In addition to the information required by NFPA 70E to be listed on an arc flash label, some companies/people include a summary list of specific PPE on the arc flash label. Others simply reference NFPA 70E - i.e. “Refer to the latest edition of NFPA 70E for PPE requirements�. And some will list nothing about PPE.

Do you believe a summary list of PPE is nice to have on the arc flash label?

• Yes
• No - Nothing
• No - Reference NFPA 70E

Part of being 'qualified' is knowing how to select PPE.

If PPE requirements change, then you have a lot of labels out there that need updating.

If PPE descriptions are listed on labels they have to agree with the safety plan for the facility. Any difference could result in a a form of PPE not worn, with an injury occurring because the particular item was not worn, resulting in a liability for the party who selected the wording whick influenced the injured person not to wear the item. Selecting the words for descriptions of PPE is part of a safety plan, and this is not necessarily in the scope of an arc study. A client can request this service, but a competant engineer needs to perform this service, with liability insurance and/or liability release agreements from the client. The big problem is that there is not enough room on a label to completely copy all the statements and footnotes in 70E. I put words, and sometimes pictures, on labels only at the direction of a client. Workers should not have to read a label and decide what to wear each time they do hot work. They need to suit-up properly before they get to the work site.

For me it comes down to liability. If I have the requirements on the sticker I am liable even if the standards change before the labels are replaced. If the standard for PPE is NFPA 70E then any changes to the standard are automatically included. If the standard is a company policy then the policy number can be refererenced.

We chose to create a separate Arc Flash PPE table label, and attach that at every location where an Arc Flash label is posted. With the 2012 NFPA change, we had to update the label, but the Arc Flash Hazard label didn't have to be changed.