Arc Flash - Getting Started

A practical approach to undertaking an arc flash study at an industrial metals facility is described. This paper is based on the experience of the authors in undertaking an arc flash study and the process of rolling out an overall systems approach to arc flash at an industrial site. The arc flash study procedure is primarily based on current arc flash standards such as NFPA 70E, CSA Z462 and IEEE Std 1584; however insight is provided into areas that require practical consideration during the process that may not be intuitively obvious prior to participating in this process. This paper is a discussion of shared experiences from the concept stage to arc flash system completion.