Arc Flash Studies and Incident Energy Analysis
Every energized electrical enclosure in your facility carries an incident energy value. Until it has been calculated, labelled and documented, neither you nor the workers opening those doors know what that value is — and neither does the regulator when an incident occurs.
Furano Pacific Consulting performs arc flash hazard studies to CSA Z462 and IEEE 1584-2018 for industrial, institutional and commercial facilities in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Every study is reviewed and sealed by a registered professional engineer.
What an arc flash study includes, and what you receive
A complete study is four pieces of work, delivered together.
Field data collection. Single-line verification, nameplate capture on transformers, breakers, fuses and relays, conductor sizes and lengths, and confirmation of the utility source. Most existing facilities have drawings that no longer match the installation; the field visit is what makes the model real rather than theoretical.
Short circuit analysis. Available fault current at every bus, checked against equipment interrupting and withstand ratings. This routinely surfaces equipment that is under-rated for the fault duty it would actually see.
Protective device coordination. Time-current curves across the full protection chain, so an upstream device does not trip before the downstream one clears. Coordination is also the primary lever for reducing incident energy, because clearing time drives the calculation more than fault current does.
Incident energy calculation and labelling. Incident energy in cal/cm², arc flash boundary and required PPE category at each work location, issued as CSA Z462-compliant labels.
What you receive
A sealed engineering report setting out methodology, assumptions, model inputs and findings.
Updated single-line diagrams reflecting as-found conditions.
Equipment labels, print-ready or applied on site.
A prioritized list of recommendations wherever incident energy exceeds practical PPE limits.
The ETAP or EasyPower model file itself, so future changes can be re-analyzed without rebuilding from zero. A study you cannot update is a study you will pay for twice.
When you need one, and the rules that apply
You have never had a study done. CSA Z462 requires that incident energy or PPE category be documented before qualified workers perform energized work.
It has been five years. CSA Z462 expects the study to be reviewed at intervals not exceeding five years, and sooner if the system changes. Labels older than that are no longer defensible.
The electrical system changed. A service upgrade, a new transformer, added generation, a utility upgrade on the incoming feed or a large motor addition all change the fault duty — as does a utility-side change you were never told about.
Your existing study cites CSA Z462-12 or IEEE 1584-2002. The 2018 revision of IEEE 1584 changed the calculation model materially, and Engineers and Geoscientists BC has issued a practice advisory on the updated standard. A study built on the superseded model may not reflect current incident energy at your equipment.
An insurer, prime contractor or owner is asking for it. This is increasingly a prequalification condition rather than a nice-to-have.
Regulatory basis across western Canada
British Columbia. The WorkSafeBC Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, Part 19, governs electrical safety obligations, with CSA Z462 as the referenced practice standard.
Alberta. Obligations flow from the Occupational Health and Safety Act and its associated code, again with CSA Z462 as the practice standard.
Saskatchewan. Obligations flow from The Saskatchewan Employment Act and the associated OHS regulations.
All three provinces treat the arc flash study as the employer's evidence that the hazard was assessed. The engineering seal is what makes it evidence. Furano Pacific Consulting holds active professional licences in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario.
Common questions
What software do you model in? ETAP and EasyPower. Both are industry-standard platforms accepted by insurers, prime contractors and authorities having jurisdiction, and both let us hand back a live model rather than a dead PDF.
How long does it take? As a rule we mobilize to site within about two weeks of award, and issue the sealed report about four weeks after the field visit. Larger services with many distribution points run longer, and we will tell you that before you commit rather than after.
Do you need a shutdown? Usually not for data collection on accessible equipment, though some enclosures can only be opened safely de-energized. We scope this before mobilizing.
Can you update a study another firm produced? Yes, provided the model file or a sufficiently complete report is available. If neither is, it is usually faster to rebuild than to reverse-engineer.
Do you provide the labels? Yes — printed, and on request applied on site.
What kind of facilities have you done this on? Our Lower Mainland work includes large campus facilities and major shopping centres, including Metropolis at Metrotown, alongside industrial and processing sites in Saskatchewan.