The story behind our commitment: When it Comes to FR Safety, We Are All In
Westex by Milliken has always provided much more than high-performance FR fabric. For decades, we’ve taken a big picture approach to FR safety. This article shows you what it means to be “all in,” with an unmatched dedication to FR safety across the industry.
Safety management systems are designed to be comprehensive and manage safety elements in the workplace. A safety system is a process that continuously operates to reduce hazards and prevent workplace incidents. Safety is a critical element in any business and it’s important that all employees buy-in to the safety program. After all, employees are your greatest asset and the company is responsible for putting the proper processes and standards in place to help protect them.
Personal protective equipment (PPE), such as arc rated FR clothing, is a critically important part of every electrical safety program. It should be used as the last line of defense, meaning it helps protect when all other preventative measures have failed. In fact, the hierarchy of controls puts eliminating the hazard as the most effective way to protect workers. However, in many cases engineering can reduce but not eliminate the hazard. Energized work poses an arc flash risk, and there’s really no such thing as a “small” arc if you are the person standing in front of it. Virtually all arcs pose an ignition risk to flammable clothing.
Now offering an even more complete line of Westex-branded FR solutions!
In September, Milliken & Company announced the acquisition of Springfield LLC, a manufacturer of technical, performance and flame resistant (FR) fabrics for the safety apparel, fire service, military and occupational markets. This acquisition is the latest initiative in Milliken’s expanding presence in the global industrial workwear and military fabrics markets. Springfield’s portfolio of FR fabrics provides Milliken with enhanced technical resources and delivers additional advanced-engineered FR solutions.
Flame resistant (FR) coveralls, shirts and pants afford workers a few extra seconds of escape time when faced with a flash fire and aim to dramatically reduce or eliminate body burn. FR garments are tested according to a variety of standards. For flash fire, ASTM F1930 (Standard Test Method for Evaluation of Flame Resistant Clothing for Protection Against Fire Simulations Using an Instrumented Manikin) tells us how to do the manikin test. NFPA 2112 was the standard developed specifically to address flash fire hazards, and uses ASTM F1930 setting a pass/fail limit at 50% burn in a three second exposure.
The answer to this question has been debated along with other FR marketing issues; however, groundbreaking research has been conducted to reaffirm the behavior of flash fires. Research performed by the University of Alberta’s Protective Clothing and Equipment Research Facility (PCERF) has reaffirmed the industry’s benchmark flash fire standards from the NFPA and CGSB.
You’ve been told you need NFPA 2112-compliant garments but do you understand what compliance actually means? NFPA 2112 is an industry standard on flame resistant garments for protection of industrial personnel against flash fire. NFPA 2112 provides minimum performance criteria and sets clear guidelines for testing. What’s vital to understand is that the significant majority of NFPA 2112 testing, using the ASTM F1930 and other test methods, rates performance of flame resistant fabrics as opposed to garments. It is the fabric type, brand and weight that determine the vast majority of the most important characteristics of the finished PPE.
The challenge of keeping pace with keeping safe
In today’s world, information overload makes it nearly impossible to digest all of the messages constantly being pushed at us. With a steady stream of news updates always in front of us, it can be difficult to pull out the most important and relevant issues. Two items that are particularly important to the electric and utility industries are OSHA’s changes to standard 1910.269 regarding FR clothing and the proposed changes to ASTM F1506. Read more to learn about OSHA clothing regulations and requirements.
Safety is an initiative that every organization should prioritize, and eventually turn into a value. Being safe is about employee buy-in and the employees themselves – not just about the numbers. Much like with personal protective equipment (PPE) – where you have to get employees to see the value in wearing it or they won’t – if your employees don’t stand behind your safety program, it is not going to work.
Arc flash accidents are frequently noted when, unfortunately, something terrible goes wrong and an employee is injured. However, not all of these stories end badly due to proper use of arc flash protection. In his article for Flame Resistant Insights, Larry Hilgeman of The Hilgeman Group, Inc., shares a report from a real-life arc flash incident that ended positively as a result of the worker wearing the right PPE.
