How I Went from Arc Flash Training Newbie to Guru in 2 Weeks

Arc flash training is serious business—deadly serious. People die from a lack of knowledge on this topic. In fact, every single day at work in the United States, one person dies a painful death from shock, electrocution or arc flash. Nearly 700 people a month get a quick trip to the emergency room for electrical contact injuries.

The National Fire Protection Association from which we receive the standards for electrical safety in the workplace, gives us the basis for NFPA 70E training which could save lives and property.

Far Hotter Than the Sun

Imagine that! An arc flash can produce temperatures that far exceed the surface of our sun. For example, a thousand ampere arc across terminals that nearly touch can exceed 35,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

This makes our sun look wimpy at its comparatively cool 10,000 degrees. This doesn't just melt any metal adjacent to the arcing, it vaporizes it, causing an explosion which spews this superheated plasma, plus liquid and solid bits of high-speed shrapnel in all directions. If this sounds like a bomb, then give yourself a gold star, for that's exactly what it is. It's not a chemical bomb, but an electrically powered explosive.

Perhaps equally destructive is the radiation involved. The projectiles can prove random, but the radiation is solid, covering every exposed surface in range. Arc flash can permanently blind anyone unlucky enough to be looking in the general direction of the accident when it happens. Cruel ultraviolet can scorch those nearby with massive burns and even leave permanent shadows on nearby surfaces—exactly like a nuclear blast.

Everyone working on the equipment will likely be killed unless they took proper safety measures in advance. But everyone nearby is also at risk of death or injury.

Training Doesn't Need to Be Painful

Corporate training need not be as painful as the subject matter. In fact, new online training courses make the experience downright pleasant. With e-learning, you can study at your own pace, at your own schedule, pause when you like, and come back days later to pick up where you left off. So, when we said "virgin to guru" in two weeks, we were being generous. You could do it even faster. In the realm of training and development, this is your lightning bolt to success. Grab it and run with it.