Arc flash PPE: Is it legal?

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mtfallsmikey

mtfallsmikey

Senior Member
My higher-ups are upset, demanding we purchase arc flash PPE without doing an arc flash survey, without specifying the correct category clothing, no HV gloves. Is it legal?
 
C

cornbread

Senior Member
Its kind of like speeding...its legal until you get pulled over.

With out the ARC study you are playing craps. If some on gets hurts and the investigation find the clothing was not properly rated, who cares about the fines the real issue is the person that is hurt.
 
mtfallsmikey

mtfallsmikey

Senior Member
billsnuff said:
As a Building Engineer, what live equipment do you interact with?

What approach boundaries do you cross?
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MCC's, motors, switchgear, 480/277 panelboards, emergency lighting, busway fuse plugs, self-contained A.C. units w/VFD's...

How did you know what I do for a living? Is it that obvious? Or is it that I'm also a licensed plumber?...

At the old job, hot work on live PDU's, etc. was a way of life, been in a suit many times.
 
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wtucker

Senior Member
Location
Connecticut
Is it legal?

Is it legal?

No. OSHA regs, Title 29, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 1910.132:

The employer has to certify that he's done a hazard assessment, select the appropriate personal protective equipment, ensure that it fits properly, mandate its use, communicate that to employees and train them in all that, and pay for most of it (read the standard for exceptions http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9777)

Oh, and falsely certifying a document required by OSHA is a criminal offense under the Occupational Safety and Health Act that carries a $10,000 fine.
 
K

knoppdude

Senior Member
Location
Sacramento,ca
mtfallsmikey said:
My higher-ups are upset, demanding we purchase arc flash PPE without doing an arc flash survey, without specifying the correct category clothing, no HV gloves. Is it legal?
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Hi mtfallsmikey,
This is an excellent question, and one I am going to research myself. I am now required to purchase my own safety gear as an independant, and when working on live equipment, even opening or closing switchgear, I use a 40 cal/cm sq suit. One of the companies has a policy that when testing live gear, that 15 cal is ok, use 40 cal when working live. This is only in the rare live work situations. I think too many managers don't understand the importance of the arc flash survey, and how this can help protect their employees. When I started as an apprentice, an electrician who was just released from the local burn unit talked with us, and said that if they had just waited 30 minutes before working, power would have been off, and he would not have had to endure 3 months of burn unit torture. Thirty minutes was far too long for the foreman and company to wait.
 
mayanees

mayanees

Senior Member
Location
Westminster, MD
Occupation
Electrical Engineer and Master Electrician
mtfallsmikey said:
My higher-ups are upset, demanding we purchase arc flash PPE without doing an arc flash survey, without specifying the correct category clothing, no HV gloves. Is it legal?
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In the absence of arc-flash calculations you can use the NFPA 70E 130.7(C)(9) tables for determination of PPE requirements. The problem with this approach though is that the tables are limited in their application because of the restrictive qualifiers in the General Notes concerning maximum fault currents and opening times, in which case the only way to work on that area safely is de-energized.
John M
 
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Jraef

Jraef

Moderator, OTD
Staff member
Location
San Francisco Bay Area, CA, USA
Occupation
Electrical Engineer
mtfallsmikey said:
...
How did you know what I do for a living? Is it that obvious? Or is it that I'm also a licensed plumber?...
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We ALL know...

your profile said:
About mtfallsmikey

Occupation
Building engineer

How are you related to the electrical industry?
Licensed electrician
Click to expand...

No mention of Plumber though, but now the cat's out of the bag!
 
mtfallsmikey

mtfallsmikey

Senior Member
Ok,OK, I'm a licensed gas fitter too...let the jokes begin...

Still mucho confusion on PPE from the higher-ups, I've been sending them a lot of info on the subject, got the go-ahead to order all the PPE, shepherd's hook, hot stick, hot work tools, the works....$3500 worth of stuff. Also was instructed not to reset any main breakers for the buildings! I'll call in the IBEW brothers to do that.
 
rbalex

rbalex

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Mission Viejo, CA
Occupation
Professional Electrical Engineer
cericks66 said:
My agency is currently researching compliance issues on this topic. Here?s a link to anOSHA interpretation that I have found to be the best explanation on this issue.
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Whether it is a big deal or not, I'lll leave everyone to determine on their own, but the OSHA interpretation is dated before the current FedOSHA Final Rule (Aug 13, 2007). A few of the dates cited in the interpretation are now inaccurate; e.g., NFPA 70E-2000 is now the baseline edition. But no edition of NFPA 70E is actually "official" FedOSHA doctrine.

I haven't spoken with my FedOSHA contact for over three years but I believe the underlying philosophies expressed in the interpretation are still accurate.
 
zog

zog

Senior Member
Location
Charlotte, NC
Yep, and it will all change again in a couple months when 2012 70E is released. I have read all of the proposed (And approved) changes and there will be some major ones.
 
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