Safe grounding practices and recommendations for industrial facilities

Grounding has a significant impact on personnel and property safety, and is an integral part of electrical system design. Specific areas relating to safety criteria, system grounding, and equipment grounding that are either neglected or not covered in sufficient detail in presently published standards, guides, and codes are discussed. Some considerations and recommendations are presented. The major purpose of system grounding is to improve system safety by using the earth as a reference. The type, size, and location of the resulting grounds must be determined in accordance with the National Electrical Code (NEC) and good engineering judgement. The connection of a specific point of an electrical system to the earth creates a potential reference point for that electrical system. By doing so, overvoltages are controlled and limited, contributing to safe system operation