When an inspector does not know what they are doing

[jar546]

In the bottom of this meter base you will find the cut in card of another inspector from a third party agency in Pennsylvania.

First of all this was a 120/240 3-phase Delta which means there is a 208 high leg. What you can't see on the orange sticker behind the first phase is a note specifying where the high leg goes.

Not only did the contractor wire it wrong but they also used the wrong color tape because they did not even know what the voltage was for the 3 phase service that they were replacing. Amazing!

I was alerted by the POCO whose technician found this problem in my jurisdiction at the time. Apparently the contractor decided not to pull a permit and got another inspector to come in so he could get a cut in card to the POCO without me knowing.

 

[jar546]

So, this was posted over 2 months ago without a single response. That is OK. What is there to say anyway? As inspectors we make mistakes just like contractors make mistakes. We are human and can overlook some small items every now and then, BUT, this is a major screw up and should have never happened. There are 2 major issues here starting with not even knowing what voltage the system was, missing the major clue on the meter can telling you it had a high leg therefore not even understanding that this was a center-tapped Delta 120/240 with a 208 high leg. The tape is wrong as described and the connection points are wrong, even with a note on it. This is an embarrassment to the inspection community. I still believe that unless you have formal education in electrical construction and/or significant experience with competency based credentials as an electrician, you should not be inspecting electrical. The implications can be much worse than missing a sanitary tee on its back that is not a vent.