Removing Panel Cover

[cschmid]

thank you zog...last tuesday my friend/co-worker and I were LOOKING ( no tools ) into a 480/277 1000 amp fused buss cab when he slipped and fell into the live parts, went into a siezure inside the cabinet ( me and the elec. inspector pulled him out) he was then life-flighted to a hospital 60 miles away. he might not be able to work ever again due to major complications. he is only 28 yrs old with kids and a family. this WOULD NOT have happened if our company followed strict NFPA 70E reg's. my boss is getting slapped with 50,000 in fines from osha, bad press in papers, and is now developing a strict safety program that i am building. ive been a 3rd gen electrician for 14 years with no severe/ recordable accidents, and was taught proper safety techniques, but in the last 3 years ive witnessed 2 fatallities, and then this. all of these incidents WOULD NOT have happened if the proper steps ( i.e. bulky UNCOMFORTABLE PPE, time consuming LOTO and paperwork, etc) hands down PPE is worth the time, and sacrifice...PERIOD! and by the way, who said you had to have flash gear on to operate 480 volt breakers and switches with covers on....NFPA 70E classifies it as cat 0, with long sleeve natural fiber shirt, pants, and leather gloves RECOMMENDED...sounds pretty comfy to me, unless you work in a muscle shirt, cut-off shorts, and flip flops.

My prayers are go out for your friend.

May I inquire about the fall as it may actually help others here..


I can see this is a subject that has so deep feelings in. I have been involved in an arc flash incident and I believe in safety but I also believe that we need to have more education instead of regulation but when you read the above incident you realize you can not regulate cash flow and the reasons were lack of education and the hesitation to spend cash and now you spend twice as much as you would. Yet they are still uneducated on the issue and ow scared and in a panic and over the top they will go..

We need to get better education on this issue..

 

[quinn77]

My prayers are go out for your friend.

May I inquire about the fall as it may actually help others here..


I can see this is a subject that has so deep feelings in. I have been involved in an arc flash incident and I believe in safety but I also believe that we need to have more education instead of regulation but when you read the above incident you realize you can not regulate cash flow and the reasons were lack of education and the hesitation to spend cash and now you spend twice as much as you would. Yet they are still uneducated on the issue and ow scared and in a panic and over the top they will go..

We need to get better education on this issue..

I agree. Im guilty as well at sacrificing some safety to be productive becuase Im confident in my skills as a safe, knowledgeable, and tactful electrician; however I cannot predict what will happen. This accident happened last Tuesday. We got an emergency call that a new recreation center had one of 3 -1000 amp fuses open up. When we show up, the switch was still closed and the gfi relay was in the normal position ( yes, I called the engineer). The city inspector/fire marshall was there to greet us and worked with us throughout the call. So after preparations ( dropping the loads on system ) I opened the 1000 amp switch. We disconnected the link handle to open the hinged cover to verify a de-energized state; however line side could not be de-energized untill POCO showed up to pull fuse from 500 kva pad xfmr. So I broke out the megger while I was waiting and began to meg the feeders feeding MDP in building, starting with A phase( this phase was the open phase with blown fuse) We found 1 set of 3 feeders had gone gone bad underground. No POCO yet, so I opened the bottom deadfront above the exaust panel to see what size/type of conduits entering cabinet. At this point the inspector, my friend/co-worker (Brian ), and I began planning the job of replacing 4-400 mcm with 2/0 ground in a 3 1/2" conduit. The main switch was also enclosed in a stainless cabinet ( not UL listed and not to code ) The wire pull was going to be tricky, so we were brainstorming in front of the open cabinet( bout 6 ft from energized parts...at this point I noticed one of the still energized bussbars had serious discoloration from the fault. At that time Brian kneeled down in front of cabinet ( bottom fed ) and rested his sweaty hand on blast vent cover on very bottom of cab. He then peeked up through the cab ( only two covers were off ) to inspect for any damage to buss ( his body had not crossed the plane of cab yet ) It was at this time his weight shifted onto his sweaty hand resting on bottom cover and his hand slipped causing him to lose his balance and fall forward into the cabinet. His forehead came into contact with the live buss ( measured at 285 volts to ground ) and the back of his head was in contact with the insulator mounting bracket ( grounded metal part ). The shock knocked him un-conconsious instantly and severe siezure proceeded. He was still in the cabinet and his arms were flailing wildly, barely missing the exposed live buss in cabinet. I then put my hot gloves back on and pulled him away from any more danger. Brian is alive but all is not that well. His kidneys and liver are severely damaged, has almost no short-term memory, and he falls over if he closes his eyes while standing. Neurologist has now also joined the team of doctors in the case. I know this post is long, but I figured I would explain in detail to express how this "normal" everyday service call turned into a nightmare in a matter of a split second. I will never approach this kind of service work with the same attitude. PPE, LOTO, risk assesment, approach barriers, and a good attitude from now on, NO MATTER WHAT.

 

[Don S.]

All of those who have years and years of experience, and plenty of training and feel that current safety regulations are too stringent, and I used to be one of them, need to read quinn77?s post, and then read it again. Those of us with 20, 30, or 40 years in the trade who have never had a serious incident like to think it?s because we know what we?re doing. Our egos have trouble admitting that we have also been very lucky.

 

[jsharvey]

One of the Lucky

One of the Lucky

All of those who have years and years of experience, and plenty of training and feel that current safety regulations are too stringent, and I used to be one of them, need to read quinn77’s post, and then read it again. Those of us with 20, 30, or 40 years in the trade who have never had a serious incident like to think it’s because we know what we’re doing. Our egos have trouble admitting that we have also been very lucky.

The place I used to work was going to have me do some work at a good sized hotel here. At the last minute they had a residential service job that they wanted me to go on and they sent a "pup" to the hotel. While he was taking the cover off of some switch gear, something inside the gear dropped across the lugs. He was the one there instead of me but he was lucky too, all that happened to him was some singed hair.

 

[cschmid]

how many times have we as electricians found our selves in the same spot..I feel lucky everyday I make it home and I thank the Lord for his blessings upon me. may the lord be with Brian through the healing process.

 

[quinn77]

how many times have we as electricians found our selves in the same spot..I feel lucky everyday I make it home and I thank the Lord for his blessings upon me. may the lord be with Brian through the healing process.

thanks for your prayers guys, God Bless.

quinn