Section 408.40660. In-service care and use of electrical protective equipment.

(1) Electrical protective equipment shall be maintained in a safe, reliable condition.

(2)   The following requirements apply to rubber insulating blankets, rubber insulating covers, rubber insulating line hose, rubber insulating gloves, and rubber insulating sleeves.

(3)   Maximum use voltages shall conform to those listed in Table D.

(4)    Insulating equipment shall be inspected for damage before each day’s use and immediately following any incident that can reasonably be suspected of causing damage. Insulating gloves shall be given an air test, along with the inspection.

Note to subrule (4): ASTM F-1236 “Standard Guide for Visual Inspection of Electrical Protective Rubber Products,” 1996 Edition with 2012 supplement, as adopted in R 408.40603, presents methods and techniques for the visual inspection of electrical protective equipment made of rubber. This guide also contains descriptions and photographs of irregularities that can be found in this equipment.

(5)   Insulating equipment with any of the following defects shall not be used.

(a)   A hole, tear, puncture, or cut.

(b)   Ozone cutting or ozone checking, that is a series of interlacing cracks produced by ozone on rubber under mechanical stress.

(c)   An embedded foreign object.

(d)  Any of the following texture changes:

(i)   Swelling.

(ii)   Softening.

(iii)   Hardening.

(iv)   Becoming sticky or inelastic.

(v)   Any other defect that damages the insulating properties.

(6)   Insulating equipment found to have other defects that might affect its insulating properties shall be removed from service and returned for testing under subrules (10) and

(11)   of this rule.

(7)   Insulating equipment shall be cleaned as needed to remove foreign substances.

(8)   Insulating equipment shall be stored in a location and in a manner as to protect it from all of the following:

(a)   Light.

(b)   Temperature extremes.

(c)   Excessive humidity.

(d)  Ozone.

(e)   Other damaging substances and conditions.

(9)   Protector gloves shall be worn over insulating gloves, except under the following conditions:

(a)      Protector gloves need not be used with class 0 gloves, under limited-use conditions, when small equipment and parts manipulation necessitate unusually high finger dexterity.

Note to subrule (9)(a): Persons inspecting rubber insulating gloves used under these conditions shall take extra care in visually examining them. Employees using rubber insulating gloves under these conditions shall take extra care to avoid handling sharp objects.

(b)   If the voltage does not exceed 250 volts, ac, or 375 volts, direct current , protector gloves shall not be used with class 00 gloves, under limited-use conditions, when small equipment and parts manipulation necessitate unusually high finger dexterity.

Note to subrule (9)(b): Persons inspecting rubber insulating gloves used under these conditions shall take extra care in visually examining them. Employees using rubber insulating gloves under these conditions need to take extra care to avoid handling sharp objects.

(c)   Any other class of glove may be used without protector gloves, under limited-use conditions, when small equipment and parts manipulation necessitate unusually high finger dexterity but only if the employer can demonstrate that the possibility of physical damage to the gloves is small and if the class of glove is 1 class higher than that required for the voltage involved.

(d)  Insulating gloves that have been used without protector gloves shall not be reused until they have been tested under the provisions of this rule.

(10)    Electrical protective equipment shall be subjected to periodic electrical tests. Test voltages and the maximum intervals between tests shall be pursuant to Table D and Table E.

(11)   The test method used in this subrule shall reliably indicate whether the insulating equipment can withstand the voltages involved.

Note to subrule (11): The standard electrical test methods considered as meeting this requirement are listed in Table 5.

(12)    Insulating equipment failing to pass inspections or electrical tests shall not be used by employees, except as follows:

(a)    Rubber insulating line hose may be used in shorter lengths with the defective portion cut off.

(b)   Rubber insulating blankets may be salvaged by severing the defective area from the undamaged portion of the blanket. The resulting undamaged area shall not be smaller than 560 millimeters by 560 millimeters (22 inches by 22 inches) for class 1, 2, 3, and 4 blankets.

(c)   Rubber insulating blankets may be repaired using a compatible patch that results in physical and electrical properties equal to those of the blanket.

(d)   Rubber insulating gloves and sleeves with minor physical defects, such as small cuts, tears, or punctures, may be repaired by the application of a compatible patch. Also, rubber insulating gloves and sleeves with minor surface blemishes may be repaired with a compatible liquid compound. The repaired area shall have electrical and physical properties equal to those of the surrounding material. Repairs to gloves shall be permitted only in the area between the wrist and the reinforced edge of the opening.

(13)     Repaired insulating equipment shall be retested before it may be used by employees.

(14)     The employer shall certify that equipment has been tested pursuant to the requirements of this rule. The certification shall identify the equipment that passed the test and the date it was tested and shall be made available upon request to the department of licensing and regulatory affairs director and to MIOSHA employees or their authorized representatives.

Note to subrule (14): Marking equipment with, and entering onto logs, the results of the tests and the dates of testing are acceptable means of meeting the certification requirement.

TABLE 5

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF TESTING MATERIALS STANDARDS

STANDARD TITLE	ASTM NUMBER	EDITION	SUPPLEMENT
Standard Specification for Rubber Insulating Gloves	D-120	2009	-
Standard Specification for Rubber Insulating Matting	D-178	2001	2010
Standard Specification for Rubber Insulating Blankets	D-1048	2012
Standard Specification for Rubber Insulating Covers	D-1049	1998	2010
Standard Specification for Rubber Insulating Line Hose	D-1050	2005	2011
Standard Specification for Rubber Insulating Sleeves	D-1051	2008	-
Standard Specification for In-Service Care of Insulating Line Hose and Covers	F-478	2009	-
Standard Specification for In-Service Care of Insulating Blankets	F-479	2006	2011
Standard Specification for In- Service Care of Insulating Gloves And Sleeves	F-496	2008	-

TABLE A

ALTERNATING CURRENT PROOF-TEST REQUIREMENTS

CLASS OF EQUIPMENT	PROOF-TEST VOLTAGE RMS V	Maximum Proof-Test Current, mA (Globes Only)
		280-mm (11 in.) Glove	360-mm (14 in.) Glove	410-mm (16 in.) Glove	460-mm (18 in.) Glove
00	2,500	8	12	-	-
0	5,000	8	12	14	16
1	10,000	-	14	16	18
2	20,000	-	16	18	20
3	30,000	-	18	20	22
4	40,000	-	-	22	24

TABLE B

DIRECT CURRENT PROOF-TEST REQUIREMENTS

CLASS OF EQUIPMENT	PROOF-TEST VOLTAGE
00	10,000
0	20,000
1	40,000
2	50,000
3	60,000
4	70,000

NOTE: The dc voltages listed in this table are not appropriate for proof testing rubber insulating line hose or covers. For this equipment, dc proof tests shall use a voltage high enough to indicate that the equipment can be safely used at the voltages listed in Table D.

See ASTM D-1050 “Standard Specification for Rubber Insulating Line Hose,” 2005 edition with 2011 supplement and ASTM D-1049 “Standard Specification for Rubber Insulating Covers,” 1998 edition with 2010 supplement, as adopted in R 408.40603, for further information on proof tests for rubber insulating line hose and covers, respectively.

GLOVE TESTS – WATER LEVEL1, 2

CLASS OF GLOVE	ALTERNATING CURRENT PROOF TEST		DIRECT CURRENT PROOF TEST
	mm	in	mm	in
00	38	1.5	38	1.5
0	38	1.5	38	1.5
1	38	1.5	51	2.0
2	64	2.5	76	3.0
3	89	3.5	102	4.0
4	127	5.0	153	6.0

1 The water level is given as the clearance from the reinforced edge of the glove to the water line, with a tolerance of ±13 mm. (±0.5 in.).

2  If atmospheric conditions make the specified clearances impractical, the clearances may be increased by a maximum of 25 mm. (1 in.).

RUBBER INSULATING EQUIPMENT, VOLTAGE REQUIREMENTS

CLASS OF EQUIPMENT	MAXIMUM USE VOLTAGE1 ALTERNATING CURRENT RMS	RETEST VOLTAGE2 ALTERNATING CURRENT RMS	RETEST VOLTAGE2 DIRECT CURRENT AVG
00	500	2,500	10.000
0	1,000	5,000	20,000
1	7,500	10,000	40,000
2	17,000	20,000	50,000
3	26,500	30,000	60,000
4	36,000	40,000	70,000

1 The maximum use voltage is the ac voltage (rms) classification of the protective equipment that designates the maximum nominal design voltage of the energized system that may be safely worked. The nominal design voltage is equal to the phase-to- phase voltage on multiphase circuits. However, the phase-to-ground potential is considered to be the nominal design voltage if either of the following occur:

(1)   There is no multiphase exposure in a system area and the voltage exposure is limited to the phase-to-ground potential.

(2)   The electric equipment and devices are insulated or isolated or both so that the multiphase exposure on a grounded wye circuit is removed.

2 The proof-test voltage shall be applied continuously for at least 1 minute, but no more than 3 minutes.

TABLE E

RUBBER INSULATING EQUIPMENT TEST INTERVALS

TYPE OF EQUIPMENT	WHEN TO TEST
Rubber insulating line hose	Upon indication that insulating value is suspect and after repair.
Rubber insulating covers	Upon indication that insulating value is suspect and after repair.
Rubber insulating blankets	Before first issue and every 12 months thereafter;1  upon indication that insulating value is suspect; and after repair
Rubber insulating gloves	Before first issue and every 6 months thereafter;1 upon indication that insulating value is suspect; after repair; and after use without protectors
Rubber insulating sleeves	Before first issue and every 12 months     thereafter;1  upon indication that insulating value is suspect; and after repair

1 If the insulating equipment has been electrically tested but not issued for service, the insulating equipment may not be placed into service unless it has been electrically tested within the previous 12 months.

History: 2015 AACS.