PPE for Electrical Authorization: NF C18-510 Guide

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) are devices worn by a person to protect them against one or more risks, particularly electrical risk.

The NF C18-510 standard recommends and details the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to protect operators against electrical risk. We will detail them below.

Before we begin, let us review the general prevention principles recommended by the NF C18-510 standard.

Protective equipment: general prevention principles

• It is essential to prioritize working de-energized after lockout/tagout or implementing collective prevention measures: the use of PPE is only considered when other risk elimination or reduction measures are insufficient or impossible to implement.
• PPE must be personal and adapted to the worker’s activities.
• The employer is responsible for defining the conditions of implementation, selection and use of PPE after risk analysis.
• PPE, as well as work clothing, must be appropriate to the risk and conditions, according to the applicable electrical protection classes and specific working conditions. Current technology does not always cover all voltage domains or short-circuit power levels.
• When multiple risks require the simultaneous use of several PPE items, they must be compatible with each other and maintain their effectiveness.
• The authorized worker must have PPE adapted to the operation at their disposal.
• Workers must be trained in the identification, inspection and use of appropriate PPE. These topics are covered during electrical authorization training.
• The use, maintenance, storage, inspection and limitations of PPE must follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

PPE and electrical authorizations: NF C18-510 standard recommendations

The NF C18-510 standard details the use and maintenance of the main protective equipment specific to electrical operations. The main PPE identified are:

Insulating helmet 

Its purpose is to protect the head against direct contact with live bare parts. Regarding voltage domains:

• For Low Voltage (LV), insulating helmets comply with standard NF EN 50365 and are CE-marked, class 0, and bear the double triangle symbol. Class 0 is for use up to 1,000V AC / 1,500V DC. A retention system (chin strap) is required.
• For High Voltage (HV), insulating helmets exist but are not subject to normative marking, only regulatory and manufacturer marking. The maximum voltage currently mentioned is 20 kV.
• Helmets incorporating face protection (face shield) can be used to protect against the consequences of an LV short circuit.
• There are also helmets protecting against molten particle projections, complying with standard NF EN 397 and CE-marked.

The helmet must be worn in zones where there is a risk of:

• electrical contact at head level
• falling objects (materials, etc.)
• head impact (obstacles at head height, etc.)
• falls (working at heights above 3 meters)

Face and eye protection shield

It serves to protect the eyes and face against solid particle projections, electric arc and UV emission:

• Compliant with standard NF EN 166 and CE-marked.
• Face shields are classified according to their protection level for various risks (particles with symbols F, B, A; electric arc with symbol 8 for 12 kA max at 400V 50 Hz).
• Lens marking may include various technical symbols according to standard NF EN 166.

Face shields must be worn mandatorily:

• during Low Voltage work or general interventions in the vicinity zone
• during live steps of general LV interventions
• during inspection, testing and measurement operations
• during installation of grounding and short-circuiting devices

Lens marking must include the appropriate technical information, presented as a chain of symbols as follows:

Where:

A marking example: 2-1.2 (R01) Manufacturer Name (R02) 1 (R03) B (R04) 8 (R05)

🛑 Safety glasses, while protecting the eyes, do not meet the essential safety requirements for electricians.

Do you doubt the value or effectiveness of the face shield? Here is an example on a mannequin of a short circuit that caused an electric arc:

With face shield

Without face shield

Insulating gloves

Insulating gloves are designed to protect the hands against the risks of direct contact with live bare parts. Insulating gloves must be used in the same cases as face shields.

• Compliant with standard NF EN 60903 and marked CE, class, double triangle, date of manufacture.
• Classified according to their maximum working voltage.

Gloves are classified and identified according to their maximum working voltage, as shown in the table below:

There are gloves without mechanical protection and composite gloves with mechanical protection (marked with a hammer symbol). Gloves without mechanical protection must be covered with a leather overglove for adequate mechanical protection.

Insulating gloves meeting safety requirements can be identified by the following: CE marking, class, double triangle symbol, date of manufacture and reference to standard NF EN 60903.

Any doubt about the usefulness of insulating gloves?

Short circuit — Operator protected with insulating gloves:

Short circuit — Operator without insulating gloves — hand burns:

Insulating mats 

The insulating mat is designed to isolate the operator from the ground, so they are not traversed by an electric current in case of direct contact.

Applicable standard: NF EN 61111

Like gloves, insulating mats are classified and identified according to their maximum working voltage.

When using them, ensure that the dimensions are compatible with the working area needed for the operations and position yourself to avoid any contact with metallic surfaces, preferably in the middle of the mat. No body part in contact with the ground should extend beyond the mat, for example a foot.

In wet or flooded locations, an insulating stool must be used.

Insulating mats meeting safety requirements can be identified by the following: class, double triangle symbol, date of manufacture and reference to standard NF EN 61111.

Insulating protective clothing 

Serves to isolate the operator in case of direct or indirect contact.

• Clothing protecting against direct contact in LV (500V) complies with standard NF EN 50286, CE-marked, class (only class 00 is recognized by the standard), double triangle, date of manufacture.

Work clothing

• Work clothing is not considered PPE.
• Its purpose is to mitigate the consequences of electric arc effects.
• It must be non-flame-propagating and must not contain conductive parts.

Other protective equipment 

The NF C18-510 standard mentions other important protective equipment that is not classified as PPE. They are generally not subject to CE regulatory marking like PPE, but some have normative marking and many bear the double triangle symbol. These include:

• Insulating footwear (NF EN 50321).
• Rigid and flexible insulating protectors (standards NF EN 61479, NF EN 61229).
• Insulating blankets (standard NF EN 61112).
• Insulating or insulated hand tools for LV electrical work (standard NF EN 60900).
• Voltage Absence Test (VAT) devices (standards NF EN 61243-1, -2, -3, -5).
• Insulating poles.
• Body contact poles (standard NF EN 50508).
• Portable grounding and short-circuiting equipment (standard NF EN 61230).

In summary, the NF C18-510 standard details the importance of PPE as an individual protection measure, to be used in addition to collective measures. It identifies and precisely describes insulating helmets, eye and face protection, insulating gloves, insulating footwear and insulating protective clothing, specifying the applicable standards and corresponding markings. It also distinguishes this PPE from work clothing and other essential safety equipment for electrical operations.