Our Safety Department has shutdown routine troubleshooting activities at our facility such as voltage testing in 120V control panels, unless full Cat 2 PPE is used along with V-rated gloves and tools.
Here are a few questions I need help with:
Since IEC IP20 compliance is intended to prevent inadvertent contact with exposed conductors, and since everything inside the panels is IP20 finger-safe compliant, are there any "exposed" live parts in the panel for 70E purposes? Can we just look inside a control panel from closer than 4 feet but not touch without putting on a flash-hood, etc.?
NEC 70E Table 130.7(C)(9)(a) applies a Hazard Category 1 for voltage testing in a panel 240V or less, and requires use of V-rated gloves and tools. We are using UL listed voltmeter probes to contact recessed finger-safe terminal screws. Why would that activity require a flash hazard analysis, hot work permit, rubber gloves, safety glasses, etc.? We first test the voltmeter by inserting the probes into a live 120V receptacle in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, and we don't require a hot work permit for that. How are these two activities different? By the same logic, why wouldn't we need a hot work permit to simply plug a computer into the wall? Receptacle contacts are just as inaccessible as IP20 rated terminals and we don't require a permit and PPE to plug in an extension cord... What are we missing?
I would really appreciate any help you can give me on this subject. It has turned into a huge issue at our facility, and it illustrates the wide variety of interpretations of NEC 70E requirements.
Thanks!
Steve
Here are a few questions I need help with:
Since IEC IP20 compliance is intended to prevent inadvertent contact with exposed conductors, and since everything inside the panels is IP20 finger-safe compliant, are there any "exposed" live parts in the panel for 70E purposes? Can we just look inside a control panel from closer than 4 feet but not touch without putting on a flash-hood, etc.?
NEC 70E Table 130.7(C)(9)(a) applies a Hazard Category 1 for voltage testing in a panel 240V or less, and requires use of V-rated gloves and tools. We are using UL listed voltmeter probes to contact recessed finger-safe terminal screws. Why would that activity require a flash hazard analysis, hot work permit, rubber gloves, safety glasses, etc.? We first test the voltmeter by inserting the probes into a live 120V receptacle in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, and we don't require a hot work permit for that. How are these two activities different? By the same logic, why wouldn't we need a hot work permit to simply plug a computer into the wall? Receptacle contacts are just as inaccessible as IP20 rated terminals and we don't require a permit and PPE to plug in an extension cord... What are we missing?
I would really appreciate any help you can give me on this subject. It has turned into a huge issue at our facility, and it illustrates the wide variety of interpretations of NEC 70E requirements.
Thanks!
Steve
