NFPA 70E Users' Input Invited
The 2012 edition of the Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace is expected to be issued in August 2011, but it is important for its users to offer proposals now, writes Jeffrey Sargent, NFPA's senior electrical specialist and staff liaison for NFPA 70E.
One of the most important consensus standards for anyone working on electrical equipment is NFPA 70E, Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace. The level of interest in 70E has been increasing, so that today is has a large community of users. And their input is needed now as the 2012 edition of the standard takes shape, Jeffrey Sargent, NFPA's senior electrical specialist and staff liaison for NFPA 70E, wrote in the November/December issue of NFPA's journal.
The NFPA membership will vote on the 2012 edition at the NFPA Conference & Expo in June 2011, and the NFPA Standards Council is scheduled to issue it in August 2011, he wrote. "However, a lot occurs in the revision process before these final steps. As is the case with all NFPA codes and standards, the revision process for the next edition of NFPA 70E began when it was entered into the Annual 2011 document cycle. This initial step may seem academic, as it is simply a communication from the staff liaison to the secretary of the Standards Council seeking the council’s approval of the proposed document revision cycle. But it is important to users of the standard because it establishes the revision schedule and sets dates for the rest of the steps in the process. Users of the standard have until January 5, 2010, to submit proposals recommending new, revised, or deleted requirements and provisions for the next edition of NFPA 70E."
The form for submitting a proposal can be downloaded at www.nfpa.org/assets/files/PDF/CodesStandards/NFPAProposalForm.doc and submitted online, faxed, or mailed. "It is important to not only craft your proposed revision or addition in clear, understandable language, but to substantiate technically why the revision is necessary. It is the technical justification that sells the concept to the committee as it reviews and acts on each proposal," Sargent wrote. He also said a preliminary draft of the 2012 edition will be available in June 2010, and the 2009 edition "elicited an unprecedented number of proposals and comments for NFPA 70E, reflecting the meteoric rise in awareness of electrical safety issues in recent years. Participation by NFPA 70E users in the public submission portion of the process is the backbone of the document and one of the primary reasons it is so widely accepted and used. The opportunity to submit proposals on NFPA 70E is a great chance for you to make a difference. Don't miss it."