The making of IEEE 1683 — An introduction and behind the scenes look

Installations of electrical equipment and system designs that comply with well-known consensus standards and national codes will meet or exceed minimum guidelines for safety and reliability. However, many within industry hold the belief that further attention should be paid to "safety by design" and "prevention through design" principles. In response, IEEE 1683, IEEE Guide for Motor Control Centers Rated up to and Including 600 V AC or 1000 V DC with Recommendations Intended to Help Reduce Electrical Hazards [1], has been written to address electrical safety for low voltage motor control centers and similar standards are in development for other types of equipment. IEEE 1683 is the first IEEE standard developed to specifically address equipment design, selection and installation practices with emphasis on methods to reduce exposure to shock and arc flash hazards. This paper is summary of the history and reasons that lead to the development of IEEE 1683 and an introduction to its application for safer low voltage motor control center applications.