Electrical events in data centers can be catastrophic, resulting in loss of life, OSHA investigations, protracted legal proceedings and millions in costs. Data center operators must implement products, systems and policies to minimize employee risk. This begins with embracing a culture of safety and understanding and observing the standards—such as NFPA 70, IEEE Standard edition 1584 and OSHA 29 Code of Federal Regulations—for facilities that allow employees to work on electrical equipment. As such, operators must ensure that employees observe safe working practices, have the right PPE equipment for the tasks at hand, use informative equipment warning labels and understand and observe safe working areas. Operators must also be keenly aware of the risks of arc flashes, which strike from five to 10 times a day across the U.S. alone and represent perhaps the gravest danger to data center employees. To protect against such events, they should embrace products that offer both active and passive protection against arc flashes.

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