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Electrical Safety

Subpart "S"
Introduction:
Electricity has become an essential of modern life, both at home and on
the job. Some employees work with electricity directly, as is the case with
engineers, electricians, or people who do wiring, such as overhead lines,
or circuit assemblies. Others such as office workers, work with it
indirectly.
As a source of power, electricity is accepted without much thought to the
hazards encountered. Perhaps because it has become such familiar part of
our surroundings.
For 1989, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 3,600 work-related
deaths occurred in private sector workplaces employing 11 workers or
more. Nine percent of the fatalities, or around 324 deaths, were the direct
result of electrocutions at work. What makes these statistics more tragic is
that, for the most part, these fatalities could have been easily avoided.
The objective of OSHA's electrical standards is to minimize the potential
hazards of electricity by specifying design characteristics of safety in use
of electrical equipment and systems.
OSHA's electrical standards were carefully developed to cover only those
parts of any electrical system that an employee would normally use or
contact.
The OSHA's electrical standards were based on the National Fire
Protection Association's standard NFPA 70 E. (National Electrical Code)
The standards extracted from the NEC were those considered to most
directly apply to employee safety.

General Requirements: 29 CFR 1910.303 :


1- The conductors and equipment required or permitted by this
subpart shall be acceptable only if approved (U.L.).
2- Electrical equipment shall be free from recognized hazards that are
likely to cause death or serious harm to employees.
3- Listed or labeled equipment shall be used or installed in
accordance with any instructions included in the listing or labeling.

4- Parts of electric equipment which in ordinary operation produce


arcs, sparks, flame, or molten metal shall be enclosed or separated
and isolated from all combustible material.
5- Marking of electrical equipment is very important. Marking giving
voltage, current, wattage, or other ratings shall be provided.
Marking plates shall be installed in such a manner so the marking
can be examined by the inspector without removing the installed
equipment from a hard wired position.
6- Each disconnect switch or over-current device required for a
service, feeder, or branch circuit must be clearly labeled to indicate
the circuit's function, and the label or marking should be located at
the point where the circuit originates.

7- All labels and marking must be durable enough to withstand


weather, chemicals, heat, corrosion, or any other environment to
which they may be exposed.

600 Volts, Nominal, or Less:


Working Space About Electrical Equipment:
1- A minimum working space of 30 inch (76 cm) width is required in
front of electrical equipment operating at 600 volt or less.
Distances shall be measured from the live parts if they are exposed,
or from the enclosure front if the live parts are enclosed. This space
permits sufficient room to avoid body contact or elbows from
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contacting live parts and metal parts at the same time while
working on the equipment. Equipment doors and hinged panels
must have at least a 90 degree opening provided in the workplace.

2- Working space is not required in back of electrical equipment


where there are not any removable or adjustable parts such as
circuit breakers, fuses, or switches mounted on the back of the
equipment. All connections and services areas for maintenance
must be accessible from other locations other than the back of the
equipment.
3- Where the electrical equipment is installed in or on one wall with
the wall on the other side being an insulated wall (Constructed
from wood or metal studs with the wallboard consisting of
sheetrock, wood-panels, and etc.) the minimum workspace distance
shall be 36 inch (91 cm) between the equipment and the wall.

4- Where the electrical equipment is installed one wall with the wall
on the other side being a conductive wall, the distance shall be
minimum of 36 inch (91 cm) for voltage ranging from 0 to 150 V,
and the distance shall be 42 inch (106 cm) for voltage ranging from
151 to 600 V.

5- Where the electrical equipment is installed in or on one wall with


the wall on the other side having electrical equipment mounted or
set on it. The distance shall be minimum 36 inch (91 cm) in case of
voltage ranging from 0 to 150 V. and shall be minimum 48 inch
(122 cm) in case of voltage ranging from 151 to 600 V.

6- Working space in front of electrical equipment must be free from


storage of materials and etc. Mains and over-current protection
devices are required to be accessible to the users in case of
emergencies.

7- Easy and fast access to electrical devices is essential. Special


consideration should be given to electrical equipment that is over 6
ft. (2m) wide with 1200 Amps or more of bus containing overcurrent devices, switching devices, or control devices. Such
equipment must have a clearance of 24 inches (61 cm) wide and
6.5 ft. (2 m) high at each end for safe exit in case of a ground fault.
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8- Service equipment, switchboards, panel-boards, and motor control


centers installed indoors must be provided with adequate lighting
for the safety of electrical workers servicing such equipment from
the front or rear when live parts are accessible. Lighting fixtures
can be incandescent or fluorescent as long as they provide the
proper lighting for parts to be serviced.
Lighting fixtures must have a head room clearance of at least 6.5 ft.
(2 m) to give personnel sufficient room to stand in front of
electrical equipment without a treat of their head or head gear
contacting metal etc.

9- A minimum headroom clearance of 6.5 ft. (2 m) must be


maintained from the floor or platform up to the lighting fixture or
any overhead obstruction.

10- The general rule of protecting live parts (energized) from


accidental contact is by installing them in a complete enclosure
which provides a dead front is preferred. Some times it is not
practical to construct enclosures to house large control panels and
etc. and in such cases if the apparatus is rated at 50 V or more, then
suitable guards or isolation should be provided by one of the
following rules:
a- The live parts in electrical equipment that is not mounted in
a completely enclosed enclosure to be installed in a room,
vault, or similar enclosure that is accessible only to qualified
personnel.

b- By separating live parts by permanent partitions or screens


so located that only qualified persons will have access and
reach of the live parts.

c- By locating the exposed live parts on a suitable balcony,


gallery, or platform that is high enough or designed in such a
manner to keep unqualified personnel out.
d- Permits the live electrical parts to be elevated at least 8 ft.
(2.5m) above the floor or other working surface.

29 CFR 1910.304 Wiring Design and Protection:


Conductors used in electrical wiring systems must be identified properly
to protect personnel working on such systems. It is essential to know
which conductor by color represent the ungrounded hot phase conductor
(live), the grounded neutral conductor (neutral), and equipment grounded
conductor (earth) in electrical circuit. Because it is by color coding that
conductors are connected to color coded terminals of equipment.
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The grounded neutral conductor of a branch circuit shall be identified by


a continuous white or natural gray color. It is an energized circuit
conductor that is connected to the earth through the system ground.
The equipment grounding conductor of a branch circuit shall be identified
by continuous green color or a continuous green color with one or more
yellow stripes unless it is bare. It is not an energized conductor under
normal conditions.
The ungrounded phase conductors can be identified with any color other
than those used for the grounded neutral conductors or equipment
conductors ( it could be Black, Blue, or Red)

Reversed Polarity:
Many pieces of equipment will operate properly even though the supply
wires are not connected in the order designated by design or the
manufacturer. Improper connection of these conductors is most prevalent
on the smaller branch circuit typically associated with standard 120 volt
receptacle outlets, lighting fixtures and cord - and plug - connected
equipment.
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When plugs, receptacles, and connectors are used in an electrical branch


circuit, correct polarity between the ungrounded (hot) conductor, the
grounded (neutral) conductor, and the grounding conductor must be
maintained.
Reversed polarity is a condition when the identified circuit conductor (the
grounded conductor or neutral) is incorrectly connected to the
ungrounded or (hot) terminal of a plug, receptacle, or other type of
connector.
For example: if the hot lead by accident was connected to the white lead
(neutral) of a light socket, the shell of the socket would be energized with
a hot conductor. An employee changing a light bulb could receive a fatal
electrical shock.

The figure below shows an extremely dangerous situation. In this


example, the black (ungrounded) and green (grounding) conductors
have been reversed. The metal case of the equipment is at 120 volts
with reference to the surroundings. As soon as a person picks up the
equipment and touches a conductive surface in their surrounding, he
will receive a serious, or even deadly, shock.
Although the equipment will not work with this wiring error, it would
not be unusual for a person to pick up the equipment before realizing
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this. The person may even attempt to troubleshoot the problem before
unplugging the power cord.

Ground-Fault Circuit-Interrupters (GFCI's)


A ground-fault circuit-interrupter is not an over-current device like a
fuse or circuit breaker. GFCI's are designed to sense an imbalance in
current flow over the normal path.
The GFCI contains a special sensor that monitors the strength of the
magnetic field around each wire in the circuit when current is flowing.
The magnetic field around a wire is directly proportional to the
amount of current flow, thus the circuitry can accurately translate the
magnetic information into current flow.
If the current flowing in the black (ungrounded) wire is within 5 ()
milliamperes of the current flowing in the white (grounded) wire at any
given instant, the circuitry considers the situation normal. All the current
is flowing in the normal path. If, however, the current flow in the two
wires differs by more than 5 mA, the GFCI will quickly open the circuit.
This is illustrated in the following figure

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Note that the GFCI will open the circuit if 5 mA or more of current
returns to the service entrance by any path other than the intended white
(grounded) conductor. If the equipment grounding conductor is properly
installed and maintained, this will happen as soon as the faulty tool is
plugged in.

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