Turning head while opening a switch, time to change?

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Zapper523

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Naperville, Illinois
I am reviewing safety procedures for LOTO. One of the steps is to turn your head away as you open a switch. Today, our electricians are wearing face shields and it dawned on me that maybe we shouldn't be turning our heads anymore. I looked around the internet for some thoughts but struck out. If you have any thoughts on this, please post.
 
The older PPE jackets did not have the hood, so actually you would put yourself in greater danger by turning your head, because the back of your head is not protected. Even with the hoods, I think the facesheild would be better protection. I have seen the evidence of an Arc flash where the facesheild was still intact, but the jacket was shredded and burnt. The person received burns to the arms and chest, but the face was spared due to the sheild.
 
It has been a while but I'm pretty sure this has been discussed on this forum before. Turning away was a good idea in the days when people were not wearing face shields. But if you are wearing one it is possibly going to catch some of the flash incident and unfortunately it will catch it right in between your face and the shield:(
 
Yes, time to change. The shield will act as an "Arc scoop" and channel the arc into the face. Also be aware that the current 70E requires a balaclava or hood to be worn with the faceshield (Which must be arc rated and a wrap around style) for anything >4cal/cm2 (or >HRC 1)
 
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