When do you need it and is it compliant?

You may be looking for information on flame resistant (FR) clothing for many reasons, like legal and voluntary industry safety standards that encompass personal protective equipment (PPE). These are becoming more exact and pervasive. For example, NFPA 70E is a national consensus standard that establishes safety guidelines for workers exposed to electrical hazards. Numerous businesses and facilities that have employees who access electrical systems and energized components have been changed by 70E. Many sites contain a variety of electrical work hazards, illustrating the increasing call for flame resistant clothing.

You need to ask yourself 3 questions when it comes to flame resistant protection:

1. Does your company have employees that need to be in flame resistant clothing?
2. How do we comply with industry regulation or standards?
3. Where do I get flame resistant clothing?

The main purpose and design of FR clothing is to protect workers from two specific types of hazards flash fire and electric arc flash. According to many dictionaries, a flash fire is an unexpected, sudden intense fire caused by ignition of flammable solids, liquids, or gases. It is characterized by high-temperature, short-duration, considerable shock waves and a rapidly moving flame front. Temperatures can reach 1,000°F to 1,900°F. Flash fire is a primary hazard in industries that create a combustible material as a product or byproduct, such as petrochemical or metallurgy.

An electric arc flash is the passage of substantial electrical current through ionized air, created by an electric fault. Typically lasting less than one second, an arc flash explosion generates extremely high radiant heat and releasing acoustical energy, a pressure wave and molten debris. These temperatures can reach up to 35,000°F.

An arc flash is an obvious concern at electrical utilities. But the exposed electrical equipment at 50 volts and above is the threshold that requires the use of NFPA 70E’s electrical safety practices. Most manufacturers have employees whose work falls under this description.

These standards play an important role in helping safety professionals meet safety standards. While OSHA regulations focus on the “what” that needs to be done, industry best practices can provide companies the reason for the “how” to address safety issues.

To comply with industry regulations and standards need to analyze what hazards you have. Once that is done you need to match the hazard to clothing. One of the most popular is Carhartt flame resistant clothing and can easily be purchased online from Midwest Workwear or any other specialty-clothing store online.

Then determine the level of protection you will need. Flame resistant clothes are rated based on the protection they provide, typically measured in calories (heat energy) applied per square centimeter of surface area. Using garments of insufficient ratings can have negative consequences. Conversely, using garments rated higher than your hazards dictate can subject workers to unnecessary discomfort and impose added costs to your company.

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Tags: carhartt clothing workwear, carhartt flame resistant clothing, flame resistant clothes, flame resistant clothing

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 at 10:35 pm and is filed under Business, Fashion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.