We're installing some feeders at our facility in buried conduit. We've hired an electrical contractor to perform the installation. Part of the installation involves pulling multiple 350 kcmil CU-XHHW and 500 kcmil AL-XHHW conductors into 4" PVC conduits. Most of the crew assigned to performing the pulls were unskilled laborers hired by the contractor through a temp agency. There were, at most, only two electricians present for the pulls. The owner/contractor, who is an electrical engineer, has largely been absent during these pulls.
I've observed a number of practices during these pulls that I feel are unprofessional, do not comply with industry best practices, and may lead to failed conductors over time:
1. The wire was laid out on the ground (partially on bare rocky soil and partially on asphalt). On some of the pulls, plywood sheets were first laid on the ground to protect the wire, but for most of the pulls this was not done. For the most part, the wire bundles were picked up and carried "fire brigade" style during the pulls, but in every pull there was some dragging of the wires on the ground. Furthermore, I repeatedly observed the crews walking on the wire (while the wire was on the plywood, on the asphalt, and on the rocky soil). Even after I instructed them to stop walking on the wire, they'd be standing and walking on it again literally within minutes. This occurred during every pull, over the course of several days. Sometimes the foreman or senior electrician on the crew would echo my instructions (after I brought it to their attention), but nothing was done to correct the problem, and the crew would still be standing/walking on the wires minutes later.
2. Some of the wire bundles were pulled into five runs of 4" PVC conduit that had been buried 15 years ago. At the time we opened the Christy box, all the ends of the conduit (entering the box horizontally, but sloped slightly downhill away from the box) were completely buried in sand and dirt that had washed into the box over the years. Although the bottom of the box was cleaned out by hand, the contractor never proofed the conduits. On the day of the pull, I wanted them to pull a duct swab or mandrel through the conduit to clear any dirt, sand, rocks, or other debris out of the conduit. The contractor didn't have the tools and didn't want to take the time, but I finally persuaded him to at least pull a terry cloth rag through the conduit to swab it. It brought out a lot of very muddy water, but no obvious large obstructions. After that, the contractor decided it was a waste of time, and didn't swab/proof the remaining conduits.
3. The contractor brought a large Greenlee wire pulling machine (with LED tension indicators). But he only used it on one end of the conduit runs (where the conduit terminated inside our electrical utility shed). For the wire pulls out in the field, they used earth moving equipment (a back hoe excavator and a Bobcat) to pull the wire. They were never pulling the wire at more than one location at a time, so the only reason not to use the Greenlee wire puller for every run was to avoid the effort and time to move the puller to different pull locations on the job site. Furthermore, for at least some of the pulls, there was no skilled operator on site for the heavy machinery, so they had one of the temp workers running the hydraulic bucket to make the pull. They tied one end of the pull rope to the bucket (with no ability for the rope to slip if necessary to ease tension), and then he just pulled at the maximum speed that the bucket would operate. Then they'd stop, lower the bucket, re-tie the pull rope, and yank again.
4. Even knowing that the existing conduits were filled with brackish water (our property is behind a levy with salt water on the other side), the contractor did not seal any of the ends of the wire before pulling them. I expressed my concern about the salty water entering the spaces between the strands via the cable ends, but he blew me off.
From one of Southwire's wire installation publications, I know that #2 and #4 are wrong. But I can't find any documentation to support my position that walking on the wire insulation, and pulling wire with earth-moving equipment are against industry best-practices. But it's my opinion that those things are not mentioned only because it violates common sense and every professional should know not to do such things.
I'd like to solicit feedback from the many experienced and respected electricians, engineers, and inspectors in this forum. Am I being overly-concerned? Or am I correct in believing that our contractor's cost-cutting measures are putting us at risk for future failed conductors? I am advising the facility owner to at least have all the conductors meggered by a third-party electrician to check for insulation damage, but he needs "ammo" to justify forcing the contractor to pay for that additional expense.
I've observed a number of practices during these pulls that I feel are unprofessional, do not comply with industry best practices, and may lead to failed conductors over time:
1. The wire was laid out on the ground (partially on bare rocky soil and partially on asphalt). On some of the pulls, plywood sheets were first laid on the ground to protect the wire, but for most of the pulls this was not done. For the most part, the wire bundles were picked up and carried "fire brigade" style during the pulls, but in every pull there was some dragging of the wires on the ground. Furthermore, I repeatedly observed the crews walking on the wire (while the wire was on the plywood, on the asphalt, and on the rocky soil). Even after I instructed them to stop walking on the wire, they'd be standing and walking on it again literally within minutes. This occurred during every pull, over the course of several days. Sometimes the foreman or senior electrician on the crew would echo my instructions (after I brought it to their attention), but nothing was done to correct the problem, and the crew would still be standing/walking on the wires minutes later.
2. Some of the wire bundles were pulled into five runs of 4" PVC conduit that had been buried 15 years ago. At the time we opened the Christy box, all the ends of the conduit (entering the box horizontally, but sloped slightly downhill away from the box) were completely buried in sand and dirt that had washed into the box over the years. Although the bottom of the box was cleaned out by hand, the contractor never proofed the conduits. On the day of the pull, I wanted them to pull a duct swab or mandrel through the conduit to clear any dirt, sand, rocks, or other debris out of the conduit. The contractor didn't have the tools and didn't want to take the time, but I finally persuaded him to at least pull a terry cloth rag through the conduit to swab it. It brought out a lot of very muddy water, but no obvious large obstructions. After that, the contractor decided it was a waste of time, and didn't swab/proof the remaining conduits.
3. The contractor brought a large Greenlee wire pulling machine (with LED tension indicators). But he only used it on one end of the conduit runs (where the conduit terminated inside our electrical utility shed). For the wire pulls out in the field, they used earth moving equipment (a back hoe excavator and a Bobcat) to pull the wire. They were never pulling the wire at more than one location at a time, so the only reason not to use the Greenlee wire puller for every run was to avoid the effort and time to move the puller to different pull locations on the job site. Furthermore, for at least some of the pulls, there was no skilled operator on site for the heavy machinery, so they had one of the temp workers running the hydraulic bucket to make the pull. They tied one end of the pull rope to the bucket (with no ability for the rope to slip if necessary to ease tension), and then he just pulled at the maximum speed that the bucket would operate. Then they'd stop, lower the bucket, re-tie the pull rope, and yank again.
4. Even knowing that the existing conduits were filled with brackish water (our property is behind a levy with salt water on the other side), the contractor did not seal any of the ends of the wire before pulling them. I expressed my concern about the salty water entering the spaces between the strands via the cable ends, but he blew me off.
From one of Southwire's wire installation publications, I know that #2 and #4 are wrong. But I can't find any documentation to support my position that walking on the wire insulation, and pulling wire with earth-moving equipment are against industry best-practices. But it's my opinion that those things are not mentioned only because it violates common sense and every professional should know not to do such things.
I'd like to solicit feedback from the many experienced and respected electricians, engineers, and inspectors in this forum. Am I being overly-concerned? Or am I correct in believing that our contractor's cost-cutting measures are putting us at risk for future failed conductors? I am advising the facility owner to at least have all the conductors meggered by a third-party electrician to check for insulation damage, but he needs "ammo" to justify forcing the contractor to pay for that additional expense.
