PDU Height Restrictions

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VT-EE

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Location
Richmond, VA, USA
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Electrical Engineer
Good morning ladies and gents -
I'm new to the forum as a member, but have been using this forum since graduation to get valuable insight into the electrical construction world and have found it tremendously helpful. That said, any input on my current scenario would be greatly appreciated.
I work in the data center world and am currently working on a project that *surprise* has very limited space for equipment installation.
Most notably of these issues are the PDUs, which are going to be mounted above a large supply duct/plenum (approximately 36" AFF). My understanding of the 2011 NEC Section 404.8 (max height of a switch/circuit breaker) leads me to believe we're in trouble since a fair amount of the PDU (mains & distribution breakers) are above 6'7". If I'm misunderstanding/misinterpreting the code, I would love to be corrected.
If I'm not... Providing a raised floor or permanent working platform are not options due to width restrictions of the corridor where these will go. My suggestion was to provide a moveable working platform that could be wheeled into place when necessary and out of the way the rest of the time. I did a quick search through the NEC and through OSHA to find the definition of a mobile platform or something that would apply here; neither of which gave me a warm and fuzzy.
In any case, I was curious if anyone had come across a similar situation and if so, what were some options.
Again, any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
 
Even worse, if these PDUs contain panelboards, don't they require dedicated working space from floor to structural ceiling in the cross section of the unit (i.e. no pipes under or above for a certain height). A raised floor or platform may allow this depending on what is considered floor.

See 100.26(F).
 
Dedicated space, yes, which was a whole other headache but one we've basically solved.
I have required working space and dedicated space squared away; just need to figure out how to work around the height to the disconnect situation...
 
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