Safety Rethinking the Safety Risks of Leaving Panel Covers Off

[jar546]

After revisiting the original discussion on whether inspectors should remove electrical panel covers, I realized I may have brushed off a real safety issue that ICE raised. My focus at the time was on the fact that I did not create the problem, so it was not my problem to fix. In doing so, I minimized what is in reality a significant hazard in certain situations.

This is not a one-size-fits-all issue. On an active jobsite or in an industrial facility where workers are present, the GC and electrician have control of the site and are responsible for maintaining safety. That is different from a panel in a residential setting or other public space where children, residents, or visitors could have access. In those cases, leaving a live panel uncovered, even briefly, introduces unacceptable risk.

Referring back to ICE’s point, it made me think about how we as inspectors handle these situations. The discussion is worth having because the context matters, and our responses should reflect that.

I would like to hear how others approach this in both active worksites and accessible public or residential environments.

Click Here For Original Thread

 

[ICE]

With the advent of the solar craze, entrepreneurs from far flung places flocked to California. Rebate money greased the skids and selling solar arrays was easy money. These entrepreneurs are good at what they do however, construction is not a part of their background. They hired whomever was available and the work that they produced was sketchy at best and often dangerous.
This time frame (early 2000s) gave birth the the practice of leaving doors and dead-fronts removed from energized electrical equipment. Service panels and solar inverters as well as disconnects were left wide open where a child or curious adult could touch death.
They did this because they were so busy and spread so thin that it was a killer for them to be onsite for an inspection. They opened it all and requested an inspection which might happen the next day or the next week depending on the AHJ workload. After the inspection a workman would stop by to install the covers. Perhaps that same day or maybe a week later when in that area. But what if corrections were written? Now the scenario played out again. The result is that there could be the most dangerous of all possible situations in existence for at a minimum four days to however many days as it takes.

As the solar phenomena matured the systems grew larger. That resulted in service panel upgrades taking place a lot. The solar companies farmed out the service panels and the solar companies handeled the inspections. The electrical contractors got wind of the way the solar companies left everything open and the electrical contractors adopted the practice as their own.

I fought this practice. I tried to get LA County to ban it. LA County Fire Dept. and CalOSHA were no help. I would refuse to do the inspection. I levied fines which were waived. There has been no attention to this at all. It happens a hundred times each day in Southern California. Some jurisdictions require that everything be open and exposed for the inspection. I am not aware of anyone having been electrocuted… but then why would I.

This picture is a house I passed by on a Saturday while I was yard sailing.



The next pictures are inside a laundry room of a large home that an addition was being added to. The family of five included preteen children. The contractor told me that the panels had not been left open for six months as I suspected. He claimed that he opened them on the day of my inspection for a final. I had not been there previously but there was evidence that the contractor is a damned liar.







And for the record, I did condemn these breakers. I was not sent back for a followup inspection as I was filling in for another inspector.

 

[ICE]

A surprising part of the typical idiocy is that the dead-front is removed and that's bad. But they make it worse by leaving the door wide open as well....that I just don't get.... but rest assured that every picture that I have shown is exactly how it was when I arrived. I did not stage any of it and in many cases the door was also removed.

 

[ICE]

The door on this panel would not close. It was bent and stuck in this position.



I called the solar company to voice my displeasure. The lady that answered the phone assured me that they would never do such a thing.



Sometimes I feel as though the contractors do not respect what inspectors do.

 

[ICE]

One company got creative just for me. I do mean just for me.



Flip it over for the Spanish version.

 

[jar546]

Once the word spreads and it costs reinspection fees, this occurrence will slowly reduce.

• NFPA 70E, 130.7(E) – Exposed energized conductors or circuit parts must be attended by a qualified person or guarded to prevent access by unqualified persons.

Policy:
If an inspector arrives and finds energized equipment with the cover removed and no qualified person present, the inspection will not be performed and will be marked as failed due to unsafe conditions. The contractor must reschedule the inspection with a qualified person on site to open the equipment and remain present until the inspection is complete and the cover is reinstalled.

 

[ICE]

It has been a year since I have done any inspection work. At the end I was employed by a third party outfit as a backup when the regular inspector was out or if the AHJ was falling too far behind. The results were dismal to the point that hammered the contractors. There was not a day that I didn't find a dangerous condition. From panels to AC condenser disconnects, there was bare energized metal. When I mentioned this the contractors said that if an inspector arrives and the covers are not removed the inspector won't wait for them to remove the covers. I thought that was bullshit until I asked around.

It is great that Jeff will fight this habit. One jurisdiction is not enough. IAEI should go after this. Mike Holt should warn against this. I have been tempted to put this story out there in social media. I worry that it would make people too curious for their own good.