Work practices continue to evolve and become safer. Many tasks that used to be considered routine and normal years ago are now rarely permitted. I look back to my own 35 year career and what was considered normal "back in the day" would now be considered dangerous and even potentially deadly.
This week begins a series of questions regarding work with and WITHOUT PPE. PPE implies properly rated clothing and protective equipment.

During your career, have you ever inserted/removed an MCC bucket while:

Energized WITHOUT PPE
Energized WITH PPE
Using remote device
De- energized/electrically safe
I have never done that type of work

(you can select more than one answer)

As an engineer, I am not the one generally installing or removing equipment, however; prior to 2004 everyone was inserting and removing MCC buckets without PPE. Even though arc flash PPE was not known then, that particular job seemed to earn a bit of reverence and was taken seriously.

What seems surprising in hindsight was the casual treatment of 480V lighting panels. It seemed routine to pop the lids off to verify wiring, and never a thought was given to the potential bomb within. I remember when battery operated drills became popular and I could as-built a large facility in half a day using a nut driver or screwdriver bit: no PPE.

In 1979, as a recent EE grad, I started working as a field service engineer for a national electrical equipment company. during the first year I was assigned to work with a more experienced engineer for about 2 months. one particular day we set up to change out a "fixed" metal clad 480 volt, 600 amp circuit breaker "hot". One of the socket wrench's was all black and scorched, which I found out later was from an arc on an earlier job. After we very carefully removed the breaker from the "hot" circuit ( using a few blankets and one set of gloves last tested in 1975), I was talking with the plant operator, who informed me they were shutting down operations next month for 2 weeks and we could of done the work with the power off then. This was standard procedure in the 1980's. Compared to this Draw out breakers with no PPE was a piece of cake. I am very glad we have, as an industry, learned so much about arc flash and hopefully have a healthy regard for the dangers today.

I have inserted and removed starters in the past without any PPE (in short sleeve shirt with no gloves.) Doing the same action now would probably require an EEWP, full 40 cal/cm2 suit, etc.