Blog > Safety > Upgrade Your Electrical Safety Program and Reduce LOTO Procedure Times
Upgrade Your Electrical Safety Program and Reduce LOTO Times
4/6/23 | Grace Technologies, Rexel Partner
Performing Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) safely requires the answer to one question; is there voltage? NFPA 70E/CSAZ462 requires an absence of voltage test to verify an electrically safe work condition. The traditional process poses arc flash and shock hazards to comply with NFPA 70E Article 120.5: Process for Establishing and Verifying an Electrically Safe Work. Learn how you can enhance compliance for this frequently violated standard while simultaneously improving your safety and productivity.
If you currently use our R-3W Series voltage indicators, then you're already halfway there. Voltage indicators are installed through a 30mm knockout and illuminate when hazardous voltage is present until stored electrical energy is released, providing a warning of potential harm when maintenance personnel believe equipment to be in a depowered state.
On the flip side, when performing an absence of voltage test per NFPA 70E 120.5(7), our Safe Test Points are also installed through 30mm knockouts and feature high impedance protected test points that allow a qualified electrician to safely test phase-to-phase and phase-to-ground using a voltmeter. And the good news is you can easily upgrade your existing voltage indicators or Safe-Test Point, if you desire, to a ChekVolt® by installing it in the existing 30mm knockout.
ChekVolt users report LOTO procedure time reductions of 35-40 minutes. ChekVolt pays for itself after 6-8 LOTO procedures from time savings alone! View Product Bulletin.
The ChekVolt allows users to test for absence of voltage and provides voltage presence LED indication; all without opening enclosure doors. With the enclosure closed, qualified electricians using their trusted voltmeters can insulate the meter's probes with .080” tips into any two test point jacks and take a voltage reading.
With the addition of a ChekVolt within any electrical safety program, by following the proper safety procedures outlined in NFPA 70E, the user’s risk of arc flash or shock hazard is significantly reduced. This PESD has also made compliance easier by reducing the margin of human error that results in LOTO being one of OSHA’s most cited violations each year.
Meet the Standard with No Exceptions
- NFPA 70E 120.5(4) – ChekVolt voltage indication LEDs illuminate when hazardous voltage is present until stored electrical energy is released, warning of hazardous voltage that may harm maintenance personnel believing equipment to be in a depowered state.
- NFPA 70E 120.5(7) – ChekVolt high impedance protected test points allow a qualified electrician to safely test phase-to-phase and phase-to-ground for absence of voltage using an adequately rated portable test instrument (i.e. voltmeter). Per 120.5 (7): “Before and after each test, determine that the test instrument is operating satisfactorily through verification on any known voltage source.”
This post was originally published on January 11, 2023, by Grace Technologies. Click here to see the original article.