NFPA (Fire) 79 Historical

Update to the 2015 NFPA 79 -- the benchmark for industrial machinery safety and vital companion to the NEC® and NFPA 70E®. 

Guard against electrical incidents and unplanned shutdowns that could result in injury, damage, or loss with the 2015 edition of NFPA 79: Electrical Standard for Industrial Machinery. Updated to address new technologies and to correlate with the National Electrical Code® (NEC) and NFPA 70E®: Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace®, the 2015 NFPA 79 spells out essential protection for operators, equipment, facilities, and work-in-progress. This edition presents the latest requirements for the full spectrum of equipment -- from single-motored drill presses to complex automated manufacturing systems. 

Updates address concerns from the industry and key changes to companion Standards.

• Requirements align with IEC 60204-1.
• Section 6.6, Arc Flash Hazard Warning clarifies that the requirement is to warn, not to protect, qualified individuals of a potential arc flash hazard. This change aligns with the 2014 NEC revision to 110.16.
• Conditions for "emergency stop" and "emergency switching off" are revised for Category 1 and Category 0 stops.
• The rules have been clarified where separate supply sources are used.
• Working space rules for enclosures that contain supply conductors have been revised to clarify that the requirements in 110.26 of the NEC apply.
• Requirement for "width of the working space" has been revised to specify the opening into the control cabinet to help users avoid dangerous errors.

All stakeholders need to help mitigate electrical hazards involving industrial machinery. 

The 2015 NFPA 79 is essential for safety managers, electrical designers, engineers, installers, owners, AHJs, and industrial machinery manufacturers.