article 404 - question about circuit breaker location

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dayman86

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providence RI USA
hello

I work in safety, and I have a problem with the location of a circuit breaker,

It is located between 2 gates

is there a standard that requires the breaker to be so far from the work area?
 
There are working clearance standards and in some often rules pertaining to location when the breaker is serving as the disconnecting means. A lot more info will be needed to provide you with a correct answer.
 
0 accidents
its been there a year, old location was within the work area
concern is, im just wondering if there is a minimum clearance the breaker has to be from the work area
 
All the NEC addresses is a minimum clearance from fixed objects when working on the breaker, not the other way around.
Workspace clearance around the breaker, but people are allowed to walk through or work in that clearance space.
 
GoldDigger said:
All the NEC addresses is a minimum clearance from fixed objects when working on the breaker, not the other way around.
Workspace clearance around the breaker, but people are allowed to walk through or work in that clearance space.
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Right. What the NEC wants you to ensure is that if someone had to turn off that safety switch (not a "breaker" by the way) in a hurray, there is nothing obstructing them from getting to it. From what that photo shows, you do not have an issue. What goes on behind the switch / breaker / equipment is not a concern of the NEC.

OSHA, different issue.
 
Jraef said:
What the NEC wants you to ensure is that if someone had to turn off that safety switch in a hurry, there is nothing obstructing them from getting to it.
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Please allow me to take issue with this statement. I don't believe there is anything in the NEC that deals with needing to turn off a breaker, switch, or other device in a hurry. If a person suddenly showed signs of receiving an electrical shock, it would certainly be a good thing if the power to the area could be quickly turned off by opening a nearby safety switch. I might call that a "side benefit" of installing a safety switch, a benefit that we would hope that we never have to use. But that is not the reason safety switches are installed. They are installed to allow routine maintenance to be performed safely.
 
charlie b said:
Please allow me to take issue with this statement. I don't believe there is anything in the NEC that deals with needing to turn off a breaker, switch, or other device in a hurry. If a person suddenly showed signs of receiving an electrical shock, it would certainly be a good thing if the power to the area could be quickly turned off by opening a nearby safety switch. I might call that a "side benefit" of installing a safety switch, a benefit that we would hope that we never have to use. But that is not the reason safety switches are installed. They are installed to allow routine maintenance to be performed safely.
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OK, I'll conceded the point that it's a side benefit of why the safety switch is REQUIRED, but I was thinking in terms of the "clear access" aspect; that you can have a switch somewhere that is not very accessible, or you can have it readily accessible. It's safer if it's accessible without obstruction. The semantics is not worth arguing over though.
 
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