Jim Phillips

Seven decades ago, Edward, an American aerospace engineer, was working on a special Air Force project involving a rocket sled. The sled was hooked up to a series of sensors to measure the G-forces it experienced when hurtling...

I am often asked the question: “Can operating a device such as a fusible switch or circuit breaker cause an arc flash?” The exact answer is that it depends. Learning the hard way A client of a friend in Arizona found out the...

Continuing the topic of major changes from part 1 to the 2018 Edition of IEEE 1584 - IEEE Guide for Performing Arc Flash Hazard Calculations, this article explores the effect new electrode configurations have on the...

Since the second edition of IEEE 1584—IEEE Guide for Performing Arc Flash Hazard Calculations was published in 2018, many questions concerning the changes and additions have arisen. In particular, many people have wondered...

After last month , we continue to explore the many changes in the 2018 edition of IEEE 1584, Guide for Performing Arc-Flash Hazard Calculations. When calculating the incident energy and arc flash boundary as part of an arc...

This article begins a series in which I dive deep into the details of the newly published 2018 Edition of IEEE 1584—IEEE Guide for performing Arc-Flash Hazard Calculations. This standard is used globally for calculating the...

The arc flash hazard should be an integral part of any electrical safety training program. NFPA 70E, IEEE 1584 and several other standards address this hazard in terms of incident energy with the severity normally quantified...

An old Grateful Dead lyric sums up the last 16 years of developing the next edition of IEEE 1584, IEEE Guide for Performing Arc-Flash Hazard Calculations: “What a long, strange trip it’s been.” Truer words have never been...

Mention arc flash and thoughts often turn toward extreme heat, burn injury and arc-rated clothing and personal protective equipment (PPE). However, an arc flash has nonthermal hazards as well. Intense light The word “flash”...

According to the 2018 edition of NFPA 70E, the definition of electrical safety is “identifying hazards associated with the use of electrical energy and taking precautions to reduce the risk associated with those hazards.”...

One of the many new additions to the 2018 edition of NFPA 70E is the term “priority,” which states, “105.4, Priority: Hazard elimination shall be the first priority in the implementation of safety-related work practices.”...

In our May 2017 issue, Jim Phillips laid out the significant changes to NFPA 70E for the 2018 edition. Now, he's back with a video walkthrough of the significant changes. Watch below to learn about the major changes to the...