Electrical Safety Audits

Electrical safety audits are a critical part of any property loss control program.

When electrical systems malfunction, the short circuits, arc flashes, and electrocutions can be deadly. Electrical hazards cause approximately 2,000 injuries and 130 deaths per year. Most fatalities are due to direct exposure to electricity while workers repair, construct, or clean equipment. Electrical distribution and equipment failures are the leading causes of fires in industrial properties, according to the National Fire Protection Association, accounting for one-quarter of all industrial fires.

Business consequences are also severe. The untimely shutdown of electrical distribution equipment and primary mechanical systems often results in lost production, higher operating costs, dissatisfied customers, and lost profits. Plus, non-compliance with OSHA, NFPA, NEC, and IEEE standards could lead to fines and unsafe work environments.

How can you protect your people and property? Electrical safety audits from risk engineers.

How do you conduct an electrical safety audit?

Electrical safety audits are conducted via desktop surveys or in-person site inspections. In many cases, they include a combination of both. Risk engineers will examine documentation like one-line diagrams to see a visual representation of your electrical distribution. On site, they examine electrical equipment to determine if any electrical hazards are present and determine best practices for mitigation.

A popular method for assessing electrical hazards is infrared thermography. With cameras that can detect abnormal temperatures through infrared imaging, risk engineers identify electrical hazards invisible to the naked eye. It’s non-destructive, cost-efficient, and reliable. Infrared thermography inspections include comprehensive reports, severity and impact ratings, and recommendations for electrical hazard protection.

What is included in electrical audit?

Electrical safety audits include three different types of risk engineering analysis – short-circuit studies, coordination studies, and arc flash assessments. All three are designed to increase electrical hazard protection, reduce fire risks, and limit property damage and business interruption.

Short-circuit study. A short-circuit study verifies that protective devices and electrical equipment components have adequate interrupting capabilities. Short circuits occur when two energized wires connected to voltage sources such as a battery or generator touch each other without anything between them. Sometimes this happens by accident during construction or testing. Other times it’s due to an equipment failure.

A short circuit study determines if the electrical system is designed to trip the circuit in the event of an issue. Conducting a short-circuit study leads to electrical hazard protection that can limit the chances of explosions or fires. It also helps to prevent injury, property damage, and downtime.

Coordination study. A coordination study will verify adequate protection device settings and proper electrical coordination to isolate faults. Imagine a panel board inside a home with a main breaker and branch breakers for electrical outlets. If your toaster has a short, you expect the branch breaker to trip, not the main breaker – which would mean losing power to your entire house. Why would the branch breaker trip? Because it’s coordinated properly.

In an industrial facility, electric distribution is far more complex, but the lesson remains the same. With multiple panels, voltage levels, and power sources, it’s critical that the proper breakers trip so you don’t lose power to the entire facility. Coordination studies prevent plantwide shutdowns, reduce time to troubleshoot problems, prevent catastrophic damage due to fire impairment, and reduce the risk of property damage and personal injury.

Arc flash assessment. An arc flash assessment evaluates the risk of an arc flash incident, which is an explosive release of energy caused by an electrical current flowing through the air between conductors. An arc flash analysis determines the incident energy to which a worker may be exposed and leads to recommendations for appropriate safety measures and personal protective equipment (PPE). By conducting an arc flash study, you can ensure that your facility has electrical hazard protection and is compliant with safety regulations and standards.

How often must an electrical safety program be audited?

Electrical systems must be audited every year – and in some cases more often than that. In 2023, the NFPA updated NFPA 70B, requiring the inspection of ALL electrical equipment at least every 12 months. Some equipment must be inspected every six months, such as equipment with unaddressed notifications from a continuous monitoring system or equipment that has missed the last two successive maintenance cycles. The update indicates a shift towards condition-based maintenance, requiring managers to be more proactive about electrical hazards and attentive to the current state of their equipment.

Arc flash assessments are required for equipment greater than 50 volts or if your state adopted the 2017 edition of NFPA 70. They are also required if you haven’t had an assessment in five years, if you made significant upgrades or modifications within five years, or if you can’t de-energize equipment remotely.

Want to learn how electric safety inspections and infrared thermography reduce fire risks? Watch our on-demand webinar for a deep dive from our risk engineering team.