Greenville, S.C. Safety Firm Helps Hospital Avoid Electrical Explosions
Greenville,SC (PRWEB) November 09, 2015 -- Based in Greenville, S.C., Life & Safety Consultants Inc. will now provide arc flash assessments for West Virginia Medicine’s United Hospital Center in Bridgeport W.V.
“We're doing this to help protect the employees from potentially life threatening or fatal accidents resulting from unprotected energized parts,” said Life & Safety President, Don Snizaski.
“An Arc Flash assessment includes an engineering assessment, written report, labeling, and customized training,” he said.
The National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) 70E Compliance is a standard put in place by the NFPA at the request of OSHA so that owners, managers, and employees can work together to ensure an electrically safe working area and comply with OSHA 1910 Subpart S and OSHA 1926 Subpart K.
Snizaski said the assessment can save people from hurting themselves and others by properly labeling potentially hazardous electrical equipment.
“If a machine is not properly shutdown and de-energized when someone comes in contact with it, the stored energy can create what’s called an arc flash or arc blast, essentially creating an electrical explosion as the electricity instantly moves from the equipment to the affected person,” he said.
According to the NFPA, an electrical incident can claim lives and cause permanently disabling injuries. In fact, hundreds of deaths and thousands of burn injuries occur each year due to shock, electrocution, arc flash, and arc blast -- and most could be prevented through compliance with the NFPA 70E.
Brandon Knotts, Occupational Safety Manager at WVU Medicine's United Hospital Center, said Life & Safety’s assessment and training will ensure the employees understand the hazards of electrical safety and what they need to do to protect themselves.
“This results in improved employee morale, fewer incidents, reduction in lost work time, and less money being spent on workers compensation claims, law suits and employee medical expenses,” he said.
About Life & Safety Consultants Inc.
Founded in 1997, Life & Safety Consultants is a Greenville firm designed to provide companies around the globe with environmental, health and safety regulatory compliance and risk management. Life & Safety’s network of qualified experts provides unrivaled knowledge of construction, municipality, and general industry compliance.
Joe Toppe, 5W Media Solutions, +1 864.940.7128, [email protected]
Share this article