could my boss get in trouble?

[tesla fan]

i`m a first year apprentice wiring 277 volt fixtures live, replacing fixtures in a retail store, im alone on the job, just wondered if he could get in trouble. I`m no dummy, been around electricity for a while, just dont want him busted.

 

[peter d]

If you die or get seriously injured, the following will happen:

OSHA will investigate, your boss will get fined by OSHA, your family members will likely sue your boss causing him further financial loss, as well as having a death or serious injury hanging over his head for the rest of his life. Yeah, he won't be in any trouble at all if something goes wrong.

Is any of that worthwhile to keep the lights on over the arts and crafts department at Wal mart, or wherever you happen to be working? Only you can answer that, but I refuse to take such a pointless risk.

 

[SEO]

Yes your boss could get in trouble if OSHA caught him. And if anything happened to you a lawsuit. Working 277 hot is a good way to get killed! It's against the law in my state for an apprentice to work alone as well.

 

[tesla fan]

Thanks Peter

 

[cschmid]

here it is against the law to leave an apprentice unsupervised. the state even addresses what supervision is. it also makes apprentices register. so you would also be in trouble for not addressing the issue. probably only get reprimanded or put on probation yet you get the point.

 

[B4T]

Yes your boss could get in trouble if OSHA caught him. And if anything happened to you a lawsuit. Working 277 hot is a good way to get killed! It's against the law in my state for an apprentice to work alone as well.

I searched OSHA and could not find any rules against working with live wires. BEWARE.. reading OSHA rules will put you to sleep

 

[tesla fan]

i get the point, we are a 2 man shop and my boss is my friend, we are really busy and had no choice but to leave me alone, im 39 yrs old and know a lil more than most 1st yrs, just wanted to know if we`d get in trouble, wont be doin it again, thanks all for the response.

 

[tesla fan]

lol black i hear ya

 

[sii]

My question is possibly irrelevant and if so, please ignore it. Could his work be classified as "Maintenance Electrical" work? In my state, if that is the classification of the work, the person need only be "registered" with the state and may, I believe, work alone.

 

[Duke E]

Turn off the circuit and lock it out. Let your client suffer the minor inconvenience in order to work the system safely. I don't care what sate your working in or if it's even legal for you to perform the work solo. There is little reason to work the system live.

 

[masterelect1]

Businesses are inconvenienced all the time when plumbers have to turn off the water to make repairs.

Why is it that businesses don't seem to be able to accept an outage for minor electrical repair. Tell them it's lights out or you"ll be back on the stores down time at the appropriate rate your company charges. Stop risking your life for a damn ballast repair.

 

[zog]

It's against the law in my state for an apprentice to work alone as well.

No it is not, check MIOSHA, the only rules against working alone are for some equipment >600V.

 

[weressl]

i`m a first year apprentice wiring 277 volt fixtures live, replacing fixtures in a retail store, im alone on the job, just wondered if he could get in trouble. I`m no dummy, been around electricity for a while, just dont want him busted.

Not only could, but should. I would not let anybody work on live above 50V without a standby.

 

[iwire]

I searched OSHA and could not find any rules against working with live wires.

Here you go.

1910.333(a)(1)

"Deenergized parts." Live parts to which an employee may be exposed shall be deenergized before the employee works on or near them, unless the employer can demonstrate that deenergizing introduces additional or increased hazards or is infeasible due to equipment design or operational limitations. Live parts that operate at less than 50 volts to ground need not be deenergized if there will be no increased exposure to electrical burns or to explosion due to electric arcs.

Note 1: Examples of increased or additional hazards include interruption of life support equipment, deactivation of emergency alarm systems, shutdown of hazardous location ventilation equipment, or removal of illumination for an area.


Note 2: Examples of work that may be performed on or near energized circuit parts because of infeasibility due to equipment design or operational limitations include testing of electric circuits that can only be performed with the circuit energized and work on circuits that form an integral part of a continuous industrial process in a chemical plant that would otherwise need to be completely shut down in order to permit work on one circuit or piece of equipment.


Note 3: Work on or near deenergized parts is covered by paragraph (b) of this section.

 

[SEO]

No it is not, check MIOSHA, the only rules against working alone are for some equipment >600V.

Zog I was stating that an apprentice can not be left on a job alone to perform electrical work. Per the Michigan Electrical Administrative Act of 1956 as Amended (3) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (4), the ratio of electrical journeyman or master electricians to registered apprentice electricians shall be on the basis of 1 electrical journeyman or master electrician to 1 registered apprentice electrician. The department of labor or an enforcing agency shall enforce the ratio on a jobsite basis. I was not stating that OSHA or MIOSHA would enforce whether a person had a license.

 

[ironman3452]

it would be his hide if you were to get hurt, here we only work in pairs, and not hot , 277 /120/480 doesnot matter, we lock it out and then we have a check list as to how we are going to address the job at hand.
another thing friend or not, i just would not do it.......

 

[jumper]

i get the point, we are a 2 man shop and my boss is my friend, we are really busy and had no choice but to leave me alone, im 39 yrs old and know a lil more than most 1st yrs, just wanted to know if we`d get in trouble, wont be doin it again, thanks all for the response.

imo, your boss is not your friend. he is your enemy. friends do not let friends drive drunk, and friends do subject friends to work in potentially fatal conditions for no reason for no other reasons other than" we are busy" or its inconvient, its a store for petes sake. turn it off and loto!!!!!! i shut the mh high bays off in walmart when i worked for a ec on a service call. they survived.

 

[tesla fan]

TY all for your input, wont be doin it again : )

 

[SiddMartin]

Turn off the circuit and lock it out. Let your client suffer the minor inconvenience in order to work the system safely. I don't care what sate your working in or if it's even legal for you to perform the work solo. There is little reason to work the system live.

Well said, when it comes down to it, there is little work that can not be turned off to maintaince. It is just not worth it. If a cust. states that they can not turn off pwr, our company will hand a document over to have them sign, making them aware of the risks. Usually when they realize the risk that is unnessecary, they will schedual a shut down for us.

 

[weressl]

Here you go.

Soooo, if the equipment needs to be kept energized in order to troubleshoot it would fall under the "infeasible due to equipment design or operational limitations.".