Torque Inspection

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benaround

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Today, one of the PM's got a call to bring a torque wrench, with recent calibration certf.,

to an inspection . The EI wanted to see for himself that all the bolts were torqued correctly.

This got me thinking about the "who's job is it to prove" something like this. If the EI asks

if all the bolts are to torque, and you answer 'yes they are', should that be the end of it?

I'm just looking for comments.
 
benaround said:
Today, one of the PM's got a call to bring a torque wrench, with recent calibration certf.,

to an inspection .
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:D
Maybe it's a scam:
PM:"Gotta torque wrench." EI:"Not good enough."

PM:""Gotta torque wrench with calibration certificate." EI:"Not good enough."

PM:"Gotta torque wrench with recent calibration certificate." EI:"Darn, I usually rent mine out but I guess we can use yours"
 
EI must bring his own tools..OSHA does not cover him using your stuff..I would think he would also be required to provide his calibration verification. Was this a specified torque in the plans? or is he just being picky?
 
cschmid said:
EI must bring his own tools..OSHA does not cover him using your stuff..I would think he would also be required to provide his calibration verification. Was this a specified torque in the plans? or is he just being picky?
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The EI did not touch the tools, he wanted to witness our man doing it to be sure it was at

the proper torque, there was no special spec in the plans. I don't know if picky is the right word.
 
I have two Klien torque wrenches, about 25 years old, I had calibrated and they were on spec.
In the navy (nuclear power) our torque wrenches had 90 day cal dates.
Torque had to be 25% to 90% of wrench range.
And you had a QC inspector watch.
Torque was very critical esp on systems in reactor compartment, once critical could not access.
 
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Sounds like this inspector needs to just be on your payroll so he can see everything as it is done.

There are lots of things out there with torque ratings in the installation instructions not just conductor terminations either.

Maybe he needs to see you tighten every locknut, compression nut, set screw, threaded hub connections, etc., also.

Kind of hard to get around to all the jobsites to see all of this even in small towns
 
benaround said:
The EI did not touch the tools, he wanted to witness our man doing it to be sure it was at

the proper torque, there was no special spec in the plans. I don't know if picky is the right word.
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sounds like he has a beef or has been burned on previous job..Not for sure how an inspector gets burned though unless it was a complaint..are inspectors responsible for their inspections like if something goes wrong is it their insurance?
 
cschmid said:
sounds like he has a beef or has been burned on previous job..Not for sure how an inspector gets burned though unless it was a complaint..are inspectors responsible for their inspections like if something goes wrong is it their insurance?
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I asked a guy one time to show me his wrench and I said ok good enough. A week later we were back replacing the main fuse bucket that had burned up. Seems he had a wrench and I made the mistake of thinking that he was actually going to use it.:roll:

Oh and by the way, inspectors are not required to bring their own tools. "It shall be the duty of the permit applicant to cause the work to remain accessible and exposed for inspection purposes. Neither the building official nor this jurisdiction shall be liable for expense entailed in the removal or replacement of any material required to allow inspection." "It shall be the duty of the person requestion any inspections required either by this code or the technical codes to provide access to and means for inspection of the work."
 
cowboyjwc said:
.............."It shall be the duty of the permit applicant to cause the work to remain accessible and exposed for inspection purposes. Neither the building official nor this jurisdiction shall be liable for expense entailed in the removal or replacement of any material required to allow inspection." "It shall be the duty of the person requestion any inspections required either by this code or the technical codes to provide access to and means for inspection of the work."
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This comes from where?
 
Have never had an inspector even ask. If they are not tight and it burns up it is my problem not his.
I always try to have common tools in my back pocket just in case they want something opened. Let them see what ever they want, if its wrong i want to know and will fix. It is not reasonable to exspect the electrician to always have a torque rench with him. In fact the electrician is not required to even be there for the inspection.
 
I think all you have to do is provide them access and not anything else. My view would be that it is the EE's job to make sure installation specs and code were followed and the EI's job to make sure the applicable code was followed.

Accesible would be a ladder, stairs, someone to hold his (or her) hand nothing to do with tools.
 
Chamuit said:
I think all you have to do is provide them access and not anything else. My view would be that it is the EE's job to make sure installation specs and code were followed and the EI's job to make sure the applicable code was followed.

Accesible would be a ladder, stairs, someone to hold his (or her) hand nothing to do with tools.
Click to expand...

How are you going to provide access if you don't have tools? Panels, switches, recepts., etc?
 
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