ULC Standards Develops First National Standard Of Canada On Electric Utility Workplace Electrical Safety For Generation, Transmission, And Distribution

Ottawa, Canada /PRNewswire/ - ULC Standards, an accredited standards development organization, announced today the publication of CAN/ULC-S801-10, Standard for Electric Utility Workplace Electrical Safety for Generation, Transmission and Distribution. The standard applies to workers who deal with the construction, operation, maintenance and replacement of electric utility systems that are used to generate, transform, transmit, distribute and deliver electrical power or energy to consumer services or their equivalents.

Without proper safety precautions, live working (high voltage) may present potential safety risks to workers and the general public. There are more than 600 electrical related accidents a year in Canada, and CAN/ULC-S801-10 gives electric utilities a foundation for safe working environments for their employees across Canada. CAN/ULC-S801-10 provides a complete safety guide addressing numerous electric utility workplace safety concerns, such as:

• Fundamental requirements
• Minimum approach distances for working near or on energized electrical lines or equipment
• Protective tools, equipment & devices
• Working on energized electrical lines and equipment
• Arc flash protection
• Radio frequency hazards
• Working on isolated electric utility systems
• Working near electric utility systems

The development of this Standard was supported through the funding of the Canadian Electricity Association (CEA).

The Importance of Standards
Standards are essential in helping ensure public safety and confidence. They reduce costs, improve quality and market products and services. ULC tests many products and their components to assure that each and every one of them meets their safety requirements. Because of these safety standards, the public can live and work in a safer, sustainable and a more reliable environment.

ULC Standards is accredited as a Standards Development Organization, by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC), a federal Crown corporation that oversees Canada's National Standards System. In Canada, standards are developed through consensus by balanced committees of stakeholders, and subjected to public review, prior to publication.

About ULC Standards
ULC Standards has been publishing standards for Canadians for more than 60 years. As one of four Standards Council of Canada (SCC) accredited standards developers, we operate under the consensus based principles as required by the SCC under CAN-P-1. ULC Standards is also a signatory to the WTO Technical Barrier to Trade Agreement, which outlines in Annex 3 the Code of Good Practice for the Preparation, Adoption and Application of Standards. Nineteen main standards committees at ULC are responsible for more than 200 standards with a total of over 400 committee members. Each committee operates under a ULC secretariat, from the ULC standards department. ULC Standards utilizes electronic publishing and communication systems to create an effective standards development environment.

Underwriters Laboratories
Underwriters Laboratories (UL) is an independent product safety certification organization that has been testing products and writing Standards for Safety for over a century. UL evaluates more than 19,000 types of products, components, materials and systems annually with 20 billion UL Marks appearing on 72,000 manufacturers' products each year. UL's worldwide family of companies and network of service providers includes 64 laboratory, testing and certification facilities serving customers in 98 countries. For more information, visit: www.UL.com/newsroom.

SOURCE Underwriters Laboratories