A predominant area of standards activity within the IEEE-SA addresses technology and related safety needs for the power and energy industry and subsequent industry applications.

A key component to electrical safety is for those working with electrical current and within environments using electrical current to be abreast of standards and regulations that include safety best practices. It is critical for employees to familiarize themselves with these documents and the organizations responsible for developing them. The IEEE, namely via its Color Books Standards for Industrial and Commercial Power Systems and the National Electrical Safety Code, as well as its Power Engineering standards, is a major developer of standards that directly or indirectly address electrical safety within specific applications or environments.

Recently, the IEEE published a prominent new and vital standard in the Electrical Safety area, IEEE Std 1584-2002,Guide for Performing Arc Flash Hazard Calculations -- a valuable tool for the market that will save individual engineers and companies time by providing a spreadsheet type calculator that determines arc current, incident energy, and the arc flash protection boundary. It includes equations for some current limiting fuses acting within their current limiting range and a simplified method for some molded case circuit breakers operating in their instantaneous range.

Great strides have been taken by leading organizations such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to provide guidelines and information to their respective constituencies concerned with electrical safety. Further, IEEE standards participants have provided input into the materials produced by these organizations.

Particularly within the IEEE Industry Applications Society (IAS), electrical safety technology and related best practices have moved to the forefront of activity. The IEEE IAS Petroleum and Chemical Industry Committee (PCIC) founded and organizes an annual Electrical Safety Workshop which is co-organized by the Power Systems Engineering Committee and the Pulp and Paper Industry Committee. The first workshop was held in 1991 and since that time, each year attendance has steadily grown and the technical program and exhibits have evolved to stay at the forefront of change impacting electrical safety.

The Workshops provide a forum for people to meet and exchange ideas for preventing electrical accidents and injuries in the workplace. The Workshops have served to advance technology, establish best work practices and accelerate improvement in standards and regulations to reduce electrical incidents, prevent injuries and reduce the economic impact of electrical accidents. They have linked professionals and centers of excellence in industry, engineering, government and medicine. A key objective of the Workshops is to change and advance the electrical safety culture to enable sustainable improvements in prevention of electrical accidents and injuries.

An IAS PCIC Safety Subcommittee was chartered in 1991 to accelerate the dispersion of information and knowledge impacting electrical safety, particularly in the petroleum and chemical industry. It does so by:

• Providing updates of regulations and standards
• Promoting awareness and participation in National Electrical Safety month
• Promoting and sharing of case histories of electrical-related incidents
• Providing electrical safety material resources for the membership
• Supporting the National Electrical Safety Foundation