Standards Development

Scope

This document specifies safety requirements specific to arc flash hazards for the electrical equipment and its components incorporated into earth-moving machines (EMMs) as defined in ISO 6165, and addresses the safety of operators, technicians, service/maintenance personnel and bystanders.

It is applicable to those machines using on-board voltages in the ranges of 50 V–36 kV AC r.m.s. at any frequency and 75 V–36 kV DC — including any repetition rate of pulsating DC — intended for outdoor use. It is applicable to both low and high voltages, except where its applicability to high- or lowvoltage equipment only is indicated. Voltages occurring within devices are not considered to be onboard voltages and are thus not within its scope.

This document covers potential arc flash hazards relevant to the voltage range for earth-moving machinery within its scope when the machinery is used as intended or under conditions of misuse reasonably foreseeable by the manufacturer. It specifies appropriate technical measures to assess arc flash hazards and for eliminating or reducing risks associated with these hazards. It is not applicable to machines manufactured before the date of its publication.

Purpose

The ISO 14990 series is intended to address “all significant hazards, hazardous situations, and hazardous events” for electrical equipment on EMM. However, the standard does not address arc flash in any meaningful way. Arc flash is a hazard of concern for all electrically powered EMM, and recognition of its importance is growing within the industry as electrified machinery is being developed and displacing traditional diesel-powered mobile machinery. It is also recognized that existing standards do not cover arc flash hazards on DC systems operating at 1500V and greater. The proposed standard seeks to rectify these issues and provide standard methods for the industry to assess and quantify arc flash hazards, and to provide methods for hazard mitigation.