Cherry Hill, NJ · 2020
Maida Engineering performed short circuit studies, equipment evaluations, time-current characteristic (TCC) coordination, and arc flash assessments for the 480 V and 208 V power distribution systems in a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Cherry Hill, NJ — a facility backed by 7 MVA of emergency generation and 960 kVA of UPS systems where power reliability is critical to operations.
Recommendations focused on two objectives: improving selectivity — ensuring that a single fault drops only the affected circuit and not the entire floor — and reducing incident energy levels so that personnel can diagnose and maintain energized equipment without the highest PPE categories. The plant's use of variable frequency drives required harmonic-aware coordination that a standard arc flash assessment would not have captured.
The arc flash label provides qualified personnel the information they need to select appropriate Flame Retardant clothing and PPE based on calculated incident energy. By combining coordination study improvements with the arc flash assessment, Maida was able to recommend breaker and relay setting changes that simultaneously increased selectivity and reduced incident energy — providing both a safety benefit and an economic payback in reduced PPE requirements for energized work.
Deliverables included updated one-line diagrams, AutoCAD equipment plans, SKM PTW model, short circuit and TCC coordination reports, arc flash analysis, and installed arc flash labels on all covered equipment.