This summer, protective clothing specialist ProGARM is leading the charge for the first-ever Arc Flash Awareness Day (AFAD) on 7 June 2024.  

We live and breathe the topic of arc flash, but we know from feedback and industry insight that not everyone feels confident in their knowledge of electric arc risks and how to keep people safe.

So we’re bringing together experts and organisations from across the spectrum to help people understand more about how to plan for, mitigate and protect themselves from arc flash incidents.

Arc Flash Awareness Day provides an opportunity for industry professionals to share arc flash knowledge, assess safety protocols, and educate teams to increase awareness and understanding. 

We’ve invited partners, competitors and interested organisations to join us in a day-long online conference which will demystify arc flashes, leaving delegates feeling more confident and prepared.

Sign up to join us on 7 June for a range of CPD-accredited talks and discussions featuring:

David Davenport of Transmag (known to some as Mr Arc Flash) on what is an arc flash?
Jason Butler of Well and Spire delivers Prevention is better than cure
Emad Hamadi of Howeizeh will take you through arc flash studies and assessments
Mikko Manninen, product manager at Arcteq Relays discusses Arc flash protection, is it all that?
David Davenport of CPAS will walk you through onsite procedures to ensure safe working
And our very own Dan Cooper rounds off the day with an overview of arc flash PPE, your last line of defence

Arc flash awareness at The Health and Safety Event

To spread the message as far as possible, on the run up to Arc Flash Awareness Day Mr Arc Flash, David Davenport, hosted a session at The Health and Safety Event in Birmingham.

The talk received lots of interest and answered very niche questions for specific industries, highlighting that there is need to improve awareness. After the talk a queue of people lined up to speak directly with a specialist.

Why do we need an Arc Flash Awareness Day?

Arc flashes remain a persistent threat, but without a dedicated Health and Safety Executive (HSE) classification, it’s tricky to extract the data from the headline figures of 1,000 electrical incidents in the UK each year, causing around 25 fatalities.   

If you’re caught in an arc flash, you’ll be exposed to temperatures hotter than the surface of the sun, hit by a pressure wave strong enough to throw you several metres, and with enough energy to cause blindness, deafness, internal burns and life-changing, or even life-ending, injuries.

Our research highlighted that 90% of people believe there is a pressing need for government to develop more specific guidelines about arc flash incidents. Of the people who answered the survey, 50% thought it was an employee’s responsibility to educate themselves about the dangers of arc flashes.

We decided the industry needed a brand-agnostic day to help raise awareness and educate people about the details of arc flash incidents, the risks and how you can plan to mitigate them.

What causes an electrical arc incident?

Most arc flash incidents happen because of human error. This could be a team accidentally hitting an unmarked cable in a cable strike, using a test probe on the wrong surface, or dropping a tool that hits live switchgear. And while human error can’t be totally prevented, ProGARM believes better education would help people act and feel safer.  

We’ve created a day which focuses on educating and applying best practice to raise awareness broadly among sectors at risk of arc flash incidents – from board-level executives with a responsibility to keep their people safe, to people on the frontline doing jobs directly at risk. Health and safety managers, procurement people and operational managers from a wide range of sectors, including rail industry, renewables, utilities and construction, will all be included. 

What sectors are exposed to arc flash incidents?

There’s a misconception that electric arc or arc flash incidents only happen on high voltage systems. But you can be caught in an arc flash on a low-voltage system too.

Industries with people commonly at risk from this kind of incident include anyone breaking ground, especially utilities and construction, rail, petrochemical, power generation and industrial electrical. If you’re working around any kind of switch gear, your people could be at risk.

How else can you get involved with Arc Flash Awareness Day?

To get involved in Arc Flash Awareness Day contact Stephen Conlan, Senior Marketing Executive at ProGARM by emailing stephen.conlan@progarm.com or call 01482 739830.  

You can visit the dedicated website - Arc Flash Awareness Day 2024 - for more information. 

And join in the conversation using #AFAD24 #arcflashawarenessday24 Follow the day on X @ArcFlashAware or LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram @ArcFlashAwareness 

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