For many decades, flame resistant clothing has helped reduce the risk of severe burn injuries to workers. These types of garments are either made from just treated cotton and more often nowadays made from self-extinguishing materials and they provide managers with a reliable option for keeping their teams safe. However, anyone responsible for health and safety will understand that the job is a constant challenge, as industries evolve and we discover new dangers.  This is why it’s important to keep...

At ProGARM, we’re always improving our range of arc flash PPE which is why we’re one of the first manufacturers to launch an arc flash hoodie that is as “comfortable as wearing pyjamas”.  What makes our arc flash hoodie different? Your employees will enjoy wearing it … in fact many already are. Our arc flash hoodie has already been given 9.2 out of 10 in a recent user trial. We focus on the small details because the things that seem...

It should be no surprise that winter arrives each year, with its colder temperatures, less hospitable weather and, with it, a new set of health and safety risks.  As with most health and safety topics, planning and preparing for prevention are the best tools to make sure that your workforce are safe. Here are some of the biggest health and safety risks in winter weather and what you can do about them.  Slips and trips As the weather turns wetter...

Nobody plans to hit a cable when doing groundworks, but even when all of the relevant checks have been carried out the risk is always present. What PPE do you need to protect against cable strikes when breaking ground? The risks and potential injuries from cable strikes In the HSE’s guidance, Avoiding danger from underground services, stark warnings are given about what can happen to someone if they accidentally hit an underground cable.  “Injuries are usually caused by the explosive effects of...

A company has been fined after three workers suffered severe burns in an Arc Flash incident in Arizona, US. The incident at metal smelting company ASARCO occurred after the installation of a breaker into a 4,160-volt switchgear.  As a result of the incident the company was prosecuted by the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and faced $278,456 in penalties in June 2019. In its prosecution, OSHA cited the company for its failure to provide a pre-job briefing...

Eliminating workplace accidents is an ambition shared across British industry. Keeping people safe at work is of paramount importance. But is a zero-accident environment a realistic aim? The evidence suggests not.  In a recent paper, Fred Sherratt and Andrew Dainty, of Anglia Ruskin University and Loughborough Universities respectively, explored the impact of a zero harm approach in the British construction industry and the results were surprising.  The research team looked at the relationship between aiming for zero accidents and the actual...

There are lots of factors to consider when thinking about how to predict when an Arc Flash might occur. Here we give a brief overview of what you need to know and do in order to properly understand the risks and predict when an Arc Flash incident is more likely. The hierarchy of control is commonly used to assess and understand risk – read more about it here. This article will discuss just a few aspects of that hierarchy. Using Arc Flash...

“Hotter than the surface of the sun” is a way we often describe the temperatures generated by an Arc Flash – so why is an Arc Flash incident so hot? What generates the heat in an Arc Flash incident? Arc Flash incidents can create temperatures of up to 35,000 Fahrenheit for a short amount of time. The surface of the sun is generally accepted to be around 10,000 Fahrenheit. Like the sun, the energy in an Arc Flash incident is created by...

How can you be certain that ProGARM Arc Flash garments comply with the right standards? Certification is the indicator that a product complies with the relevant health, safety and environmental protection standards, meaning the PPE you or your team are wearing should do its job should the worst happen. But what is the process we go through to make sure that every aspect of our garments complies with the right regulations and standards? Our PPE compliance process After a rigorous...

Despite being explicitly referenced in legislation for the past 30 years, a shocking number of people still believe that there’s no legal requirement in the UK to take account of Arc Flash when constructing or maintaining electrical systems. Here at ProGARM, we’ve broken down some of the key parts of the Electricity at Work Regulations, 1989 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, 1999 to help you understand some of the requirements and why they mean you...