by Rebecca Walker — August 29, 2008—EDSA Micro Corp., a leading provider of Power Analytics safety software, has released its Paladin Real-Time Arc Flash Advisor, which it says is the industry’s first software program that enables organizations to make up-to-date assessments of changing arc flash hazards.
By maintaining an uninterrupted, 360 degree view of the facility and its potential arc flash hazards, Paladin Real-Time Arc Flash Analytics can provide detailed, updated advisories for site personnel regarding the appropriate safety procedures and protective gear recommended to work in a given vicinity, says the company.
Though electrical accidents represent a statistically small percentage of all work-related incidents, they are disproportionately fatal: according to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), electrical injuries in the workplace in particular, phenomena called “arc flash” accidents result in the death of a facilities worker every 28 hours, even in facilities that have passed formal inspections within recent months.
As defined by IEEE and the National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA), arc flash is a strong electric current and sometimes a full-blown explosion that passes through air when insulation between electrified conductors is no longer sufficient to contain the voltage within them. This creates a “short cut” that allows electricity to race from conductor-to-conductor to the extreme detriment of any worker standing nearby. Arc flash resembles a lightning bolt-like charge, emitting heat four times the surface temperature of the sun; anyone exposed to the blast or heat without sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) would be severely and oftentimes fatally injured.
Used in conjunction with the company’s Paladin Live platform, the Paladin Real-Time Arc Flash Advisor maintains an uninterrupted watch over site operations continually checking all components, equipment, and systems to make intelligent recommendations about where potential arc flash hazards have the potential to emerge, and gauge their severity.
