working alone on industrial electrical equipment

[hawkeye7202]

I work in an industrial setting where all the maintenance techs work by themselves, whether it is replacing fuses, troubleshooting inside electrical panel (480 volt 3ph.), or preforming routine maintenance. My question is, is there a OSHA reg. or NFPA70E that states that I must have a qualified person to work along side of me while performing these task inside a "live" panel, from a safety stand point I would say there should be a qualified person with me, but the bottom line ($$$$$$$$) says maybe not. i apologize if this is not the right forum to ask this question, but I need assistance none the less.
Thanks

 

[Pierre C Belarge]

Hawkeye
How much training have you had?

 

[hawkeye7202]

I have been in this feild over 15 years at the same place, keep in mind we are not just electrical, I am certified in Refigeration (universal) also am Trained in hydraulic, pneumatic, Allen Bradley PLC5, we recently had a new safety director added to our company and some things are being changed.

 

[j9DuBois]

electrician

electrician

Hi, I am also a "maintence elecrician" aka journeymen wireman, and have had the same situation. I do believe there is an oSHA standard but do not know it. It is not sanctioned by the Union and our boss at the safety meeting always says not to work things hot, but then of course expects us to. There is a big push to wear Nymex suites, for blast protection, but we do not have anything other than leather gloves, so... check out OSHA on line.

 

[tomP]

Here is an OSHA excerpt:

Question No. 3: In facilities, other than generating stations, where a hazard may or may not include electrical shock, do we permit "working alone" where EMRS can not respond within 4 minutes to an accident resulting in a critical injury, or within 15 minutes to an accident resulting in a serious non life-threatening injury?

Reply: In facilities other than Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution that fall outside of the scope of OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1910.269, there is no general OSHA Standard that deals with the situation of an employee "working alone" except in specific situations such as emergency response, interior structural firefighting, or working in permit required confined spaces. Again, the working alone requirement is not dependent on medical treatment response time.

This is an OSHA clarification letter pertaining to the Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution section 269,
however it does speak to general OSHA situations.
Under section 269 anything over 600 volts must have a second person (with several exceptions).

Remember that ALL work must be done in a deenergized "locked out" condition, unless special conditions exist.

 

[muskiedog]

Working alone. Just found my document on this.

Working alone. Just found my document on this.

Here is a sample of tasks we have deemed to need more then one person. Based on Job Hazard Analysis.

Confined Space Entry
Engulfment Hazards
Drowning Potential
Working with high-energy sources or systems
Working with exposed, energized electrical equipment
Highly Flammable Materials
Trench Work
Scaffolding or Elevated Work
Heavy Equipment Operations
When using fall arrest systems
Logging Activities
Welding operations where a fire watch is required
Working underneath equipment that could entrap the worker-hoists, cranes, etc.
Hazardous Waste Operations
Self-contained Breathing apparatus or supplied air
Hoisting or rigging equipment to lift or move heavy equipment

We put this in place after we had a concern with one of the mechanics working alone during a blizzard and no one else was around the facility.

Work Safe Alberta has a good document on this and there is an interpretation letter from OSHA date 2/22/1999.

 

[tomP]

Here is a sample of tasks we have deemed to need more then one person. Based on Job Hazard Analysis.

Confined Space Entry
Engulfment Hazards
Drowning Potential
Working with high-energy sources or systems
Working with exposed, energized electrical equipment
Highly Flammable Materials
Trench Work
Scaffolding or Elevated Work
Heavy Equipment Operations
When using fall arrest systems
Logging Activities
Welding operations where a fire watch is required
Working underneath equipment that could entrap the worker-hoists, cranes, etc.
Hazardous Waste Operations
Self-contained Breathing apparatus or supplied air
Hoisting or rigging equipment to lift or move heavy equipment

We put this in place after we had a concern with one of the mechanics working alone during a blizzard and no one else was around the facility.

Work Safe Alberta has a good document on this and there is an interpretation letter from OSHA date 2/22/1999.

muskiedog, do you have any problem sticking to 2 people on the listed work?
Another words, does management want people to ignore items on the list?
Does working on exposed energized electrical equipment have a minimum voltage associated with it?

 

[cowboyjwc]

The worst I ever got hit, I was alone, 5:00 in the morning, 30' in the air. Got lucky.

But with only 4 electricians taking care of almost 1,000,000 sq feet of buildings, spread out over several miles, it was almost impossible to team up unless the work required 2 people.

Tried not to work things hot, but you couldn't always turn it off. Our big bosses believe that the $13,000 an hour of product going off the end of the assembly line is much more important than anything we were doing.

I didn't agree, but then again I wasn't signing the checks either.

 

[hockeyoligist2]

I actually prefer working alone. That way I can keep both eyes on what I'm doing instead of making sure the other guy isn't going to get us both killed! Most of my work involves troubleshooting, so it usually has to be done live. More than once I have had a helper reach in and get sparks flying!

 

[muskiedog]

Yes No

Yes No

muskiedog, do you have any problem sticking to 2 people on the listed work?
Another words, does management want people to ignore items on the list?
Does working on exposed energized electrical equipment have a minimum voltage associated with it?

Well it is management so much as the worker taking the short cuts. have the problem of what managment doesn't see the do not know.

Unfortunately I find the safest workers are one that have been injuried already. Tough leasons to learn.

Exposed energized equipment - we have not set a minimum at this time. We are reviewing this.

 

[davidr43229]

My question is, is there a OSHA reg. or NFPA70E that states that I must have a qualified person to work along side of me while performing these task inside a "live" panel, from a safety stand point I would say there should be a qualified person with me

Nowhere within the NFPA-70E.