Do all free standing electrical cabinets need to be secured to the floor?

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jjb073

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I am on my facility's safety committee and we had a recent submission that stated that all of our electrical cabinets should be secured to floor. After a tour of the area, we found that about 50% were secured.
In doing my own research I looked at the 2014 NEC Article 314.23(a) and OSHA1926.403(d)(1). They speak about securing enclosures, but I was wondering if this is required for all enclosures or under certain circumstances. I don't want to misadvise the committee and make unnecessary work for my department.
 
What you mean by electrical cabinets, are you're referring to freestanding equipment such as large switchgear? We generally don't secure large switchgear to the floor.

Welcome to the Forum. :)
 
jaggedben said:
Out here in earthquake country I probably wouldn't even ask the question. :lol:
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I heard this as a greenhorn........ "If it stood it was good"

However knowing what I do I cant see any good reason not to secure free standing panels to the ground.
 
jjb073 said:
I am on my facility's safety committee and we had a recent submission that stated that all of our electrical cabinets should be secured to floor. After a tour of the area, we found that about 50% were secured.
In doing my own research I looked at the 2014 NEC Article 314.23(a) and OSHA1926.403(d)(1). They speak about securing enclosures, but I was wondering if this is required for all enclosures or under certain circumstances. I don't want to misadvise the committee and make unnecessary work for my department.
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By free standing do you mean single cabinets not adjacent to, or directly connected to, any others?
 
cowboyjwc said:
110.13(A) Electrical equipment shall be firmly secured to the surface on which it is mounted.
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And if that's not clear enough (and unambiguous), there is also 110.3 (B):
Installation and Use. Listed or labeled equipment
shall be installed and used in accordance with any instructions
included in the listing or labeling.
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I can't imagine any mfr would not include that requirement in their instructions, listed or not. Having equipment fall over an crush someone is an invitation to allow them (and their lawyers) to own your company. So everyone is going to tell you that you must properly anchor it and if they tell you to but you don't, you are in violation of 110.3 (B).
 
110.13 is sort of a one size fits all rule though.

Some items like generators or transformers can be heavy enough they are not going anywhere - areas with seismic activity may be the exception. Even then they need appropriate fastening hardware or they still might move.

Then there is the surface being mounted to. 4-6 inch concrete pad and anchor the item to it - if enough force is applied maybe it turns over with pad still attached to it. A transformer on such a pad may actually weigh more then the pad so which item is securing which?

Sometimes you may need to draw the line on just how bad things have to be yet remain secured.
 
Dimensions of Cabinets in question

Dimensions of Cabinets in question

Thank you for the warm welcome!
The cabinets in question are Hoffman Standard Grey Metallic 2-Door cabinets whose dimensions are 61"W X 75"H X 19"D. They house a variety of devices such as relays, motor starters, PLCs, etc. My biggest concern is that they are all fed from 480 VAC 3-phase Buss plugs via not too well secured EMT drops with possible exposure to forklift traffic moving larger tubs of metal parts.
Funny thing is that there are other cabinets in the assembly machine that are secured in various ways.

Thanks again for everyone's help and information.

infinity said:
What you mean by electrical cabinets, are you're referring to freestanding equipment such as large switchgear? We generally don't secure large switchgear to the floor.

Welcome to the Forum. :)
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jjb073 said:
Thank you for the warm welcome!
The cabinets in question are Hoffman Standard Grey Metallic 2-Door cabinets whose dimensions are 61"W X 75"H X 19"D. They house a variety of devices such as relays, motor starters, PLCs, etc. My biggest concern is that they are all fed from 480 VAC 3-phase Buss plugs via not too well secured EMT drops with possible exposure to forklift traffic moving larger tubs of metal parts.
Funny thing is that there are other cabinets in the assembly machine that are secured in various ways.

Thanks again for everyone's help and information.
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Forklift traffic is a concern whether bolted to the floor or not IMO, though tip over is even easier if not bolted to the floor.
 
jjb073 said:
Thank you for the warm welcome!
The cabinets in question are Hoffman Standard Grey Metallic 2-Door cabinets whose dimensions are 61"W X 75"H X 19"D. They house a variety of devices such as relays, motor starters, PLCs, etc. My biggest concern is that they are all fed from 480 VAC 3-phase Buss plugs via not too well secured EMT drops with possible exposure to forklift traffic moving larger tubs of metal parts.
Funny thing is that there are other cabinets in the assembly machine that are secured in various ways.
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I would definitely fix those down whether or not code requires it.[/QUOTE]
 
So we always bolt our cabinets together, but if you have just a couple freestanding, you could see the worst case scenario play out where they get hit hard enough and tip over or move, and if they are fed from underground -big problem. But I see your biggest issue is the forklifts. Once again play pout the worst case scenario... Have you thought of putting ballards around the cabinets to protect them? food for thought
 
We always anchor them to the floor with the understanding that most pieces of gear are heavy so you don't have to anchor every corner to get them to stay put. We install some good sized SWBD's and just hit the front floor flange with anchors, but nothing in the back. Same for MCC's.

Works for us.
 
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