On Safety Today's agenda every day is providing the equipment, supplies and information that the Groveport, Ohio-based distributor's customers need to keep their employees safe and their workplaces compliant. So when OSHA released its revised electrical safety regulations recently, the company prepped itself for a new opportunity: Helping those customers deal with the first revision to CFR 29 1910 (Subpart S Electrical Standard) in 26 years.

Mark Micheles, senior vice president of sales and marketing, says the firm soon found itself giving “overviews” of the 100-plus-page revision to its customers, covering specifics such as “electrical hazard analysis,” which determines specific requirements for each electrical panel, taking into consideration amperage, voltage and other factors. The distributor is also providing awareness training for machine operators, engineers and general production staff, educating them on arc flash and electrical safety hazards, followed by personal protective equipment (PPE) training and selection.

Micheles says Safety Today is working with its vendors to develop PPE kits designed to address the different levels of risk associated with its customer base and helping those end users understand that electrical compliance is no longer an option—it's a requirement.

“Initially, their primary needs will involve budgeting for expensive hazard analysis and appropriate PPE and signage,” says Micheles. “Beyond that, as their distributor, we can provide cost-savings opportunities through related training, site surveys and awareness training and PPE selection.”

It's no secret that OSHA considers electrical safety a high priority—and for good reason. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, between 1992 and 2002 the number of deaths due to electrical contact averaged nearly 300 per year, with lost-time injuries numbering more than 4,000 a year. OSHA's electrical safety regulations date back to 1976, when the National Fire Protection Assn. announced the formal appointment of a new electrical standards development committee, which worked with OSHA to create provisions of Section 6(b) of the Occupational Safety & Health Act. (NFPA 70E Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace 2004 Edition is the seventh and current edition.)

Last revised in 1981, the electrical safety regulations were overhauled last year and took effect in August. Key changes focused on safety in the design and installation of electric equipment in the workplace and apply to employers in general industry, as well as in shipyard employment, long shoring and marine terminals.

Intent on reflecting the most current practices and technology, OSHA's revised rules address specific safety issues, such as the use of grounding terminals and devices for purposes other than grounding (which is no longer allowed) and a documentation requirement for locations deemed hazardous under the organization's zone classification system.

Robin Roberts, vice president of sales at industrial glove manufacturer and distributor Protective Industrial Products Inc. of Albany, N.J., says these and other requirements will affect anyone who is working around electricity, both in the construction and industrial fields.

“A tremendous market is going to open up for distributors, who need to be keenly aware of how these new standards are going to relate to specific applications,” says Roberts.

For instance, the new standard applies to much lower levels of electricity and as such catches a much broader scope of end users in its net.

“It reaches machinists, contract electricians and a wide variety of people in the labor force whom it previously didn't cover,” says Roberts, who recommends distributors read the latest NFPA Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace for the most detailed information on OSHA's electrical safety regulations.

Roberts says distributors should gain the most from their current client base, which will need information, equipment and supplies in order to comply with the revised rules.

“Look at the people you're already selling to,” says Roberts. “Look at it as another educational piece and/or option for sales opportunities within your current customer pool. The distributors who are educated about NFPA 70E and who talk with customers about it are the ones who will come out winners.”

Saf-T-Gard of Northbrook, Ill., plans to be one of those winners, according to company president Richard Rivkin. He calls the rule revision “long overdue,” and says customers don't always have the knowledge base needed to implement the regulations.

“By updating these standards OSHA is bringing workplace electrical hazards to the forefront,” says Rivkin. “As a distributor, we can add value by being a source of information to the end user, who looks to outside resources to assist with the task of compliance.”

To tap the opportunity, Rivkin says his team plans to continue promoting electrical safety in the workplace via a multifaceted approach that includes, for example, stressing the importance of not only using electrical insulating gloves but also checking and recertifying such products on a scheduled basis.

“Too many times these products are bought, put on a shelf and used occasionally,” says Rivkin, who points to arc flash hazards as another point of interest for customers looking to comply with the new, more stringent regulations.

“Arc flash hazards have been a visible topic for the last five or six years and were previously covered under the OSHA general-duty clause,” says Rivkin. “Now they're included in the electrical safety regulations.”

Also covered is the need for lock-out/tag-outs, which occur when a technician or maintenance engineer working on a piece of equipment must cut electrical power to that circuit and place a lock and tag on it during the maintenance.

“That way,” says Rivkin, “no one can inadvertently reset the circuit breaker and energize the circuit while someone is working on it.”

Rivkin says his company will focus on providing value-added services around the new electrical regulations this year.

He says he sees them as a way to strengthen relationships with existing customers and secure new business that might otherwise have gone to big boxes that lack safety knowledge.

“As our knowledge base and expertise continue to grow, we gain the opportunity to secure new business that otherwise might go to supply chains that tend to commoditize safety products rather than see [them] as a life-saving and health-saving part of the overall engine,” Rivkin explains.

Micheles concurs, adding that industrial distributors are sure to benefit from OHSA's extensive overhaul of its electrical safety regulations. With a mindset that centers on preventing injury—and that sometimes means the difference between life and death—Micheles says safety distributors are particularly well positioned to take advantage of the new requirements.

“The opportunities for distributors to increase sales and market share through this OSHA regulation are without question,” says Micheles, “as long as those distributors possess the knowledge and training necessary for providing end users with the right products and the appropriate training.”