At work today a non English speaker got 277V

[hockeyoligist2]

At work today a non English speaker got 277V (they said 480 but I don't think it would have fed back to him). We have a construction crew on site, which he is employed by. A Spanish speaking person was told to put a fiberglass tape in the pipe, because it was going in to a live motor control center. Since he did not understand English, all he knew was tape. He used a metal tape. He received 3rd degree burns on his arms and chest. If anyone is working with someone that may misinterpret what you are saying, please take the time to actually give them what they need.

I was in the next room, saw the lights dim, then I could smell the burning flesh. It was a terrible sight to see. Makes me realize how easy it could have been me since I have to work on a lot of things live.

The paramedics said he would live, but might not be able to work again. Take care out there, we work in a very dangerous profession.

 

[emahler]

i have a couple of very serious questions...

Was this guy legal to work?

Insured?

On payroll?

Will workers comp cover it?

or will he get indigent care at the expense of all of us?

it's a shame, but quite frankly it wasn't an accident. It was lack of common sense on the part of many people that led to it.

 

[Oakey]

Sorry to hear that. I remember the smell of buring flesh from an industrial accident years ago. Know what you mean, I'll never forget how sickening it was.

 

[mdshunk]

Here's some pictures of a fitting from a very similar accident, but only at 120:

 

[wbalsam1]

Since he did not understand English, all he knew was tape. He used a metal tape. He received 3rd degree burns on his arms and chest. ..........Take care out there, we work in a very dangerous profession.

It appears that not only did he not understand english, but also the hazards associated with the improper use and installation of electricity and electrical wiring. Very sad.

 

[Davis9]

Proper Supervision.

I think I may have checked the place the snake was going before sending it home.

Tom

Especially at Higher Voltages.

 

[brian john]

We get involved in restoring power to buildings after electrical faults, while water is the number one cause of faults and resulting electrical "explosions" arcing faults. We see a number of faults from fish tapes and one that still baffles me, electrical contractors installing feeders that are terminated on one end (including the EGC) into a live switchboard, the EGC shorts/faults due the being terminated on one end, not being properly taped on the other end, contractor not arranging an outage, contractor not supplying or wearing PPE, Misunderstanding the extreme dangers from arcing faults with 480/277 VAC systems.

There is no joy in repairing equipment knowing someone was injured or killed while trying to complete their job.

You should go home everyday looking like you did when you left the house that morning.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

Take care out there, we work in a very dangerous profession.

Especially when safety rules are ignored as in this case and I am not talking about the type of fish tape that was being used. Working on or near energized equipment is not permitted. Putting a fish tape of any kind into a raceway that terminates in energized equipment is working on or near energized equipment.
Don

 

[QES]

accident does happen. It does not matter who your are or how well you know about electricity. It does happen small or big. So thow the burning victim thown a freaken bone.

 

[emahler]

this wasn't an accident. it was a culmination of dumb decisions.

 

[Pierre C Belarge]

this wasn't an accident. it was a culmination of dumb decisions.

It is so easy for some to say it was an accident.

I absolutely agree it was not an accident and that the employer in this case should be prosocuted...but he will be given a small fine if that and hire another inexperienced/unqualified person until the job is complete. Complete does not mean well done in this case.

 

[hockeyoligist2]

i have a couple of very serious questions...

Was this guy legal to work?

Insured?

On payroll?

Will workers comp cover it?

or will he get indigent care at the expense of all of us?

it's a shame, but quite frankly it wasn't an accident. It was lack of common sense on the part of many people that led to it.

I really don't know the answers to all that. It is a really big construction company, so i think they will take care of him. About 80% of the crew is Mexican, legal? I'm not sure, but they are supposed to be.

 

[George Stolz]

It was a terrible sight to see. Makes me realize how easy it could have been me since I have to work on a lot of things live.

Hopefully, this event changes your barometer about when something has to be worked live. I think that in general, despite what people say, they subconsciously place a higher value on equipment than they do human beings.

I'd bet a dollar that if the people in charge were told that there is a 50% chance of damage and accidental shutdown to your equipment if we attempt to work it hot, a shutdown would be arranged. If you say, there's a chance that someone could get shocked, then odds are people will still be exposed to that chance.

It's up to each of us to change that mentality, one step at a time.

 

[hockeyoligist2]

I agree George, the live work I have to do is trouble shooting (with PPE). If I'm pulling wire etc. It is going to be off. If I'm trying to find out where a pipe goes I always use a fiberglass tape, even if I think its going into a place that the power is off.

 

[realolman]

...... If I'm trying to find out where a pipe goes I always use a fiberglass tape, even if I think its going into a place that the power is off.

Huh? .

 

[mdshunk]

Huh? .

In existing work, you're sometimes not sure if the same spare stubs you're looking at on one end are the one's that you think they are on the other end. If I have a shop vac or some compressed air handy, I'll suck or blow on the pipe and go to the other end and see what's happenning. Just a couple of weeks ago, I was faced with some spare stubs in an outdoor location, and I wasn't even sure which building they went to. Fun, fun.

 

[realolman]

I guess.... I just haven't seen a whole lot of spare conduit runs... and usually fish tapes aren't all that long

 

[cowboyjwc]

I agree, no accident.

I once knew a guy who shot his step father in the head while trying to stop a fight between him and his mom. He told me it was an accident. I said an accident is when you drop the gun and it goes off and shoots him in the head, it quit being an accident when you pointed it at him and pulled the trigger.

 

[QES]

(incompetent)*(stupidity)=accident

 

[muskiedog]

Osha

Osha

The employer is responsible to train their employees in a language they understand. This was no accident.