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ELECTRICAL OSHA OFFICE OF TRAINING AND EDUCATION |
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Examination, Installation, and Use of Equipment Identification of Disconnecting Means and Circuits Working Space About Electrical Equipment Guarding of Live Parts Identification of Conductors Polarity of Connections Grounding Grounding Path Grounding of Equipment Connected by Cord and Plug Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCI’s) Cabinets, Boxes, and Fittings Flexible Cords and Cables Reference: OSHA General Industry Standards, Subpart S, Electrical Additional Source of Information: NFPA 70, National Electrical Code 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, cable harnesses, or circuit assemblies. Others, such as office workers and salespeople, 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 a familiar part of our surroundings, it often is not treated with the respect it deserves. OSHA's electrical standards address the government's concern that electricity has long been recognized as a serious workplace hazard, exposing employees to such dangers as electric shock, electrocution, fires and explosions. The objective of the standards is to minimize such potential hazards 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 exposed and/or operating elements of an electrical installation - lighting equipment, motors, machines, appliances, switches, controls, enclosures, etc. - must be so constructed and installed as to minimize electrical dangers to people in any workplace. The OSHA electrical standards were based on the National Fire Protection Association's standard NFPA 70E, Electrical Safety Requirements for Employee Workplaces, and the NFPA 70 Committee derived Part I of their document from the 1978 edition of the National Electrical Code (NEC). The standards extracted from the NEC were those considered to most directly apply to employee safety and least likely to change with each new edition of the NEC. OSHA's electrical standards are performance oriented; therefore they contain few direct references to the NEC. However, the NEC contains specific information as to how the required performance can be obtained. This discussion does not cover OSHA’s Electrical Safety-Related Work Practices Standard, which contains requirements for working on or near energized and deenergized electrical equipment, the use of personal protective equipment, and the safe use of electrical equipment. This discussion covers requirements in OSHA’s Design Safety Standards for Electrical Systems that are frequently overlooked and may present serious hazards. The reader is encouraged to consult the complete text of OSHA’s electrical standards for all of OSHA’s requirements. EXAMINATION, INSTALLATION AND USE OF EQUIPMENT Examination Electrical equipment shall be free from recognized hazards that are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees1. Safety of equipment shall be determined using the following considerations:
Listed or labeled equipment shall be used or installed in accordance with any instructions included in the listing or labeling. IDENTIFICATION OF DISCONNECTING MEANS AND CIRCUITS Each disconnecting means required by this subpart for motors and appliances shall be legibly marked to indicate its purpose, unless located and arranged so the purpose is evident. Each service, feeder, and branch circuit, at its disconnecting means or overcurrent device, shall be legibly marked to indicate its purpose, unless located and arranged so the purpose is evident. These markings shall be of sufficient durability to withstand the environment involved. A disconnecting means is a switch that is used to disconnect the conductors of a circuit from the source of electric current. Disconnect switches are important because they enable a circuit to be opened, stopping the flow of electricity, and thus can effectively protect workers and equipment. Each disconnect switch or overcurrent 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. For example, on a panel that controls several motors or on a motor control center, each disconnect must be clearly marked to indicate the motor to which each circuit is connected. In the figure below, the Number 2 circuit breaker in the panel box supplies current only to disconnect Number 2, which in turn controls the current to motor Number 2. This current to motor Number 2 can be shut off by the Number 2 circuit breaker or the Number 2 disconnect. If the purpose of the circuit is obvious, no identification of the disconnect is required. All labels and markings must be durable enough to withstand weather, chemicals, heat, corrosion, or any other environment to which they may be exposed.
WORKING SPACE ABOUT ELECTRIC EQUIPMENT Note that this particular section is concerned with the safety of a person qualified to work on the equipment (presumably an electrician). Obviously, the hazard must be treated in a different way if the person will remove guards and enclosures and actually work on the live parts. Sufficient access and working space shall be provided and maintained about all electric equipment to permit ready and safe operation and maintenance of such equipment. Clear Spaces Working space required by this subpart may not be used for storage. When normally enclosed live parts are exposed for inspection or servicing, the working space, if in a passageway or general open space, shall be suitably guarded. GUARDING OF LIVE PARTS It should be noted that the purpose of this requirement is to protect any person who may be in the vicinity of electrical equipment against accidental contact. These people are presumably not electricians working on the equipment, and are not qualified or trained to be in close proximity to live parts. Except as required or permitted elsewhere in this subpart, live parts of electric equipment operating at 50 volts or more shall be guarded against accidental contact by approved cabinets or other forms of approved enclosures, or by any of the following means:
Entrances to rooms and other guarded locations containing exposed live parts shall be marked with conspicuous warning signs forbidding unqualified persons to enter. You should be constantly aware of hazards in your workplace. New work or changes may create a new hazard, or poor maintenance may allow reappearance of old ones. IDENTIFICATION OF CONDUCTORS A conductor used as a grounded conductor shall be identifiable and distinguishable from all other conductors. A conductor used as an equipment grounding conductor shall be identifiable and distinguishable from all other conductors. The grounded conductor is an energized circuit conductor that is connected to earth through the system ground. It is commonly referred to as the neutral. The equipment grounding conductor is not an energized conductor under normal conditions. The equipment grounding conductor acts as a safeguard against insulation failure or faults in the other circuit conductors. The equipment grounding conductor is energized only if there is a leak or fault in the normal current path, and it directs this current back to the source. Directing the fault current back to the source enables protective devices, such as circuit breakers or fuses, to operate thus preventing fires and reducing the hazard of electrical shocks. The grounded and equipment grounding conductors of an electrical circuit must be marked or color coded in a way that allows employees to identify them and tell them apart from each other and from the other conductors in the circuit. The figure below illustrates a distribution panelboard. One means by which each conductor's use is identified and made distinguishable from the other circuit conductors is the use of color coding. Acceptable color coding includes the method required by the National Electrical Code, Section 210-5. The Code states: "The grounded conductor of a branch circuit shall be identified by a continuous white or natural gray color." Also, "The equipment grounding conductor of a branch circuit shall be identified by a continuous green color or a continuous green color with one or more yellow stripes unless it is bare." Bare copper or aluminum wire is permitted for use as a grounding conductor.
Text Version of Image: Illustration showing/describing the different parts of a Distribution Panelboard, which include:
POLARITY OF CONNECTIONS No grounded conductor may be attached to any terminal or lead so as to reverse designated polarity. A grounding terminal or grounding-type device on a receptacle, cord connector, or attachment plug may not be used for purposes other than grounding. The above two subparagraphs dealing with polarity of connections and use of grounding terminals and devices address one potentially dangerous aspect of alternating current: 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. 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. The figure below shows the correct wiring for the common 120-volt outlet with a portable hand tool attached.
Suppose now that the black (ungrounded) and white (grounded) conductors are reversed as shown in the figure below. This is the traditional reversed polarity. Although a shock hazard may not exist, there are other mechanical hazards that can occur.
For example, if an internal fault should occur in the wiring as shown in the figure below, the equipment would not stop when the switch is released or would start as soon as a person plugs the supply cord into the improperly wired outlet. This could result in serious injury.
The figure below shows the white (grounded) and green (grounding) conductors reversed. Although it is not fitting, considering OSHA or code terminology, to call this reversed polarity, a hazard can still exist. In this case, due to the wiring error, the white wire is being used to provide equipment grounding. Under certain conditions, this could be dangerous.
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, they 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 this. The person may even attempt to troubleshoot the problem before unplugging the power cord.
Correct polarity is achieved when the grounded conductor is connected to the corresponding grounded terminal and the ungrounded conductor is connected to the corresponding ungrounded terminal. The reverse of the designated polarity is prohibited. The figure below illustrates a duplex receptacle correctly wired. Terminals are designated and identified to avoid confusion. An easy way to remember the correct polarity is "white to light" - the white (grounded) wire should be connected to the light or nickel-colored terminal; "black to brass" - the black or multi-colored (ungrounded) wire should be connected to the brass terminal; and "green to green" - the green or bare (grounding) wire should be connected to the green hexagonal head terminal screw.
Text Version of Image: Illustration showing the different parts of a Duplex Receptacle, which include:
GROUNDING This section contains grounding requirements for systems, circuits, and equipment. Grounding electrical circuits and electrical equipment is required to protect employees against electrical shock, safeguard against fire, and protect against damage to electrical equipment. There are two kinds of grounding: (1) electrical circuit or system grounding, and (2) electrical equipment grounding. Electrical system grounding is accomplished when one conductor of the circuit is intentionally connected to earth. This is done to protect the circuit should lightning strike or other high voltage contact occur. Grounding a system also stabilizes the voltage in the system so "expected voltage levels" are not exceeded under normal conditions. The second kind of ground is equipment grounding. This is accomplished when all metal frames of equipment and enclosures containing electrical equipment or conductors are grounded by means of a permanent and continuous connection or bond. The equipment grounding conductor provides a path for dangerous fault current to return to the system ground at the supply source of the circuit should an insulation failure take place. If installed properly, the equipment grounding conductor is the current path that enables protective devices, such as circuit breakers and fuses, to operate when a fault occurs. The figure below illustrates both types of grounding.
Text Version of Image: Illustration showing/describing parts of system and equipment grounding, which include:
GROUNDING PATH The path to ground from circuits, equipment, and enclosures shall be permanent and continuous. This requirement was extracted from NEC 250-51, Effective Grounding Path, which is more complete and fundamental to the understanding of electrical safety. It states that the path to ground:
GROUNDING OF EQUIPMENT CONNECTED BY CORD AND PLUG Under any of the conditions described below, exposed non-current-carrying metal parts of cord- and plug-connected equipment which may become energized shall be grounded.
The figure below illustrates the potential shock hazard that exists when no third wire, grounding conductor, is used. If a fault occurs, most of the current will follow the path of least resistance. If the worker provides a path to ground as shown, some portion of the current will flow away from the grounded white conductor (neutral) and return to ground through the worker. The severity of the shock received will depend on the amount of current that flows through the worker.
The figure below illustrates the advantage of a properly connected grounded conductor. It should be noted that properly bonded conduit and associated metal enclosures can also serve as a grounding conductor.
Tools likely to be used in wet and conductive locations need not be grounded if supplied through an isolating transformer with an ungrounded secondary of not over 50 volts. Listed or labeled portable tools and appliances protected by an approved system of double insulation, or its equivalent, need not be grounded. If such a system is employed, the equipment shall be distinctively marked to indicate that the tool or appliance utilizes an approved system of double insulation. GROUND-FAULT CIRCUIT-INTERRUPTERS Introduction
In most cases, insulation and grounding are used to prevent injury from electrical wiring systems or equipment. However, there are instances when these recognized methods do not provide the degree of protection required. To help appreciate this, let's consider a few examples of where ground fault circuit interrupters would provide additional protection.
Since neither insulation (double insulation) nor grounding can provide protection under these conditions, it is necessary to use other protective measures. One acceptable method is a ground fault circuit interrupter, commonly referred to as a GFCI. How Ground-Fault Circuit-Interrupters Work A ground-fault circuit-interrupter is not an overcurrent 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 (plus or minus 1) milliamperes (mA) 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 5mA, the GFCI will quickly open the circuit. This is illustrated in the figure below.
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. If by chance this grounding conductor is not intact and of low-impedance, the GFCI may not trip out until a person provides a path. In this case, the person will receive a shock, but the GFCI should trip out so quickly that the shock will not be harmful. Types of Ground-Fault Circuit-Interrupters There are several types of GFCI's available, with some variations to each type. Although all types will provide ground-fault protection, the specific application may dictate one type over another.
Ground-Fault Circuit-Interrupters are divided into two classes: Class A and Class B. The Class A device is designed to trip when current flow, in other than the normal path, is 6 milliamperes or greater. The specification is 5 milliamperes ± 1 milliampere. The Class B device will trip when current flow, in other than the normal path, is 20 milliamperes or greater. Class B devices are approved for use on underwater swimming pool lighting installed prior to the adoption of the 1965 National Electrical Code. Testing Ground-Fault Circuit-Interrupters Due to the complexity of a GFCI, it is necessary to test the device on a regular basis. For permanently wired devices, a monthly test is recommended. Portable type GFCI's should be tested each time before use. GFCI's have a built-in test circuit which imposes an artificial ground fault on the load circuit to assure that the ground-fault protection is still functioning. Test and reset buttons are provided for testing. CABINETS, BOXES, AND FITTINGS Conductors Entering Boxes, Cabinets, or Fittings Since conductors can be damaged if they rub against the sharp edges of cabinets, boxes, or fittings, they must be protected from damage where they enter. To protect the conductors, some type of clamp or rubber grommet must be used. The device used must close the hole through which the conductor passes as well as provide protection from abrasion. If the conductor is in a conduit and the conduit fits tightly in the opening, additional sealing is not required. The knockouts in cabinets, boxes, and fittings should be removed only if conductors are to be run through them. However, if a knockout is missing or if there is another hole in the box, the hole or opening must be closed. Covers and Canopies All pull boxes, junction boxes, and fittings shall be provided with covers approved for the purpose. If metal covers are used, they shall be grounded. In completed installations, each outlet box shall have a cover, faceplate, or fixture canopy. Covers of outlet boxes having holes through which flexible cord pendants pass shall be provided with bushings designed for the purpose or shall have smooth, well-rounded surfaces on which the cords may bear. FLEXIBLE CORDS AND CABLES This standard for safe use of flexible cords is one of the most frequently violated electrical standards, particularly in smaller plants. There is a definite need and place for cords, but there is also a temptation to misuse them because they seem to offer a quick and easy way to carry electricity to where it is needed. The basic problem is that flexible cords in general are more vulnerable than the fixed wiring of the building. Therefore, cords should not be used if one of the recognized wiring methods could be used instead. Use of Flexible Cords and Cables Flexible cords and cables shall be approved and suitable for conditions of use and location. The standard lists specific situations in which flexible cords may be used. Flexible cords and cables shall be used only for:
Identification, Splices and Terminations Flexible cords shall be used only in continuous lengths without splice or tap. Hard service flexible cords, No. 12 or larger, may be repaired if spliced so that the splice retains the insulation, outer sheath properties, and usage characteristics of the cord being spliced. Flexible cords shall be connected to devices and fittings so that strain relief is provided which will prevent pull from being directly transmitted to joints or terminal screws. _____________________________________________________ 1Note that this requirement is, in effect, an electrical "general duty clause" similar to Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act: "each employer shall furnish . . . a place of employment which is free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees." |
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Page last updated: 02/20/2007 |