NFPA 70E Requirements: The Baker’s Dozen of Electrical Safety

Ron Widup, Shermco IndustriesColumns, NFPA 70E and NETA, Spring 2024 Columns

First published in 1979, NFPA 70E, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace, has evolved tremendously over the years and is arguably the premier electrical safety work practices standard available to the electrical worker. The current 2024 edition is 113 pages, three chapters, and 19 Informative Annex sections. Many sources of information and safety knowledge are embedded in these pages, …

Utilize a Great Resource: NFPA 70E Handbook for Electrical Safety in the Workplace

Ron Widup, Shermco IndustriesColumns, NFPA 70E and NETA, Winter 2023 Columns

You may have seen my LinkedIn post about this, but we’ll expand further with some examples to highlight this resource for a better understanding of NFPA 70E. There were two points to the message:  Edited by Dean Austin, Chris Coache, and Corey Hannahs, the authors do a great job of providing usable information to us, the electrical workers. It was …

The Future of Electrical Safety and Maintenance Standards

Ron Widup, Shermco IndustriesColumns, NFPA 70E and NETA, Summer 2023 Columns

What does the future hold for our industry — especially when it comes to those all-important standards that ensure reliability, protect property, and help us to avoid injury or death? As we revise and update codes and standards from NETA, NFPA, IEEE, ASTM, NEMA, CSA, and OSHA, I think we should all read this very carefully, especially the summary. WHAT …

NFPA 70E, 2024 Edition: Second Draft Meeting

Ron Widup, Shermco IndustriesColumns, NFPA 70E and NETA, Winter 2022 Columns

In late August 2022, the NFPA 70E Technical Committee met for the Second Draft meeting related to the revision of what will be the 2024 edition of NFPA 70E, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace. This was the step in the revision process where the 70E Technical Committee meets to review Public Comments as well as NFPA Correlating Committee …

Fault on Feeder M1A: Guidance from NFPA 70E — Part 3

Ron Widup, Shermco IndustriesColumns, NFPA 70E and NETA, Spring 2022 Columns

This is the last in a three-part series of articles as we navigate a 15 kV feeder fault and the subsequent repairs. We have discussed how NFPA 70E is an important tool for the electrical worker to use in the field as they troubleshoot, repair, and restore electrical equipment after a significant fault event, all with an eye on getting the …

Fault On Feeder M1A: Planning Recovery Using NFPA 70E

Ron Widup, Shermco IndustriesNFPA 70E and NETA, Columns, Winter 2021 Columns

Previously, we discussed a 15 kV feeder fault at a manufacturing plant and how NFPA 70E is an important tool for the electrical worker to use in the field as they troubleshoot, repair, and restore the equipment to get the facility up and running. To recap, here’s what happened: The main circuit breaker in one of the plant’s three medium-voltage substations …

Electrical Service Work and Worker Fatigue: Take Care of Yourself!

Ron Widup, Shermco IndustriesColumns, Fall 2019 Columns, Safety Corner

Chances are you are in an electrical career you love: Testing, maintaining, installing, commissioning, designing, rebuilding, engineering, improving…and generally making electrical power systems safer and better. But are you doing so with a focus on managing the possible onset of acute or chronic fatigue? We live in a busy world — do more with less; be efficient in your tasks; …