By Chris Guffey, PE (Chris has 20+ years of delivering turnkey power-and-control solutions for water/wastewater facilities. He is an expert in low/medium-voltage distribution, electrical safety and arc flash compliance (NFPA 70E), electrical preventative maintenance (NFPA 70B), and SCADA instrumentation.)
This is part 5 in our Arc Flash blog series. Click here to read part 4.
When most organizations think about arc flash safety, they jump straight to PPE, labels, and safe work practices. Those are critical parts of NFPA 70E compliance. But here’s a reality that often gets overlooked: Your arc flash study is only accurate if your equipment is operating the way it did the day it left the factory.
And that assumption is rarely true.
Connections loosen, breakers age, dust builds up, and components overheat. Over time, neglected maintenance quietly changes how electrical equipment performs, and that changes how it fails. When failure behavior changes, so does your arc flash risk.
That’s where NFPA 70B comes in.
70E Protects People. 70B Protects the Equipment.
NFPA 70E focuses on protecting workers from electrical hazards. It tells us how to label equipment, determine incident energy, select PPE, and work safely.
But 70E assumes something important: The equipment has been properly installed and maintained.
If it hasn’t, the calculations in your arc flash study may no longer reflect reality.
Poorly maintained equipment can:
increase clearing times
prevent breakers from tripping as designed
have the potential to increase incident energy levels beyond what labels show
In other words, your PPE category may be inaccurate if your equipment isn't maintained to operate as it did from the factory.
NFPA 70B addresses this gap. It establishes the preventive maintenance practices that keep equipment operating as designed, ensuring your 70E analysis stays valid and defensible.
You can’t have one without the other.
Infrared: The Quickest Way to Start
If 70B maintenance feels overwhelming, start simple.
Infrared thermography is the fastest, easiest way to begin identifying hidden electrical risks.
Infrared scans allow technicians to see heat, often the first warning sign of trouble, without shutting down equipment. They quickly reveal:
loose or deteriorating connections
overloaded circuits
failing breakers
phase imbalance
and insulation breakdown
These problems may not trip alarms today, but they create the exact conditions that lead to arcing faults and equipment failure tomorrow.
Finding them early reduces both reliability issues and arc flash exposure.
Maintenance That Supports Accurate Arc Flash Studies
Infrared inspections aren’t just a maintenance activity, they directly support your arc flash program.
When scans reveal overloaded or degraded equipment, it signals a potential problem that needs to be rectified to ensure the accuracy of your arc flash analysis and safety of your employees.
By integrating infrared findings into your electrical preventive maintenance program, you’re actively protecting the integrity of your 70E study.
This alignment between 70B (maintenance) and 70E (worker protection) creates a safer, more reliable facility.
Standards That Guide the Process
Infrared inspections are backed by established standards:
NFPA 70B – Requires thermography as part of an Electrical Preventive Maintenance program
ASTM E1934 & E1186 – Define inspection best practices and reporting requirements
A proper report includes thermal images, load conditions, severity ratings, and recommended actions, giving teams a clear roadmap for corrective maintenance.
Start Small. Improve Safety Fast.
You don’t need to overhaul your entire maintenance program overnight.
Start with one infrared scan.
It’s quick, it’s non-invasive, and it immediately tells you whether your equipment is performing safely or quietly drifting toward failure.
Because at the end of the day:
70E tells you how to protect your people.
70B ensures the equipment behaves the way your safety plan assumes it will.
Infrared is simply the fastest way to make sure both are working together.
We help utilities and facilities bridge that gap, turning maintenance insights into safer systems and more reliable arc flash protection.