All of these options will use effective visual communication standards to make sure that nothing is placed in the area directly around your electrical panels. Minimum Clearance Around Electrical Panels (Carrying 600 Volts or Less) Insufficient clearance around electrical panels is one of the many electrical hazards that can endanger worker safety. All Rights Re Examination. Other markings giving voltage, current, wattage, or other ratings as necessary. 1910.303 (g) (1) (vi) (B) For installations built on or after August 13, 2007, 1.98 m (6.5 ft), except that where the electrical equipment exceeds 1.98 m (6.5 ft) in height, the minimum headroom may not be less than the height of the equipment. In all cases, the working space shall permit at least a 90-degree opening of equipment doors or hinged panels; and. (150 mm) Where the driving machine or the motor-generator set is located in a remote machinery space, a single means for disconnecting all ungrounded main power supply conductors shall be provided and be capable of being locked in the open position. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is a part of the U.S. Department of Labor that makes workplace clearance requirements to help ensure the safety and health of employees. The minimum elevation may be 2.4 m (8.0 ft) for installations built before April 16, 1981, if the nominal voltage between phases is in the range of 601-6600 volts. 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 cabinets or other forms of enclosures, or by any of the following means: By location in a room, vault, or similar enclosure that is accessible only to qualified persons. Conductors shall be racked to provide ready and safe access in underground and subsurface enclosures that persons enter for installation and maintenance. By location on a balcony, gallery, or platform so elevated and arranged as to exclude unqualified persons. Control panels not located in the same space as the drive machine shall be located in cabinets with doors or panels capable of being locked closed. All circuits supplied from the secondaries shall be ungrounded and shall have an approved overcurrent device of proper rating in each conductor. The type of enclosure used in a given case shall be designed and constructed according to the hazards associated with the installation. Table S-1 - Minimum Depth of Clear Working Space at Electric Equipment, 600 V or Less. Working clearances. Note that our enforcement guidance may be affected by changes to OSHA rules. 600 Volts, nominal, or less. Another safety focused agency is the National Fire Protection Association, or NFPA. The depth shall be as required in Table K-2. Disconnecting means. For example, a switchboard is located next to a disconnect (safety) switch. Arcing parts. Measuring off the required distance around the electrical panels and putting down floor markings will make it extremely easy to see exactly where things can and cannot be placed. Removable links or removable conductors may be used as the disconnecting means. for information on the final rule. These markings shall be of sufficient durability to withstand the environment involved. Once again, however, the NFPA 70e electrical panel clearance requirements will match those of the NEC and of OSHA. When used outdoors, flexible cords and cables shall also be listed for wet locations and shall be sunlight resistant. Flexible cords used with the following equipment may not exceed 0.9 m (3 ft) in length and shall have a copper equipment grounding conductor with a grounding-type attachment plug: Fountains. Workspace about equipment. Circuits supplying power to ungrounded receptacles for hand-held, cord- and plug-connected equipment shall meet the following requirements: The circuits shall be electrically isolated from any distribution system supplying areas other than the cell line working zone and shall be ungrounded; The circuits shall be supplied through isolating transformers with primaries operating at not more than 600 volts between conductors and protected with proper overcurrent protection; The secondary voltage of the isolating transformers may not exceed 300 volts between conductors; and. Working space. [46 FR 4056, Jan. 16, 1981, as amended at 73 FR 64205, Oct. 29, 2008], Occupational Safety & Health Administration. In locations where electric equipment is likely to be exposed to physical damage, enclosures or guards shall be so arranged and of such strength as to prevent such damage. In order for the 480 volt circuit(s) to be considered deenergized, the lockout and tagging requirements of paragraph 1910.333(b)(2) must be met. Dedicated space: The space equal to the width and depth of electrical equipment in addition to the space extending from the floor to 6 feet . Maximum Number of Disconnects (i.e. Receptacles and their mating plugs for ungrounded equipment may not have provision for a grounding conductor and shall be of a configuration that prevents their use for equipment required to be grounded. [This document was amended on October 24, 2012 to strike information that no longer reflects current OSHA policy.] Of course, it is also important to try to determine who placed the item there so that they can be provided with the relevant training to ensure it does not happen again. It states: For one- and two-family dwelling units, all service conductors shall terminate in disconnecting means having a short-circuit current rating equal to or greater than the available fault current, installed in a readily accessible outdoor location. Electrical equipment which depends upon the natural circulation of air and convection principles for cooling of exposed surfaces shall be installed so that room air flow over such surfaces is not prevented by walls or by adjacent installed equipment. Ventilating or similar openings in metal-enclosed equipment shall be designed so that foreign objects inserted through these openings will be deflected from energized parts. No underwater lighting fixtures may be installed for operation at over 150 volts between conductors. The ampere rating of this disconnecting means may not be less than the supply conductor ampacity. Metal-enclosed switchgear, unit substations, transformers, pull boxes, connection boxes, and other similar associated equipment shall be marked with appropriate caution signs. If more than one piece of equipment is operated from the same high-voltage circuit, each piece or each group of equipment as a unit shall be provided with a high-voltage switch or equivalent disconnecting means. Insulation integrity. Cranes and hoists. Other factors which contribute to the practical safeguarding of employees using or likely to come in contact with the equipment. A switch or circuit breaker shall be provided by which each resistance welder and its control equipment can be disconnected from the supply circuit. In existing buildings where electrical equipment is being replaced, minimum 3' working clearance shall be permitted for nominal voltage to ground less than 151V or 3'-6" for nominal voltage to ground greater than 150V between dead-front switchboards, switchgear, For equipment designed for floor mounting, clearance between top surfaces and adjacent surfaces shall be provided to dissipate rising warm air. Monitoring System (TPMS) Sensor Training in this section. The manually operated switch shall be installed adjacent to this equipment. No marks or blemishes on wheel faces. 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. Working with electricity can be dangerous. The conductive surfaces of cranes and hoists that enter the cell line working zone need not be grounded. OSHA's electrical standards are designed to protect employees exposed to dangers such as electric shock, electrocution, fires, and explosions. This means that you cannot leave an area around the electrical panel that is clear, but have access to the area blocked off by stacks of boxes or other items. Motors and appliances. When it is necessary to perform work on energized equipment, OSHA 1910.333 (a) (2) requires safety-related work practices to be used and NFPA 70E Article 110.8 (B) (1) requires an Electrical Hazard Analysis before work is performed on live equipment operating at 50 volts and higher. Conditions A, B, and C are as follows: Condition A - Exposed live parts on one side and no live or grounded parts on the other side of the working space, or exposed live parts on both sides effectively guarded by suitable wood or other insulating material. Outdoor electrical installations having exposed live parts shall be accessible to qualified persons only. Thank you for your interest in occupational safety and health. One of the easiest and most effective ways to make sure that nobody places anything in the area around your electrical panels is to mark the area with floor marking tape. Fire exit routes cannot be obstructed [29 CFR 1910.37 (a) (3)] and they cannot become more narrow at any point. Where energized parts are exposed, the minimum clear workspace shall not be less than 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m) high (measured vertically from the floor or platform), or less than 3 feet (914 mm) wide (measured parallel to the equipment). Additional lighting fixtures are not required where the working space is illuminated by an adjacent light source. The disconnecting means shall be a listed device. Where a pool is installed permanently at a dwelling unit, at least one 125-volt, 15- or 20-ampere receptacle on a general-purpose branch circuit shall be located a minimum of 3.05 m (10 ft) and not more than 6.08 m (20 ft) from the inside wall of the pool. A disconnecting means shall be provided in the supply circuit for each arc welder that is not equipped with a disconnect mounted as an integral part of the welder. Thank you for your recent letter to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The Ontario Electrical Safety Code ( OESC) deals in detail with permanent and temporary theatrical electrical installations. Radiographic and fluoroscopic-type equipment shall be effectively enclosed or shall have interlocks that deenergize the equipment automatically to prevent ready access to live current-carrying parts. This paragraph applies to the installation of the electrical components and accessory equipment of electrolytic cells, electrolytic cell lines, and process power supply for the production of aluminum, cadmium, chlorine, copper, fluorine, hydrogen peroxide, magnesium, sodium, sodium chlorate, and zinc. What is the residential electrical panel clearance requirements? Enclosure for electrical installations. Where rear access is required to work on the deenergized parts on the back of enclosed equipment, a minimum working space 762 mm (30 in.) Minimum clearance of 3 inches overhead and 2 inches laterally shall be provided and maintained between crane and obstructions in conformity with Crane Manufacturers Association of America, Inc, Specification No. The employer shall ensure that electrical equipment is free from recognized hazards that are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees. 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