MDShunk

One of the keys to a safe and efficient conductor pull is proper setup of the feed end and enough manpower to keep the operation safe and smooth. The following are a few pictures of conductor pulls. Special thanks to Derek Pasch, Staffing Specialist at Meisner Electric in Delray Beach, FL for the pictures.

Safety-Guy

Would be interesting to know what was in the 55 gal. drums. Also with the dirt and dust involved where are the safety glasses? Just the safety guy comming out in me.

Recruit4Meisner

Just the safety guy... for the competition! How are things??

These pics are now a couple years old, before Meisner went 100% safety glasses ALL the time.

MDShunk

Oh, that is funny! It never dawned on me that you two were pretty much right next door. Small world.

Safety-Guy

Well we are going to be alot closer for the next 2 days, I have to teach a 10 hour OSHA at our West Palm Beach Office .
I have a bad habit of noticing safety issues, good and bad, sure wish I could see alot more good.
So what does Meiser have when it comes to tne NFPA70E? We require 100% compliance when performing any work hot, from Substation to changing a receptacle.

MDShunk

Do you all do much service work? In my neck of the woods, such a policy with respect to service, although very desirable, would price you out of the market. It's a struggle.

faber307

I've thought many times when doing potentially dangerous service work that I should have a tool partner. It doesn't always work out. 2 JW in 1 truck is costly for service.

Recruit4Meisner

Hey... if you're in WPB for the next couple days, and can pull yourself away for a bit, we could grab some lunch and walk a job or two if your interested?

Oh, of course we're 100% compliance!

Safety-Guy

I am here in WP now, I have class today and tommorrow, If the guys I am training have half a brain I may be able to get out tommorrow, I will let you know.

MDShunk

Safety Guy... are you allowed to take pics of the jobs you're on? Maybe you could post one or two or a hundred? We like pictures

Safety-Guy

Here you go.
Caught the drywall guys with this one

4th floor deck of a now 15 story timeshare near DisneyWorld. Look at all the trip hazzards. We completed the building from dirt to complete with one minor cut.


Residential crew, no hardhat, Meter base was not live.


I will get some from my work computer, these are a few I have on my Lappy.

Joe Momma

I love the pictures.....
And you can spot the resi. crews from a mile away.

I got a question though......(first I want to say I mean no disrespect for safety)
Just yesterday I was retrofitting ballasts on 277v fixtures. The first step is disconnecting and 'capping' the hot to make the fixture dead. This is a very easy and simple step to make the fixture safe to service, although 70E and OSHA require rubber gloves, face sheild and Nomex to do this task.

As a union electrician we've done extensive training on 70e, though I must question at what point does this level of protection seem ridiculous?
The linemen I have witnessed, who have all the money to take their time, don't even go to the extent of what's required.

I blame it primarilary on the obsurd requirements..........
In all honesty; nothing could possibly happen to you while wearing astronaut gear.....
But I really don't think I can twist a wirenut properly while wearing a glove five times larger than my own hand and would probably leave a loose connection due to loss of feeling which would likely start a fire.

I truly feel safer worker in a live 480 panel with bare hands than with gloves which provide no feeling or agility(and no, not agility in the sense that I'm faster than an arc)

I'm just asking where does the ridiculous attitude end, and sensibility begin?
And if it makes any difference we always wear hard hats and safety glasses.

__________________
Joe Momma was here

Safety-Guy

Ok here is the Safety response to some of your questions
1) With your light fixture, if there are live wires within the fixture it is not dead, false security. LOTO and testing is the only method to ensure 100% that no voltage is present. A wire nut to me is a false sense of security, there could still be a nick in a wire energizing the fixture.

2)The 70e, when used for hot work is not obsurd, 80% of the injuries from arc flash/blast comes from the ignition of flammable clothing, as it continues to burn. FR clothing does not continue to burn, can you still be injured, yes, just it is alot worse if you are wearing non-FR clothing. If the FR clothing supplied to you is bulky and uncomfortable check out the line of FR from Tyndall, comfort and protection.

3)We had a guy who felt as you about working without gloves, 29 year Journeyman, You know the ones that say "I know what I am doing, been doing it this way for years." he has not been back to work in 3 years due to burns received in an arc blast. I will try to get you his number and he can tell you about what not only him, but what his family has been thru from his attitude about PPE use durring hot work.
The effects of an arc blast are tremendous, 35,000 degree temp. Molten metal, copper turns to vapor, expanding 67,000 times, Pressure wave of 200 lbs per sq. ft. all within 1/6th of a second.

4) As for the powerline guys, they fall under 29cfr1926 Subpart V, and there were no provisions to follow the NFPA70E, but I hear that is changing.

(Rant On)
Think not of yourself, but of your family before you decide to work on live electrical without the proper PPE.
(Rant Off)
(Hard Love On)

(Hard Love Off)
Please be safe Brother!

MDShunk

Here's my recent story related to that.

Don't you hate it when guys bring their cables into the panel, using all the front knockouts first? Then, you go to add a circuit or two, and you're stuck with using the back knockouts?

I was adding a romex into the back knockout of an energized panel recently. I took the knockout out, inserted a connector, and stuck my hand into the mess of conductors to start the locknut. ZZZZZttt. Got myself shocked real good. Couldn't jerk back as quick as I might have been able to otherwise, because my hand was woven in amongst all the conductors. Turned out that one of the hots had a nice slice in the insulation from when the jacket was originally skinned off.

I summarily jerked the meter out and finished up with light from a flashlight. I'm glad to have a good relationship with the area linemen. It helps to get a reasonable supply of new seal tags for when you need to jerk a meter just to work safely.

Safety-Guy

I will load more tommorrow but here is one of a guy that tried to steal some copper, he had a bad day for sure.