Section 408.14003. Selection and use of work practices.

Rule 4003. (1) When work is performed near or on equipment or circuits which are or may be energized, safety-related work practices shall be employed to prevent electric shock or other injuries resulting from either direct or indirect electrical contacts. The specific safety-related work practices shall be consistent with the nature and extent of the associated electrical hazards.

(2)   Live parts to which an employee may be exposed shall be de-energized before the employee works on or near them, unless the employer can demonstrate that de- energizing the parts introduces additional or increased hazards or is infeasible due to equipment design or operational limitations. Live parts that operate at less than 50 volts to ground need not be de-energized if there will be no increased exposure to electrical burns or to explosion due to electric arcs. Examples of increased or additional hazards include the interruption of life-support equipment, the deactivation of emergency alarm systems, the shutdown of hazardous location ventilation equipment, or the removal of illumination for an area. Examples of work that may be performed on or near energized circuit parts because of infeasibility due to equipment design or operational limitations include the testing of electric circuits that can only be performed with the circuit energized and work on circuits that form an integral part of a continuous industrial process that would otherwise need to be completely shut down to permit work on 1 circuit or piece  of equipment. Work on or near de-energized parts is regulated pursuant to the provisions of R 408.14004.

(3)   If the exposed live parts are not de-energized, for example, for reasons of increased or additional hazards or infeasibility, other safety-related work practices shall be used to protect employees who may be exposed to the electrical hazards involved. Such work practices shall protect an employee from direct contact between energized circuit parts and any part of his or her body and from indirect contact through some other conductive object. The work practices that are used shall be suitable for the conditions under which the work is to be performed and for the voltage level of the exposed electric conductors or circuit parts.

Specific work practice requirements are detailed in R 408.14005.

History: 1992 AACS.