What Is NFPA 70E? Electrical Safety Standard Explained
Workplace electrical hazards are some of the most serious risks workers face. The construction industry has the highest number of electrical fatalities, but electrical hazards can strike in many different industries and roles. NFPA 70E was created to provide a practical framework for reducing that risk.
In this article, we’ll explain what NFPA 70E is, who it applies to, why online arc flash courses are important, and why this electrical safety standard matters.
Table of Contents
- What Is NFPA 70E?
- NFPA 70E Arc Flash Requirements
- What Is the Relationship Between OSHA and NFPA 70E?
- Who Needs NFPA 70E?
- Why Is NFPA 70E Important?
- How NFPA 70E Is Applied in the Workplace
- Find NFPA 70E Courses with Hard Hat Training
What Is NFPA 70E?
The NFPA 70E standard for electrical safety in the workplace is developed by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), a nonprofit electrical safety organization.
What is the purpose of NFPA 70E? While the NFPA has over 300 codes and standards ranging from fire codes to how electrical systems are installed, NFPA 70E is specifically dedicated to protecting personnel from electrical hazards in the workplace, including arc flash, arc blast, and electrical shock. In other words, NFPA 70E training focuses on teaching workplace electrical safety practices.
NFPA 70E Arc Flash Requirements
Arc flashes are sudden, violent electrical explosions that happen when a current jumps through the air to the ground or between live conductors. They involve extreme heat, blinding light, and powerful pressure waves. They’re an especially dangerous electrical hazard since no contact with energized equipment is necessary.
NFPA 70E arc flash requirements address these hazards by requiring steps like:
- Identifying arc flash hazards,
- Conducting arc flash risk assessments,
- Selecting appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), and
- Implementing safe work practices.
One important piece of the puzzle is the NFPA 70E arc flash training requirements that say any employee exposed to electrical hazards must receive comprehensive arc flash training at least every three years.
What Is the Relationship Between OSHA and NFPA 70E?
NFPA 70E is technically voluntary, but it’s recognized as a consensus industry standard – a solid benchmark for accepted safety practices. OSHA makes a habit of referencing consensus standards when deciding whether an employer has failed to enact appropriate hazard mitigation.
So while OSHA doesn’t enforce NFPA 70E, it often uses NFPA 70E as a benchmark for whether an employer is adequately protecting workers from electrical hazards when it investigates a relevant incident. As a result, many employers treat NFPA 70E as though compliance is mandatory.
Additionally, some state or local jurisdictions have gone so far as to selectively incorporate parts of NFPA 70E into law. So, for example, if your jurisdiction has incorporated NFPA 70E arc flash PPE requirements into local law, those parts of NFPA 70E are legally mandatory for you.
Who Needs NFPA 70E?
We all benefit from the protections outlined in NFPA 70E, but if the question is “who needs NFPA 70E training?” then the answer is anyone working on – or near – energized electrical equipment.
People sometimes mistake NFPA 70E training as applying to electricians, but that’s simply not true. The table below will give you a sense of who needs NFPA 70E training to adequately address electrical hazards.
| Who | NFPA 70E Training Needed? | Why It Applies | Example Roles |
| Qualified electrical workers | Yes; they need comprehensive, task- and equipment-specific safety training. | They install, troubleshoot, test, service, maintain, and/or repair electrical equipment. | Electricians, electrical technicians, electrical engineers, linemen, and panel builders |
| Electrical maintenance personnel | Yes; they need qualified-person training when their duties involve electrical work or exposure to energized parts. | Maintenance frequently involves panels, disconnects, motors, control centers, switchgear, and control cabinets. | Industrial maintenance technicians, instrumentation technicians, and anyone performing electrical troubleshooting |
| HVAC & refrigeration technicians | Usually yes; they need role-specific electrical safety training, and qualified-person training if they troubleshoot or service energized circuits. | Their work can involve energized disconnects, compressors, control circuits, rooftop units, and building equipment. | HAC service technicians, refrigeration mechanics, and controls technicians |
| Engineers & technical specialists | Yes, if their duties create exposure; training must be matched to the tasks they perform and whether they are qualified persons. | Designing, testing, commissioning, diagnostics, and field support can require work near energized equipment. | Electrical engineers, commissioning agents, test technicians, and automation engineers |
| Renewable energy workers | Usually yes; they need electrical and arc-flash training appropriate to the system and task. | Solar, battery energy storage, and EV systems can have high DC and AC electrical hazards. | PV installers, battery-storage technicians, wind-turbine technicians, and EV-charger installers |
| Equipment operators near electrical hazards | Yes, but usually limited or general; they need unqualified-person awareness training. | They’re not authorized to perform energized electrical work, but they may encounter electrical rooms, panels, overhead lines, damaged cords, or equipment malfunctions. | Machine operators, forklift operators, and production workers |
| Mechanics and non-electrical maintenance workers | Often yes; most need awareness training. If they perform electrical tasks, they need qualified person training. | They may work around electrical equipment but should know not to open or service energized equipment unless authorized. | Mechanical technicians, pump mechanics, and machine repair workers. |
| Supervisors and managers overseeing electrical work | Yes; they need training to understand hazards, work controls, qualifications, and enforcement responsibilities. | They ensure workers are qualified, trained, equipped, and following electrical-safety procedures. | Maintenance managers, electrical supervisors, facilities directors, and EHS managers. |
| Apprentices & electrical helpers | Yes; they need training and direct supervision appropriate to their experience and assigned duties. | Even if they’re not yet qualified to perform certain tasks independently, they may be exposed to the same hazards as experienced workers. | Electrical apprentices, helpers, and trainees. |
| Custodial, security, or facilities staff who enter electrical rooms | Often yes; they need basic electrical hazard awareness and access restrictions. | They need to recognize hazards and understand what they must not touch, enter, reset, or bypass. | Janitors, building engineers, security officers, and facility attendants |
| Office staff with no electrical hazard exposure | Generally not; when applicable, they only need general workplace safety orientations | NFPA 70E training is not needed when the employee has no reasonably anticipated electrical hazard exposure. Routine use of properly maintained cord-and-plug equipment does not present these hazards. | Administrative assistants, reception staff, standard office workers, and remote employees. |
Why Is NFPA 70E Important?
NFPA 70E is important because electrical hazards can injure or kill workers in seconds, damage equipment, and disrupt operations. The NFPA 70E standard for electrical safety in the workplace gives employers a structured and widely recognized system for controlling electrical shock, electrocution, arc-flash, and arc-blast hazards.
By doing so, NFPA 70E helps reduce injuries, fatalities, downtime, and liability. As a consensus standard, NFPA 70E also provides a benchmark for electrical hazard mitigation that can keep you in OSHA’s good graces.
How NFPA 70E Is Applied in the Workplace
NFPA 70E can’t be applied by a one-time training or a single purchase of arc-rated PPE. Instead, it’s an ongoing process requiring multi-pronged activities and continuous improvement.
NFPA 70E compliance involves measures and components like:
- A written electrical safety program
- Equipment-specific hazard identification
- Pre-work shock and arc-flash risk assessments
- Job planning and job briefings
- Procedures to create an electrically safe work condition, like deenergizing
- Safety controls for energized work, when it must occur
- A system for worker qualification
- Training matched to individual exposure and job duties
- Arc-rated clothing, eye and face protection, voltage-rated gloves, insulated tools, and properly rated test instruments
- Equipment labels and warning signs
- Coordinating electrical safety with contractors
- Electrical safety program auditing and corrective action
Find NFPA 70E Courses with Hard Hat Training
NFPA 70E plays a critical role in protecting workers and reducing risk. Training is a key piece of NFPA 70E compliance.
Hard Hat Training is a trusted safety training provider with a wide range of options for NFPA 70E training and support, including:
- Online NFPA 70E safety training in Spanish as well as English,
- Training kits for DIY, from LOTO to arc flash training kits to pole-top rescue, and
- Train-the-Trainer, including Arc Flash Train-the-Trainer options for Canada as well as the U.S.
Explore our catalog today to see all the ways we can support your journey to NFPA 70E compliance.
