In a live panel with dead front off

[elecold]

Hypothetical question

I have a 120/208 volt 42 circuit panel. Breaker AIC 10,000.
I remove dead front to allow removal of conductor from breaker.
Have on hard hat, saftey glasses, and Cotton T shirt... Is that proper PPE? No gloves needed correct??

Other question
Same situation but panel is 277,480 volt AIC rating 10,000. Removal of dead front to allow conductor removal from dead breaker.

Feedback appreciated

 

[iwire]

Removal of dead front to allow conductor removal from dead breaker.

As a side question, what OSHA section allows working live to 'remove a conductor'?

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.

..1910.333(a)(2)

 

[jtinge]

NFPA 70E-2015 now provides insight into normal operation not requiring PPE. Per the revised task table, you can operate a breaker, switch, or contactor without PPE provided the equipment is properly installed, properly maintained, all doors closed and covers secured and there is no evidence of impending failure. If any of these conditions are not true, then you need arc flash PPE. If PPE is required, you can determine from the PPE table or by an incident energy analysis to determine the arc rating of the PPE.

If you have the dead front cover off an energized panelboard, you most likely will be inside the arc flash boundary of the energized bus triggering Arc flash PPE.

If you haven't reviewed the NFPA 70E-2015, it would be a good idea to do so.


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[Smart $]

... Per the revised task table, you can operate a breaker, switch, or contactor without PPE provided the equipment is properly installed, properly maintained, all doors closed and covers secured and there is no evidence of impending failure. If any of these conditions are not true, then you need arc flash PPE...

Kind of hard to operate a breaker if a door inhibits access to breaker handle.

So we have to tie a string to the breaker handle, close the door, then operate the breaker by pulling on the string?

 

[don_resqcapt19]

Hypothetical question

I have a 120/208 volt 42 circuit panel. Breaker AIC 10,000.
I remove dead front to allow removal of conductor from breaker.
Have on hard hat, saftey glasses, and Cotton T shirt... Is that proper PPE? No gloves needed correct??

Other question
Same situation but panel is 277,480 volt AIC rating 10,000. Removal of dead front to allow conductor removal from dead breaker.

Feedback appreciated

You will need gloves for arc flash protection and you will need arc flash PPE, but as Bob said, that is not permitted live work.

 

[elecold]

You will need gloves for arc flash protection and you will need arc flash PPE, but as Bob said, that is not permitted live work.

If i was working on conductors, toning or testing but with the deadfront on. The conductors themselves would be dead. Would I still need Arc flash protection? Or would just hard hat safety glasses be enough?

 

[don_resqcapt19]

If i was working on conductors, toning or testing but with the deadfront on. The conductors themselves would be dead. Would I still need Arc flash protection? Or would just hard hat safety glasses be enough?

The dead front still leaves the wire way area without out a cover and you need arc flash protection...(again, that is live work that is not permitted by the rules)