Health and Safety Legislation – Ireland & UK
Products used to protect people where appropriate should be CE certified. The Arc Flash Standards for clothing are relatively new.
Health and Safety legislation imposes a duty on all employers to identify all hazards in the workplace, assess the risks to health & safety, and to put in place the necessary protective and preventive measures in order to ensure so far as reasonably practicable the safety, health and welfare of people at work. Therefore if you are an employer and there is an Arc Flash hazard, you must assess these risks and to put in place the necessary protective and preventive measures in order to comply with your legal responsibility. As part of this process where it is not possible to make work conditions safe, in determining the appropriate PC & PPE, you must carry out a Risk Assessment involving an Arc Flash hazard analysis. This will calculate the Arc Rating required as this determines the level of protection needed for the PC and PPE.
There is no standard for Arc Flash calculations in Europe but accepted industry practice is to comply with the IEEE1584 standard for Arc Flash calculations. What is IEEE 1584? IEEE 1584 is the IEEE Guide for Performing Arc Flash Hazard Calculations. The IEEE 1584 method has become the accepted industry practice in calculating the potential incident energy that could be present at a given location. These calculations are then used to conclude the PPE requirements.