grounding portable generators

[kwired]

Yes, generators, and any other equipment used in the work place, are required to be listed by OSHA.

Is this a requirement or just something that helps keep them from looking further into just how safe an item may be?

Does it apply to electrically operated equipment only or all equipment?

Where do we draw the line between "equipment" and "part of the building or structure"?

There is a lot of custom made equipment out there - both with electrical components and without. Get into an industrial facility big or small and you run into a lot of custom made (some right at the site) machines or process related items that are one of a kind designed for that particular site or industry. Some of these places maybe even have patents on something they created, but that don't mean the item was ever tested and listed by a third party.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

Is this a requirement or just something that helps keep them from looking further into just how safe an item may be?

There are specific requirements for equipment to be listed or approved. In the world of OSHA rules approved means the same thing as listed.

Does it apply to electrically operated equipment only or all equipment?

It is not everything, there is a list of 37 categories that require the use of listed items.
https://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/NRTLarticle.html
https://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/prodcatg.html

...There is a lot of custom made equipment out there - both with electrical components and without. Get into an industrial facility big or small and you run into a lot of custom made (some right at the site) machines or process related items that are one of a kind designed for that particular site or industry. Some of these places maybe even have patents on something they created, but that don't mean the item was ever tested and listed by a third party.

They have an "exception for this type of equipment.

In general, under 29 CFR Part 1910, products required to be approved must be NRTL approved. However, there are a few exceptions. Most notably, for electric products, there are two exceptions. If the electric products are of a kind that no NRTL approves, then OSHA allows approval of the products by a Federal agency or by a State or local code authority that enforces NEC workplace safety provisions. The other exception concerns "custom-made equipment," which designates equipment designed, made for, and used by a particular customer (i.e., unique or one-of-a-kind items). In this case, the employer must demonstrate safety based on test data provided by the manufacturer. As can be seen, these exceptions are very narrow.

 

[kwired]

There are specific requirements for equipment to be listed or approved. In the world of OSHA rules approved means the same thing as listed.

It is not everything, there is a list of 37 categories that require the use of listed items.
https://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/NRTLarticle.html
https://www.osha.gov/dts/otpca/nrtl/prodcatg.html

They have an "exception for this type of equipment.

I am envisioning a custom made or even modification of some other product, lets just make it a simple "product mixer".

Electrical may just be the drive motor and associated controls - probably can be covered by NEC and is acceptable to OSHA. Now OSHA is about all workplace hazards not just elecrical - so what covers the general mechanical safety of this mixing machine especially if it is one site fabricated or is a modification of something that may originally have been listed for some other purpose? I do seem to run into such types of things to some degree quite often.

Even equipment that is manufactured and distributed by a third party equipment company is often not listed. Grain handling equipment is one common thing that I run into. Conveyors, augers, dryers (though some of these are listed, not all are), etc are often built or assembled on site and customized to fit other equipment they are associated with. An unload auger may come the right size if sold with a new storage bin, but a replacement or other special modifications often involve just generic tube and generic flighting both cut to length as needed for the application and then custom connected to drive equipment.