GCGV: Arc Flash Safety by Design Film

CLIENT

GCGV

OBJECTIVE
SHIIFT was tasked with producing an 8-minute film designed to showcase how GCGV project engineers are verifying energy isolation and creating new pathways forward in arc flash prevention, for use at an executive sponsors meeting and as a training resource.

APPROACH

Our team worked closely with GCGV’s designers and project leads to keep content targeted and aligned with operational objectives and messaging.

We combined interview footage with live action sequences showing the electrical isolation device being handled in context, allowing the engineering story to be told in a compelling and credible way.

The Problem

Arc flash is one of the most serious hazards in the electrical industry, particularly when working with 480V equipment. According to OSHA’s arc flash guidance, an electric arc produces temperatures that can exceed 35,000°F, nearly four times the heat of the sun’s surface, triggering an explosive blast of deafening noise, supersonic concussive force, and superheated shrapnel.

A common misconception is that low voltage carries lower risk. In reality, arc flash incident energy depends primarily on amperage, cycle time, and worker distance, not voltage.

• Approximately 2,000 US workers are admitted to burn centers annually with severe arc flash burns
• About 80% of electrically related accidents and fatalities involving qualified workers are caused by arc flash
• Arc flash blasts are capable of killing at a distance of up to 10 feet
• Injuries can include severe burns, hearing loss, eye damage, lung damage, and blast injuries from molten metal
• Costs per arc flash burn injury can range from $10,000 to $15,000,000 USD
• In one utility study, electrical injuries represented just over 2% of all accidents but accounted for 28% to 52% of total injury costs

The figures above are drawn from Eaton’s arc flash statistics research.

One of the leading contributing factors is the assumption that equipment has been de-energized when it has not.

Exxon recognized the scale of this risk and engaged Powell Industries as their contractor to design and manufacture devices capable of preventing arc flash hazards at the source.

The innovation was executed, but having achieved a genuine safety breakthrough, there was also a need to communicate that achievement: to present it credibly to executive sponsors, and to use it as the basis for ongoing training across the organization.