Jobsite made extension cords

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quogueelectric

quogueelectric

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new york
I have been told that there is some code against making up your own extension cords on the job. does anyone have any reason that you couldnt make up a cord out of say 12-3 so cord and some male and female listed cord caps??
 
Believe it or not, there is a male end, and a female end on a piece of SO cord by the way it lays naturally. If you make up cords by the bunch, you will notice that the Hot, Nuetral, and Ground have a natural fit one way, but extremely difficult the other way? Flip the ends, and it will be a piece of cake.
 
I thought that it has something to do with an OSHA requirement for cords to have molded ends. I could be wrong. There was a time when all of the cords on the job site were made by the electricians.
 
This may be to old.


OSHA Standard Interpretations 03/03/1992 - Contractor shop-made extension cords



In regard to electrical contractors assembling cord sets at construction sites, the practice is acceptable, provided the assembled cord sets are constructed in a manner equivalent to those that are factory-assembled and approved. (The same approach applies to the General Industry Electrical Standards. However, your question pertained to construction, so the remaining references are to Subpart K of Part 1926.) Criteria for determining whether shop-made cord sets meet existing electrical standards include:


1)All components must be approved for the purpose by a nationally recognized testing laboratory (1926.403(a)). Individual components must be compatible for use with the other components of the completed assembly.


2)The cord set must meet all applicable requirements of Subpart K. For example, the assembly must be marked appropriately (1926.403(g)); boxes intended for use in a permanent installation may not be used (1926.403(b)(1)(i)); cords must be connected to devices and fittings so as to provide strain relief (1926.405(g)(2)(iv)); cords passing through holes in enclosures must be protected by bushings or fittings designed for the purpose (1926.405(g)(2)(v) ? fittings designed to fasten cables to metal boxes are not acceptable); and no grounded conductor shall be attached to any terminal or lead so as to reverse designated polarity (1926.404(a)(2)).


3)The cord set must be assembled by a qualified person.


4)The wiring of the completed assembly must be checked before the cord set is first used. For example, the following, or equivalent, tests should be performed:

(a) All equipment grounding conductors shall be tested for continuity and shall be electrically continuous.

(b) Each receptacle and attachment plug shall be tested for correct attachment of the equipment grounding conductor. The equipment grounding conductor shall be connected to its proper terminal.
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Rockyd said:
Believe it or not, there is a male end, and a female end on a piece of SO cord by the way it lays naturally. If you make up cords by the bunch, you will notice that the Hot, Nuetral, and Ground have a natural fit one way, but extremely difficult the other way? Flip the ends, and it will be a piece of cake.
Click to expand...

I believe it, once you remember that it becomes much easier to terminate. :cool:

Even when your just putting a cord on equipment it is worth checking to see if you have the right end of the cord that lines up with the male plug. :smile:
 
quogueelectric said:
I have been told that there is some code against making up your own extension cords on the job. does anyone have any reason that you couldnt make up a cord out of say 12-3 so cord and some male and female listed cord caps??
Click to expand...


Im thinking because the completed cord would not be a UL listed assembly is the reason. Even though the individual components where. Im glad I dont live where inpectors enforce this level of nonsense.
 
It is permitted to make up extension cords for the construction site(s). It is also permitted to make limited repairs to extension cords as well.

As you can see in Bob's post, there are guidelines that OSHA has you to follow. It is not hard to do, as long as you are using listed parts and the proper cords.

There may be local restrictions, that would be my only guess as to why some say it is not permitted.
 
Rockyd said:
Believe it or not, there is a male end, and a female end on a piece of SO cord by the way it lays naturally. If you make up cords by the bunch, you will notice that the Hot, Nuetral, and Ground have a natural fit one way, but extremely difficult the other way? Flip the ends, and it will be a piece of cake.
Click to expand...

I never noticed! I'm gonna have to start looking for it now when I make up cord ends!:cool:
 
Who do I kiss first that was an awesome response. I Just got back from my final exam on work zone safety for roadwork and my head is spinning. There is a lot to know and a lot of responsibility involved . MUTCD certification Edison was the second member of this organization.
 
A former boss was ready to cause bodily harm to a jobsite inspector who cut a cord we had on a job. Had a quad with RS cover on 4" box, heavy duty cord, strain relief connector, the whole 9 yards. We had it at our sandbox for portaband and pony threader. No matter that we made up cord/plugs for various machines at the same plant for permanent use. The nonsense you have to put up with is getting more extreme. Easier to buy a cord, buy a splitter and get a gfci plug in device where required. Same place for awhile got into making us tie off 4 and 6 foot stepladders everywhere.
 
A little off course, but that reminds me of a guy that wrote to Dear Abby that his wife thought he was crazy to wear a hard hat on his riding mower but he felt safer. She quoted how many people were injured/killed falling from mowers. Another guy wrote in taking it further. He'd seen how many people were hurt/killed falling in the shower, so he started wearing a hard hat in the shower. Ran into a problem though when washing his hair. Solution was to hang a safety harness from an eyebolt in the ceiling and harness up when washing his hair.
 
jmellc said:
A former boss was ready to cause bodily harm to a jobsite inspector who cut a cord we had on a job. Had a quad with RS cover on 4" box, heavy duty cord, strain relief connector, the whole 9 yards. We had it at our sandbox for portaband and pony threader. No matter that we made up cord/plugs for various machines at the same plant for permanent use. The nonsense you have to put up with is getting more extreme. Easier to buy a cord, buy a splitter and get a gfci plug in device where required. Same place for awhile got into making us tie off 4 and 6 foot stepladders everywhere.
Click to expand...


It's the box that may have been the problem.

I recently worked on a job where the GC required hart hats and protective goggles at all times, no exceptions. And fall arrest harnesses on 8' ladders and larger. Oh, but working in energized panels, energized transformers or energized switchgear without any PPE, no problem. :mad:
 
jmellc said:
A former boss was ready to cause bodily harm to a jobsite inspector who cut a cord we had on a job. Had a quad with RS cover on 4" box, heavy duty cord, strain relief connector, the whole 9 yards. We had it at our sandbox for portaband and pony threader. No matter that we made up cord/plugs for various machines at the same plant for permanent use. The nonsense you have to put up with is getting more extreme. Easier to buy a cord, buy a splitter and get a gfci plug in device where required. Same place for awhile got into making us tie off 4 and 6 foot stepladders everywhere.
Click to expand...

while I dont see how the jobsite inspector could legally cut up your cord (i would have filed a police report against him for vandalism) that sort of cord with an outlet box on the end is 100% not ok.
 
Well cutting cords has been going on for many years now and its a common practice on all our jobs in fact if the safety man sees a cord with out a ground or a cut or damaged cord he rolls it up and takes it.

You can not make your own cord on job but you can repair it with cap or plug.

If you think your job is bad heres what we go thur each day .

Hard hat during lunch .

work gloves all day .

Ear plugs wore around neck all day cant put them on hard hat its unsafe .

Full safety glass all day.

We have to have a voltage sensor on us even during underground work power is not on yet go figure .

long pants work shoes 4 inch sleeves not to bad but we must were a safety vest in the building go figure .

Back to cords all our tools with cords and ext cords must be hot checked each day and each 3rd month we change the colored tape on cords and electric tool cords to a color like black red blue green if its not done we get a safety violation .

They ground portable generators on site if used meaning small type 1kw .

All temp panels must have a GFI sign off each week signed on the cover .

All temp outlets are for cord & plug meaning IN - USE covers not just weather proof but a cover over plug and cord these break everyday we replace on our site .


We cant use your standard lite bulbs & cages safety string with romex its unsafe go figure so we hang flor tubes with weather covers during construction must be tied with no 10 wire only .

No splice in temp power like romex tap or splice hanging down must be in a box above 8 foot with cover .

No ext cords on the deck you must hang it above so no one can trip or roll equipment over ext cord .

When climbing a ladder you can not carry a tool up like a drill you must use both hands on ladder climbing up its unsafe so when you get to the top your helper must tie tool to the rope you pass to him to get your drill or tool !

?




Tie off above 6 foot .

Then the best part each monday we have a safety meeting and we go over this in english and spanish for 45 minutes whole job present .

Then our company has there req safety meeting for 30 minutes and they want to know what takes us so long to get our jobs done .
 
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