GA Electrical Safety (NFPA 70E 2024): Part 1

This four-hour course gives Georgia water operators a thorough introduction to the 2024 edition of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 70E Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace. 

The NFPA created the 70E Standard to meet Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations for safely working with and near electricity. The NFPA 70E is not an OSHA publication, but it fulfills applicable OSHA requirements. 

The 2024 70E Standard and this course are consistent with the 2023 NFPA 70 National Electrical Code requirements. All lesson material is approved by the Georgia State Board of Examiners for Certification of Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant Operators and Laboratory Analysts.

After completing this course, licensees will be able to: 

• Describe the purpose, scope, and arrangement of the 2024 NFPA 70E.
• Understand how the 2024 NFPA 70E Standard applies to general electrical installations, electrical maintenance, and work on special electrical equipment. 
• Explain the difference between mandatory rules, permissive rules, and explanatory materials in 70E. 
• Describe terms and definitions specific to the NFPA 70 Standard. 
• Understand the need and process for establishing electrically safe work conditions around equipment. 
• Be familiar with an electrical safety program (ESP)  
• Understand host employer and contract employer responsibilities for maintaining electrical safety on the job site. 
• Understand risk assessment and its value for promoting safety on the job site. 
• Execute safe handling, storage, and grounding of portable electrical tools. 
• Be familiar with the types of maintenance necessary for fuses, circuit breakers, and their associated parts. 
• Understand ground-fault protection for electrical tools and equipment. 
• Understand lockout/tagout (LOTO) as a safety protocol. 
• Understand that both simple and complex procedures are recognized by NFPA 70E for LOTO. 
• Explain that special electrical equipment is recognized and covered by NFPA 70E and that electrical equipment deemed special by NFPA 70E has dedicated NFPA 70E requirements for worker's safety. 
• Explain an arc-flash event while being familiar with hazards to human life resulting from a lack of proper PPE on the job. 
• Understand the types of personal protective equipment (PPE) and that maintenance or inspection of PPE is required at regular intervals.