ARC Flash Study

An Arc Flash occurs during a fault, or short circuit condition, which passes through the arc gap. In order to identify the specific arc flash hazard at a given piece of equipment within a facility, an arc flash study must be performed.

The Arc Flash can be initiated through accidental contact, equipment  which is underrated for the available short circuit current, contamination or tracking over insulated surfaces, deterioration or corrosion of equipment and, or parts, as well as other causes. An Arc Flash event can expel large amounts of deadly energy. 

The study is carried out as per IEEE Std 1584-2002, IEEE Guide for Performing Arc-Flash & Hazard Calculations and IEEE Std. 1584a-2004 (Amendment 1) and NFPA 70E with the help of ETAP software.

Electrical Safety Audit

Electrical Safety Audit is examining the safety of electrical installations of any industrial unit or organization. 

The purpose of an electrical safety audit is to identify potentially hazardous electrical situations and offers a structured path for continual improvement towards best practices. To achieve this objective, we depute professionally trained auditors to identify ‘Opportunities and Measures for Improvements’ in Electrical Safety Auditing. Auditors follow a systematic approach for evaluating potential electrical hazards and produce reports recommending actions for improvement in Electrical Safety Installations.

 Electrical Safety Audit helps in identifying:

1. Electrical hazards to minimize the risk of accidents,
2. Areas of risk or vulnerability in electrical systems and installations,
3. Ensuring the longevity of expensive electronic equipment like computers and other machines,
4. Development of a dynamic record of safety performance,
5. Creation of a positive cycle of safety improvement,
6. Ensuring compliance with Regulatory and industrial safety-related best practices.

Lightning is a natural hazard, being the discharge of static electricity generated in parts, called ‘cells’, of storm clouds. Lightning strikes or even electrical discharges due to nearby lightning strikes can cause fires, explosions, chemical release or mechanical disruption within or around a building.

Lightning Arrester Adequacy Survey is conducted to ascertain the risk of Lightning on the structures throughout the plan site.

Structures with inherent explosive risks; for example, factories, chimneys, stores and fuel tanks, tall structures, electric towers, etc. usually need the highest possible class of lightning protective system. Without such a protection system a building’s structure, electronic systems and the people working around or within it are all at risk.

We assess the lightning risks and proposes LPS designs for the building and SPDs for the Equipment.

“IS/IEC 62305 – Protection against Lightning” comprises of 4 parts:

1.       IS/IEC 62305-1 Part 1: General Principles.
2.       IS/IEC 62305-2 Part 2: Risk Management.
3.       IS/IEC 62305-3 Part 3: Physical Damage to Structure and Life Hazard.
4.   IS/IEC 62305-4 Part 4: Electrical and Electronic Systems within Structures.
5.       IS 2309-1989 has been superseded by IS/IEC 62305 from December 2015.

Lightning Arrester Installation

The basic principle for the protection of installation against the risk of lightning strikes is to prevent the disturbing energy from reaching sensitive equipment. To achieve this, it is necessary to:

1. Capture the lightning current and channel it to earth via the most direct path (avoiding the vicinity of sensitive equipment);
2. Perform equipotential bonding of the installation; this equipotential bonding is implemented by bonding conductors, supplemented by Surge Protection Devices (SPDs) or spark gaps (e.g., antenna mast spark gap);
3. Minimize induced and indirect effects by installing SPDs and/or filters. Two protection systems are used to eliminate or limit overvoltage’s, they are known as the building protection system (for the outside of buildings) and the electrical installation protection system (for the inside of buildings).