Flash Problem
1.0 INTRODUCTION
For 30+ years, Electronic Environments has been engineering, building and maintaining Data Centers and Telecommunication facilities to deliver maximum system availability. Traditionally, IT and Facility personnel within these special purpose facilities have been called upon to provide “first responder” services to avert catastrophic interruptions of the operation, by simply shutting off, resetting, or transferring simple electrical or mechanical switches. Beginning in 2012, recent Occupational and Safety regulatory changes have created additional building mandates and required additional personnel training to properly perform these first responder activities.
Data Centers utilize large amounts of AC & DC power and cooling. The migration to high density blade servers, and the traditional practice to get the cooling and power as close as possible to these systems for maximum efficiency, has increased the likelihood that your Data Center building infrastructure is significantly robust, and contains high levels of potential energy at many points within the system. It has only been in recent years that awareness of the dangers of this potential energy- defined by arc flash events- has been incorporated into electrical safety standards, impacting both Mission Critical Cooling and Power systems. While relatively rare in relationship to first responder operational activities, injuries and fatalities that nonetheless could result from these types of accidents are devastating to the workers and their families. Additionally, the financial consequences of such events can be very damaging to the employer. Standards are enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and Electronic Environments has developed programs to help Mission Critical organizations meet or exceed these required safe work practices, which will enable your on-site “first responders” to perform simple electrical transfers- that maybe required to keep your Data Center on-line and available!
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2.0 COMPLIANCE WITH NFPA 70E & OSHA REQUIREMENTS:
There are several important steps that Mission Critical Data Centers must take to maximize the availability of their systems, and simultaneously protect their IT operators, facility personnel and subcontractors from the physical, financial and statutory consequences of electrical accidents.
Step 1: Establish and Audit an Electrical Safety Policy with Defined Responsibilities
The Electrical Safe Work Practices (ESWP) policy is a written document created by the employer that covers all areas of the company’s electrical safety. While OSHA regulations may not detail what is included in an ESWP policy, they refer to NFPA 70E for specific methods on workplace safety. NFPA 70E covers the requirements for safe work practices and administrative controls and provides the basis for the policy. A company’s ESWP policy should emphasize de-energization as a priority but this is not always possible in Mission Critical Data Center operations. IF indeed downtime is not feasible, the policy should outline the procedure for working on live equipment and incorporate a work permit control for working on energized electrical equipment.
Audits must be performed on a three-year cycle to assure continued compliance of the policies and procedures to the standards. Additionally, workers must be evaluated for compliance to the standards and the policy on an annual basis and any deviations must be documented.
Step 2: Arc Flash Hazard Analysis and Labeling of the Electrical Equipment
The methodology for performing an arc flash analysis is outlined in IEEE 1584, Guide for Performing Arc Flash Hazard Calculations. The arc flash analysis will determine, among other things, the incident energy potential of each piece of electrical distribution equipment in the facility. This incident energy potential will define the personal protective equipment (PPE) that is required.
NFPA 70E requires labeling the electrical equipment to indicate the:
1) Level of incident energy or arc rating of clothing
2) Voltage rating of equipment
3) Arc flash boundary
Step 3: Provide Adequate Supplies of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)
Any Employees operating electrical or mechanical equipment shall be provided with appropriate PPE to protect against shock and arc flash. All contractors operating within the facility must utilize the proper PPE gear plus rated insulated tools & meters. Failure to provide this PPE equipment to your employers, or failure to require subcontractors to protect themselves against potential Arc Flash, significantly increases your company’s liability in the event of an accident. OSHA is also actively inspecting businesses, and levies significant fines for non-compliance.
Step 4: Training and Re-training of All Workers
NFPA 70E defines a qualified person as “one who has skills and knowledge related to the construction and operation of the electrical equipment and systems, and has received safety training to recognize and avoid the hazards involved.” Licensed electrical workers are not automatically considered to be qualified by OSHA until they have received this specific training. This requirement means that the ANY employee must have received safety training specific to the hazards of arc flash, arc blast, shock and electrocution- specifically “first responder” Data Center or Telecom Operators , who may simply be switching a UPS to Bypass, or shutting off a PDU distribution circuit breaker- particularly if maximizing your Data Center Availability
The 2012 edition of NFPA 70E requires that workers be re-trained at least every three years. Additional factors that require worker re-training include introduction of a new technology or a new type of equipment, or changes in procedures or job duties hat necessitate different safety practices.
Step 5: Electrical Distribution Maintenance is the Key to Personnel Safety
While UPS, Battery, Process Cooling maintenance has long been considered paramount to maximizing Data Center reliability and availability, Electrical Distribution Maintenance is now essential to enabling these services to be performed safely. All electrical distribution systems contain active components such as fuses, circuit breakers and protective relays that help protect the system in the event of an electrical fault, and the hazards of arc flash and/or arc blast. Electrical distribution overcurrent protective devices must be calibrated, and maintained to be able to properly detect arcing conditions and quickly clear faults. Furthermore, properly engineered systems with intelligent overcurrent protective devices can significantly reduce the potential amount of incident energy at critical points within the Mission critical Infrastructure.
In the past, attention to maintenance and the condition of electrical equipment was not a primary concern for many Data Center operators. In many cases, it was not clearly understood that poor condition or inadequate maintenance of the devices presented an elevated safety hazard for workers. With the current focus on workplace hazards and electrical safety, companies must become more vigilant, if they want to continue to reap the natural advantages of having on-site “first responders” to help maximize their Data Centers availability.
Step 6: Engineering Solutions to the Arc Flash Problem
There have been significant efforts on the part of electrical equipment manufacturers to develop strategies for arc flash reduction. Arc flash encompasses many physical phenomena and the continuing research will yield innovative technologies in the year sot come. Yet, the methodologies to reduce arc flash energy or to mitigate its effects fall under two basic categories. The first category is a collection of engineering controls that are intended to reduce the arcing time. The second category encompasses equipment and techniques to remove the worker from the danger zone.
3.0 SUMMARY
Changing building requirements regarding electrical hazards (Arc flash & Arc blast) impact the safety regulations for Data Center and Telecommunication “first responders”. Data Center operators, who are looking to maintain maximum availability, can adjust their safety procedures, training and provide PPE, to enable the traditional IT/ Telecom operators to safely perform these traditional “first responder” activities. While these relatively simple activities have not changed, nor has the danger increased- businesses today must recognize the increased regulations regarding electrical safety, adjust their policies accordingly to maintain the important capabilities of their own “first responders” …and properly respond to the new regulatory environment. Electronic Environments can assist you in complying with the safe work practices dictated by NFPA 70E, provide innovative engineering solutions related to with Mission Critical electrical distribution system and provide the necessary training/PPE for your employees to maintain their “first responder” capabilities. Implementing an Arc Flash engineering study, safety training, and PPE equipment will not only enhance workplace safety for employees and but enable you to maximize the availability of your Mission Critical Data Center and Telecom Facility.
Take a look at the video we created:
