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IEEE 1584 · Engineering

Arc Flash Study Services in Portugal | Carelabs Experts

Electrical hazards are among the leading causes of workplace injuries in Portugal facilities. Carelabs' arc flash studies identify the correct PPE category for every working point in your electrical system, using the IEEE 1584 calculation method and ETAP modelling, so facilities can meet both RTIEBT electrical-installation requirements (enforced by DGEG) and Lei n.º 102/2009 workplace-safety obligations. Every engagement concludes with an RTIEBT-aligned report package, including PPE-category labelling ready for installation and single-line diagrams reflecting current equipment ratings.

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What the responsible technician needs on file

Installations above a defined power must operate under a named technician responsible for their exploration and maintenance. That responsibility is difficult to carry for a hazard that has never been quantified.

What We Deliver

Incident energy per position

Energy is calculated in cal/cm² to IEEE 1584-2018 from electrode configuration, enclosure dimensions, gap and working distance captured on site, each of which changes the result enough that a generic value is not a substitute.

THE RESPONSIBILITY

Someone signs for this installation

Where a named technician is responsible for the exploration of an installation, an unquantified arc hazard sits directly under that signature. The study converts it from an assumption into a documented and dated technical position.

  • Assessment to IEEE 1584-2018, with the model's validity range stated and any extrapolation identified rather than absorbed silently.
  • Fault current from a short circuit study to IEC 60909, using the fault level obtained from the distribution operator for the point of supply.
  • Minimum source conditions assessed alongside maximum, since reduced fault current can fall below an instantaneous threshold and extend the arc considerably.
  • Clearing times read from installed devices rather than the settings schedule, because the two diverge across the working life of a plant.
  • Installation findings referenced to RTIEBT and NP HD 60364, so remediation is expressed in terms your installer already works to.
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DELIVERABLES

What you receive

A signed engineering report aligned to RTIEBT, NP HD 60364 and IEEE 1584, issued by the engineer who carried out the site work.

  1. 1Incident energy and arc flash boundary by equipment and working position
  2. 2Environment-rated labels ready to apply, with a placement schedule
  3. 3PPE specification per position, referenced to calculated energy rather than a generic class
  4. 4Mitigation options for positions above the practical PPE limit, with the clearing-time change each requires
  5. 5The calibrated ETAP model, retained so the position can be updated rather than rebuilt
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How the study runs

01

Establish energised work

We identify which equipment is genuinely accessed live, since that determines the assessed scope. Exclusions are recorded rather than assumed, keeping the study boundary auditable.

02

Survey what the model needs

Enclosure geometry, electrode configuration, gap and working distance are recorded with nameplate data, because the result is sensitive to each of them.

03

Establish fault current

Fault level at the point of supply is requested from the distribution operator and a short circuit study gives bolted fault current at every board.

04

Review the protection

Settings are read from the devices and clearing time is taken from the real characteristic at the calculated arcing current.

05

Calculate and label

Energy, boundaries and PPE are determined per position and labels are produced for application to the assessed equipment.

06

Hand over to the responsible technician

Findings are ranked and the technician responsible for the installation is briefed, so the report becomes part of how the plant is run rather than an archived document.

Frequently asked questions

Not as a named requirement. The obligation is indirect: occupational safety law requires the employer to assess and control workplace risks, and RTIEBT governs the installation itself. For an arc hazard, completing that assessment credibly requires quantifying the energy, because it is not observable and varies substantially between boards on the same site.
The distribution operator, for your point of supply, as a maximum and a minimum value. Maximum determines whether switchgear can interrupt the worst case; minimum determines whether protection picks up and therefore how long an arc would burn. Requests take time, so raise it at the enquiry stage rather than after the survey.
They stop being correct. Incident energy depends directly on clearing time, so a setting change alters the energy at every position downstream of that device. Setting changes should trigger a re-run of the affected boards, which is inexpensive where the calibrated model has been retained from the original study.
Yes, and it is routinely not passed on. A contractor opening your board faces the energy your installation produces, not the energy assumed in their own procedures. Labels, boundaries and PPE requirements belong in the work authorisation, and incidents involving contractors frequently trace back to that handover never happening.

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