Acquire existing documentation or develop electrical one-lines

We’ll begin by requesting any existing electrical documentation you may have such as an electrical one-line or riser diagram and electrical power floor plans.

We’ll determine how robust your electrical distribution system is and estimate the cost to completing the analysis for you.

Out-of-date information will get updated once we complete the survey verification.  If no information is available, we will generate the one-line for you.

Field Verification

We’ll schedule a trip to your facility and our degreed electrical engineers will conduct the field survey and verification of electrical equipment.

We can generate a hard copy one-line by hand or use an electronic survey key (SKM software) which is the software we use to ultimately complete the study.

Starting at the main service entrance utility transformer we’ll work our way down the system, removing the equipment covers to access the protective devices and feeder information.

Load Information

Now that we have the information, we’ll load it into our software that helps us perform the calculations to complete the short circuit, coordination and arc flash study.

We use both SKM and Easypower Power System Tools Software to choose the right protective devices and feeder types.

We have a very strict quality control & quality assurance system in place to ensure the information is loaded properly.

Run a Short Circuit Study

Now we are ready to perform our first study which is the Short Circuit Study.

This portion of the analysis looks at the “duty rating” of the protective devices.  The duty rating is the amp interrupting capacity or AIC of the device.

We’ll review the 3 phase and single line to ground fault currents against the duty rating to ensure the device can clear the fault.

Perform a Coordination Study

Next, we’ll perform a Coordination Study to ensure faults are not traveling up the system.

In a properly coordinated system, the nearest protective device upstream of a fault would clear the fault at that device.

Particular attention is given to facilities requiring constant power for life support and use of emergency generators.

Evaluate Arc Flash

Here, we’ll calculate the available arc flash energy or the “incident energy” at the equipment.

The already conducted short circuit study determines the magnitude of the current that will flow in a fault situation.

The already conducted coordination determines the length of time it takes for a protective device to clear the fault

Evaluate the System, Arc Flash Labels and PPE,

Train the Electrical Staff

We’ll evaluate how we can provide better coordination of your system and provide potentially lower arc flash incident energy levels.

We will generate the labels for the equipment included in the overall evaluation and determine the level of personnel protective equipment (PPE) and clothing to wear when working on or near live electrical components.

We will train your supervisory staff and personnel, as required by 70E, in the hazards of working on the electrical equipment, how to read a label and proper levels of PPE.

Experience matters

In the last 15 years alone, we have completed over 3,000 arc flash studies in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.