Need a site single-line diagram? Wondering how to draw a circuit diagram? Then this article is for you! Inside I will answer these questions about single-line diagrams and more! What is a schematic diagram? Why do you need it? How to draw a circuit diagram? Which electrical symbols do you use? What info do you need to include? Or maybe you’re just interested in how to read electrical blueprints… Ready? Let’s go! FREE Template : AutoCAD SLD Title Block    What is a single line diagram? A single-line diagram (SLD) is a high-level schematic diagram showing how incom ..read more

If you’re considering hiring an arc flash consultant to complete an arc flash study at your facility make sure to check out this list. While we here at Leaf Electrical Safety do offer these services and are confident we can help solve your arc flash needs, we also understand it is important to know you options. For that reason, we’ve compiled a list of who we consider to be the best arc flash consultants and arc flash study companies in the business. Let’s get started! FREE Template: Arc Flash Study Project Checklist e-Hazard Company Profile: E-Hazard is a arc flash company that specializes ..read more

   This is my complete guide to arc flash studies in 2021. In this guide you’ll learn the answers to these questions: What is an arc flash study? Why is an arc flash study is important? Is an arc flash study required by law? When is an arc flash study required? How often is an arc flash study is required? Who can perform an arc flash study? How much does an arc flash study cost? And much more… Let’s get started.   Contents  Chapter 1 Arc Flash Study Basics Chapter 4 Getting an Arc Flash Study Done   Chapter 2 Legal Requirements and Liability Chap ..read more

When trying to decide what electrical safety training is right for you or your crew, first make sure you know what is going to be covered during the training session. If you are looking at a one-day training and trying to just hit the basics, then these are the top 5 items I recommend you make sure are included. Understand the effects of shock and arc flash Scare tactics might work for some people, but I feel that only showing videos of arc flash explosions or graphics photos of people who have suffered burns from shock and arc flash incidents is not enough. Providing real information about th ..read more

If you are an electrician working with high voltage equipment (anything rated more than 750 volts) then you should really understand the concept of equipotential grounding and how it differs from parallel grounding. I'll be using 3-phase high lines with a neutral as an example because it's easier to visualize, but once you've got the concept the same theory can be applied when working with high voltage metal-enclosed switchgear as well. Up until the early 70's people in all industries were almost exclusively using parallel grounding to "protect" the worker from dangerous shock hazards when wor ..read more

During an arc flash explosion, anyone who is within range will be exposed to a loud bang similar to a bomb going off. Decibel levels can reach up to 160 and I've often heard this would be comparable to standing next to a jet fighter airplane during takeoff. In order to ensure protection from the high level of sound, an electrical worker is required to wear ear plugs as part of their arc flash PPE. Usually, these ear plugs are made of foam and when you think about what happens to foam when it's exposed to extreme levels of heat you might think twice before putting them in your ears wh ..read more

You've had an arc flash study done and installed labels on all your equipment. You've given training to your electrical workers on how to interpret those labels, but you've still got one problem… some of the levels are very high. In fact, some of them are so high that the workers are uncomfortable even going near the stuff… now what? Now, you need to figure out how to reduce arc flash incident energy levels… and in this article we are going to show many of the ways you can mitigate arc flash hazards levels.   Table of contents What is arc flash incident energy anyway? What are the fa ..read more

If you’re looking for the quickest and easiest way how to calculate the arc flash boundary then you’ve come to the right place! There are a number of ways to do it, all which come with their own quirks and nuances but in this article I’m going to assume a couple of things: You aren’t planning on doing an arc flash study You are likely going to be using the category (or table) method to determine the arc flash PPE. You’ve realized this doesn’t give you the arc flash boundary… so you want a quick way to figure it out. If that sounds like you then keep reading! What is the arc flash bound ..read more

Are you wondering if you even need arc flash labels in your facility? I mean, isn’t there some other way to do it? Or a simpler version of the label that doesn’t require engineering calculations? In this article, I’m going to go over what it is that you really need for labels in your facility and answer some of the other related questions you might have. Are arc flash labels required? The simple answer is YES. You absolutely need to warn people of the potential that an arc flash hazard may exist inside any of the electrical equipment where it’s possible. The thing you really need to consider i ..read more

From the perspective of an industrial electrician, understand what causes arc flash is almost more important that understanding how to deal with one. In this article, I'll be going over some of the common things that can cause an arc flash to happen and offer some ideas about what one needs to be on the watch for. First, a quick intro to arc flash I've spent more time discussing what an arc flash is in this article, but just quickly I want to make sure we are all on the same page. What we are talking about is a extreme hazard in the world of electricity that is essentially an explosion that in ..read more