Electrical Code Compliance
SAFE can partner with your organization to ensure electrical safety compliance. Whether it be new equipment, a plant expansion or your existing equipment. There are 2 key area of electrical safety. These are the compliance to the Canadian Electrical Safety Code (CSA C22.1-18) and Arc Flash compliance (Workplace Electrical Safety, CSA Z462-18).
Compliance to the Canadian Electrical Safety code is typically a requirement for all new incoming equipment or constructed buildings. SAFE will ensure that equipment and electrical panels are compliant with the applicable safety standards, and that the recognized field evaluation stickers (ESA or similar) are applied.
Arc Flash is recognized as a category of electrical hazards. Arc Flash Analysis of the plant’s power system studies the effectiveness of your current limiting devices (fuses and breakers), and the potential incident energy that workers could be exposed to should the Arc Flash incident occur. The study and hazard analysis modelling is necessary to determine the level of risk, the safety related work practices, and the appropriate labelling of the equipment and panels, indicating the work boundaries, and the minimum required PPE.
Hazardous Location Classification
Hazardous locations (sometimes abbreviated to HazLoc) are defined as places where fire or explosion hazards may exist due to flammable gases, flammable liquid–produced vapors, combustible liquid–produced vapors, combustible dusts, or ignitable fibers/flyings present in the air in quantities sufficient to produce explosive or ignitable mixtures. Electrical equipment that must be installed in such classified locations should be specially designed and tested to ensure it does not initiate an explosion, due to arcing contacts or high surface temperature of equipment. The HazLoc is a drawing stamped by an Ontario Professional Engineer, showing the extent of Hazardous Zones. This drawing is required as a basis for establishing due diligence for electrical code compliance in hazardous/potentially explosive plant areas.
SAFE will create the required drawings and work with you to correct any compliance deficiencies.
Fire Code and Explosion Safety Compliance
Fire Code and Explosion Safety is a complex and often poorly understood area of compliance. It is essential that Fire Code and Explosion Safety compliance be an integral part of the building and equipment design. This is especially the case where there are processes that generate combustible dust or use, generate flammable liquids, vapors or gases. Fire code and explosion safety can profoundly affect building occupancy classification, fire separation classification, explosion relief design, electrical code classification, sprinkler capacity, Spill control design, and ventilation design as well as permitting requirements. It cannot be left to the end!
Building Code compliance and Building permits
Building code Compliance can only be achieved by having in-depth knowledge of the building code, knowledge of the equipment, processes and materials in the manufacturing facility and expert knowledge of the applicable technical safety standards.
Acting as an Owners Engineer, SAFE can ensure that all building code requirements are built into your Architectural, Structural and Mechanical design drawings. In this way, your building designs and building permit will be compliant to the building code for all of your plant activities and processes. SAFE will facilitate building and occupancy permits on the owner’s behalf.