How often do you visit a construction site and see electrical tape on extension cords?  The question always comes up: “Is it an OSHA violation?”  Recently OSHA issued two new letters on April 4, 2010 http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=INTERPRETATIONS&p_id=27353 and April 12, 2010 http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=INTERPRETATIONS&p_id=27356  Both of these letters state that the cord in question can be repaired as long as it is repaired back to its original “approved” state. 

However, one must understand what is the original “approved” state?  According to OSHA, the definition for “approved” (29 CFR1926.449) is:
“Acceptable to the authority enforcing this subpart.  The authority enforcing this subpart is the Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Occupational Safety and Health.”

Under this same section of the standard, the term “Acceptable” is defined as:
(a) If it is accepted, or certified, or listed, or labeled, or otherwise determined to be safe by a qualified testing laboratory capable of determining the suitability of materials and equipment for installation and use in accordance with this standard; or
(b) With respect to an installation or equipment of a kind which no qualified testing laboratory accepts, certifies, list. Labels or determines to be safe, if it is inspected or tested by another Federal agency, or by a State, municipal, or other local authority responsible for enforcing occupational safety provisions of the National Electrical Codes, and found in compliance with those provisions; or
(c) With respect to custom-made equipment or related installations which are designed, fabricated for, and intended for use by a particular customer, if it is determined to be safe for its intended use by its manufacturer on the basis of test data which the employer keeps and keeps available for inspection to the Assistant Secretary and his authorized representatives.

Cords are approved as a complete whole factory item based on their design, capacity, materials, and construction. The use of electrical tape changes the design, capacity, materials, and construction; therefore, to be approved it must be sent out to a qualified testing laboratory to ensure that it still meets the requirements as it was designed to be an “Approved” Cord.

So, in short, hold the electrical tape and go buy a new drop cord.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 27th, 2010 at 7:04 am and is filed under OSHA Interpretations, Electrical. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.