Guide to the selection of personal protective equipment against the thermal hazards from electric fault arc according to BGI/GUV-I 5188: Method and first experiences in use

Basic The new edition of BGI/GUV-I 5188 “Thermal hazards from electric fault arc - Guide to the selection of personal protective equipment for electrical work” [1] was released in October 2012. There is great uncertainty among many of those responsible for selecting suitable PPE for protection against the thermal effects of an electric fault arc. In recent years, standards have been prepared that provide for PPE, or rather the protection afforded, to be divided into classes, such as Electric Arc Protection among others. In practice, however, there is a big problem in selecting the right PPE with knowledge of the electric arc protection classes, or in deciding whether the proposed work can even be carried out as planned. The methodology set forth in BGI/GUV-I 5188 provides assistance in the selection of suitable PPE for protection against the thermal effects of an electric fault arc. Furthermore, the experience gained in the application of this methodology over almost one year since its initial release is also shared.