Leveraging Prevention Through Design Principles (PtD) in Electrical Installations

Abstract

Modern awareness of workplace hazards has created a range of safety standards and best practices now accepted and implemented in the design and construction of many types of industrial and commercial installations. Prevention through Design (PtD) concepts are well understood and commonly applied in the design of many facilities where dangerous chemicals or dangerous concentrations of energy are a required part of the process. Heightened awareness of electrical hazards over the last two decades has resulted in a greater understanding of the arc flash hazard and shock hazard and in many methods and tools to control the associated risks. However, the PtD concepts well understood and implemented in other aspects of industrial facility design may not be well understood or are often not implemented at the electrical infrastructure's design and construction stage within industrial or large commercial facilities. This article will discuss the correlation between PtD and industrial accidents and how PtD concepts applied to electrical infrastructure can improve modern facilities' safety and productivity.