Safeguard Your Employees with the Littelfuse Shockblock

Wet, damp and humid locations within manufacturing facilities pose safety problems from trips and falls to potentially deadly electrical shock. Taking proper safety measures like appropriate protection equipment and proper design and maintenance of equipment can help prevent safety hazards but to prevent electrical shock, additional measures beyond personal protection equipment and proper design is necessary. A Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCI) device installed can prevent death or injury from electrical shock by detecting if even just a little bit of current is flowing where it should not and shut off the power. Learn how the Littelfuse SB6100 Series Industrial Shock-BlockTM, the first GFCI on the market, works and can help protect your people from electrocutions in industrial facilities.

Video: Littelfuse Industrial Shock-Block

The Industrial SB6100 Special-Purpose Ground-Fault Circuit-Interrupter (SPGFCI) is the only UL 943C listed device that provides personnel protection for 208, 240, 480 and 600 V loads, and now ith CSA and expanded trip levels.

Check out a few examples of how others have implemented and discovered the many benefits of the SB6100 Shock-Block product to safeguard their employees.

Municipal Water Utility Company Protects Workers from Shock Hazards

A municipal water utility company, that supplies water to more than three million residents, wanted to protect its workers from shock hazards. The facility had two tanks the size of Olympic swimming pools containing 7-10 hp submersible pumps running on 600 V. Once or twice a year the tanks must be cleaned by hand, and workers enter while the water is still present and the pumps are running. The solution was the Littelfuse Industrial Shock-Block™ SB6100 EGFPD. The utility company installed the EGFPDs in the motor control centers that supply power to each pump. The EGFPDs operate like an industrial ground-fault circuit interrupter. If a device senses a ground fault above a trip setting, it will open the circuit very quickly to protect workers from shock.

Large Solution Mining Company Protects Employees from Electric Shock Near Pumping Station

Solution mining requires a constant supply of water. A large solution mining company has pump stations located near the water supply to pump the water in for processing. The water needs to be filtered before it is pumped to the mine so there is a filter screening the water intake. Even though a second filter is installed inside the pumping station, rocks, sand and debris still get into the station. Typically once a year, an employee must clean the debris out of the sump with the help of a submersible pump. Having a submersible pump running while the employee is cleaning leaves them at risk for electrical shock. The Industrial Shock-Block™ was the solution. They mounted the EGFPD on the wall inside the pumping station along the river bank. Because the Industrial Shock-Block™ is lightweight, the wall-mount installation among the electrical cabinets worked for this application. Now when a worker goes into the pumping station to clean the sump, they will be protected by the Industrial Shock-Block™.

Brick Manufacturer Protects Workers from Electrocution While Using Wet Saws

A brick manufacturing plant in the Western United States processes clay into bricks and other building materials for residential and commercial projects. Part of this process involves wet saws that operate at high voltage (480 V) and it is a wet process. The company managers wanted to make sure operators were safe from electrical ground faults. The plant electrician discussed his concerns with a Littelfuse distributor in Salt Lake City, Utah, whose representative suggested the use of an equipment ground-fault protection device (EGFPD) from Littelfuse. The Industrial Shock-Block™ SB6100 was installed between the motor control center and the face-cut saws on a manufacturing line built in the 80s. It took a little experimentation to determine that 30 mA was the lowest setting that prevented nuisance tripping. If the device senses a ground fault at or above that threshold, it opens the circuit within 20 ms - fast enough to prevent worker injury or death from dangerous electrical shock.