Locking Panelboards?

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hbendillo

Senior Member
Location
South carolina
I have a hospital client and his facility has panelboards located in corridor walls throughout the facility. The state health facility inspector told him those panelboards must remained locked at all times. Is there anything in the NEC about this requirement? Yeah, it is a good idea but my client wants his staff to have access to reset a breaker without calling the staff electrician. I am not sure I agree.
 

ultramegabob

Senior Member
Location
Indiana
I dont think the NEC says anything about locking panel covers, the manufactures install locks on them so they can be locked.... If they want access to the panels, suggest that they leave a key with the charge nurse, or at the unit secritarys desk.
 

hbendillo

Senior Member
Location
South carolina
I couldn't find anything in the NEC or NFPA 99 concerning the issue nor the state health facility regs. My client wants the guy to show from where this requirement comes but in my experience these state inspectors can't always back up their claims. In the end it becomes "because I said so".
 

ultramegabob

Senior Member
Location
Indiana
I dont know if it is a requirement of any kind, but it is standard practice at all of the nursing homes and hospitals that I have done work in.
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
It seems to me the liability of having anyone turn a breaker off would be high and that keys could be made and given to the correct staff members.

Besides .......... are they tripping breakers on a regular basis?:-?
 

hbendillo

Senior Member
Location
South carolina
I just tried NFPA 99 and found nothing. I agree with some of you that locking the panelboards would be my policy. With all the nurses stations and offices around they could always have keys available nearby for staff.
 

steve66

Senior Member
Location
Illinois
Occupation
Engineer
See 700.25 of the NEC.

Also, maybe NFPA 110.

I'm not sure about normal power circuits, but I think my state may have a rule about those only being available to authorized people.

Steve
 

cschmid

Senior Member
You have a problem with the staff electricain coming to reset a tripped circuit breaker....Why would you want the liability of leaving them open so anyone can trip a breaker and cause havoc..lets think about the logic here hospital and electrical breakers should only be operated by the trained professionals. there is protocol to follow due to liability reasons everything critical is already protected with backup. So what is the issue here???
 

480sparky

Senior Member
Location
Iowegia
You have a problem with the staff electricain coming to reset a tripped circuit breaker....Why would you want the liability of leaving them open so anyone can trip a breaker and cause havoc..lets think about the logic here hospital and electrical breakers should only be operated by the trained professionals. there is protocol to follow due to liability reasons everything critical is already protected with backup. So what is the issue here???

Resetting a breaker probably isn't the issue...... being able to just walk down the hall and turn one or more off is probably the issue here.
 

buldogg

Senior Member
Location
Green Bay, Wisc.
You have a problem with the staff electricain coming to reset a tripped circuit breaker....Why would you want the liability of leaving them open so anyone can trip a breaker and cause havoc..lets think about the logic here hospital and electrical breakers should only be operated by the trained professionals. there is protocol to follow due to liability reasons everything critical is already protected with backup. So what is the issue here???

I agree. A tripped breaker is a sign of a problem and should be investigarted by a trained professional, not just anybody resetting and walking away only to have the breaker tripping again on the next shift.
 

iwire

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Massachusetts
I agree. A tripped breaker is a sign of a problem and should be investigarted by a trained professional, not just anybody resetting and walking away only to have the breaker tripping again on the next shift.

70E requires determining the cause of the trip before resetting.:smile:
 

cycotcskir

Senior Member
lets think about the logic here hospital and electrical breakers should only be operated by the trained professionals.

Let's now look at reality, the maint staff at most of the hospitals around here are not "trained professionals". Usually when it comes to flipping breakers and replacing Fl. tubes, they just sent a tech. or some other lower qualified electrical worker. I imagine this is true around the country, but I'm not sure.
 

cschmid

Senior Member
Let's now look at reality, the maint staff at most of the hospitals around here are not "trained professionals". Usually when it comes to flipping breakers and replacing Fl. tubes, they just sent a tech. or some other lower qualified electrical worker. I imagine this is true around the country, but I'm not sure.

what there are different levels of qualified I do not remember reading that...the hospital is like every other profit machine do what you can as cheap as you can. that is why they have installed disconnects in FL fixtures, so the profit machines can have there janitors change them. that does not make them lesser qualified electrical worker it makes them unqualified workers doing electrical work.

ahh stubbed the feeling to go after HI's again..:smile:
 

masterinbama

Senior Member
It seems to me the liability of having anyone turn a breaker off would be high and that keys could be made and given to the correct staff members.

Besides .......... are they tripping breakers on a regular basis?:-?


I did contract maintenance at a local hospital for 5 years and the only tripped breakers I ever ran across were either failed motors or short circuits in newly commissioned circuits. Besides is locking a panel cover any different than a locked electrical closet.
 
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