DE Div Of Prof Regulation - Electrician reqmnt

[mayanees]

...opinions appreciated on this topic:

In Delaware Title 24, 1400 Board of Electrical Examiners defines license requirements as:
1.0 License Required
1.1 To perform "electrical services" or "electrical work" means to plan, estimate, layout, perform, or supervise the installation, erection, or repair of any electrcial conductor, molding, duct, raceway, conduit, machinery, apparatus, device, or fixture for the purpose of lighting, heating, or power in or on any structure or for elevators, swimming pools, hot tubs, electric signs, air conditioning, heating, refrigeration, oil burners, and overhead and underground primary distribution systems.

I have an associate who runs the Facilities Engineering group at an industrial facility in DE. All of the installation work that gets performed at the facility is done under a licensed electrician.
But in the case of their maintenance electricians who are responsible for keeping the lines running, that work is not currently done under the supervision of a licensed electrician. This work includes replacing: I/O cards in Programmable controllers; failed relays; failed motors; etc as necessary to keep the production lines running.

He asked the DE Dept of Professional Regulation whether this replacement activity should be performed under a licensed electrcian, and they responded that they don't give interpretations.
My first reaction to the question was that as long as it was a pull and replace type of operation that it might be acceptable to not have a licensed electrician responsible for that operation, as long as the maintenance guy was trained in Safe practices.
But as I typed this out, it's easy to conclude that it falls directly under the repair classification listed above.

I know from my industrial experience (DuPont, Scott Paper, General Foods, P&G) that maintenance electricians aren't typically licensed.

I'm curious as to what some of you guys see in the field, and perhaps how this is handled in your industrial facilities.

Thanks for any input.

John M.

 

[ty]

...opinions appreciated on this topic:

In Delaware Title 24, 1400 Board of Electrical Examiners defines license requirements as:
1.0 License Required
1.1 To perform "electrical services" or "electrical work" means to plan, estimate, layout, perform, or supervise the installation, erection, or repair of any electrcial conductor, molding, duct, raceway, conduit, machinery, apparatus, device, or fixture for the purpose of lighting, heating, or power in or on any structure or for elevators, swimming pools, hot tubs, electric signs, air conditioning, heating, refrigeration, oil burners, and overhead and underground primary distribution systems.

I have an associate who runs the Facilities Engineering group at an industrial facility in DE. All of the installation work that gets performed at the facility is done under a licensed electrician.
But in the case of their maintenance electricians who are responsible for keeping the lines running, that work is not currently done under the supervision of a licensed electrician. This work includes replacing: I/O cards in Programmable controllers; failed relays; failed motors; etc as necessary to keep the production lines running.

He asked the DE Dept of Professional Regulation whether this replacement activity should be performed under a licensed electrcian, and they responded that they don't give interpretations.
My first reaction to the question was that as long as it was a pull and replace type of operation that it might be acceptable to not have a licensed electrician responsible for that operation, as long as the maintenance guy was trained in Safe practices.
But as I typed this out, it's easy to conclude that it falls directly under the repair classification listed above.

I know from my industrial experience (DuPont, Scott Paper, General Foods, P&G) that maintenance electricians aren't typically licensed.

I'm curious as to what some of you guys see in the field, and perhaps how this is handled in your industrial facilities.

Thanks for any input.

John M.

DuPont, for one, does have licensed electricians. Each Maintenance electrician is not licensed, but they are working under someone.
DuPont, and others, typically have Electrical Inspections done on a quarterly basis. These Inspections are typically 'spot tested' to get a 'generalized' view of the work that has been done.

The DE Dept. does not give interpretations. You could go to the monthly meeting in Dover and voice your concerns and questions, but you probably won't get a response there either.

It is my opinion that the work be completed under the 'supervision' of a Licensed Master Electrician (in Delaware that would be a T1 license, NOT T2).
That 'supervision' does not necessarily mean that a License holder be watching over someone's shoulder.

 

[earshavewalls]

The way I read the ordinance, it only refers to maintenance of the building services (heating, plumbing, lighting, etc.) as requiring licensing, not to the repair of machinery used for processing or manufacturing. I would think that any work on the facility would require a license, but any work on the machinery would not.

JMHO