A Tale of Two Standards: NFPA 70E and CSA Z462

The plot of Charles Dickens’s famous novel, <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">A Tale of Two Cities</i>, hinges on the resemblance between two of the main characters, Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay. Yet, in other ways, the two individuals are very different. Similarly, the two North American workplace electrical safety standards, NFPA 70E and CSA Z462, in some respects, resemble each other, and yet, in other ways, they are very different. This article will explore the similarities, the differences, and the origins of each. It will discuss why both standards should be consulted by organizations wishing to optimize electrical safety performance.