Electrical Safety Awareness (NFPA 70E)

Most people hurt by electricity at work are not electricians. They are operators, assemblers, material handlers and technicians who opened a door, used a damaged cord, reached past a barricade or reset a breaker one time too many. This course teaches people who work near electrical equipment, but do not work on it, how to recognize electrical hazards and stay out of harm's way.

You will learn how shock, arc flash and arc blast injure people, and why the last two injure people who touch nothing. You will learn how OSHA's electrical safety-related work practice rules in 29 CFR 1910 Subpart S (1910.331 to 1910.335) and the consensus standard NFPA 70E fit together, and the difference between a qualified and an unqualified person. You will learn the limited approach, restricted approach and arc flash boundaries, how to read an equipment label, and why the electrically safe work condition and lockout/tagout come before any work. The last module covers what every person can do every shift: inspecting cords and tools, extension cord rules, GFCIs, keeping the working space in front of panels clear, tripped breakers, overhead lines and what to do if someone is shocked. Scenarios come from electronics assembly, aerospace machining, metal fabrication and warehousing.

Who this course is for, and what it cannot do. This is awareness training for unqualified persons under 29 CFR 1910.332. It does not make anyone a qualified person. Qualified persons need employer-provided training specific to the tasks and equipment they work on, and a demonstration of skill that the employer evaluates and documents. Your employer must also train you on site-specific items: your equipment, your lockout/tagout procedure, your labels, your PPE and your reporting route. The course follows federal OSHA general industry rules. State-plan states such as California may have additional or stricter requirements, and employers outside the US follow their own national regulations. NFPA 70E is revised every 3 years; the principles taught here are common to the 2024 and 2027 editions, and your employer's program states which edition it follows.

The course closes with a 10-question examination drawn from a bank of 20. On passing you receive a PlanetISO Certificate of Completion for the instruction delivered online. The certificate is valid for 36 months, matching the NFPA 70E requirement to retrain at intervals not exceeding 3 years.