amohammed wrote:
Being cognizant of the hazards and making good judgement calls based on the available information will serve better in mitigating arc flash incidents.
You’re right. I could write a book on this matter. I had the same opinion for a long time. But I came to a realization on the methods some plants hire maintenance workers. Many industrial plants have multi-trade workers of limited electrical knowledge. This helps the company reduce maintenance overhead. Thus the problem. I have seen some plants hire maintenance workers based on he/she rebuilt a car engine once and did some electrical work with his cousin once. Ok, he/she is hired. The worker is asked to see why motor A is not running. Boom the worker is ignited by stupidity. Several people are to blame including the worker. Therefore, the government (OSHA) has to step in. Protecting people and develop rules and standards to be sure everyone is compliant to work safely from the employer to the worker. We make bad decisions, human error and mistakes no matter who we are. But the odds are stacked against a worker with limited electrical knowledge this I agree very much with you.
IMO, it is those having the knowledge should protect those that do not. I agree with your original statement. But many employers look at the bottom line (cheap labor) and workers looking for a jobs makes for an explosive environment. I wonder now days when cost cutting is at its worse, electrical safety in the American work force may be a lower priority, more then ever. What makes matters worse is that other countries have no NFPA 70E or OSHA and the end product sells for less because they do not have to pay for skilled labor or adhere to any regulations other then who to payoff. Today, I see a lot of companies saying NFPA 70E is not an OSHA regulation. So we will keep going the way we are because all this electrical safety stuff adds no value to our product. You get the point.
Sorry for the standing on my soapbox.
IMO, the method you use if multi labels load/line side or panel verses sub-panels is user dependant, as I have not seen any specific regulations saying either way. Mostly you’ll find professionals knowledgeable in the area with their standards. Speaking for myself, if I did use the load/line or multi-labels per panel I would be certain all qualified workers received specific training in understanding the label, demonstrated safe work practices and signed a document relating that the worker understands the specific labeling technique and knows how to mitigate the hazard in such cases.