511 EM 385-1-1 Chapters 9-15

Sections

11-7. Minimum Plan Requirements.

Electrical Safety Plan (ESP) Overview

Develop an ESP according to NFPA 70E and additional requirements for power generation and distribution, using UFC 3-560-01 as a resource.
Include Roles and Responsibilities, Training, Emergency Response, Hazard Awareness, Job Safety Planning, Principles, Controls, Procedures, Risk Assessment, Inspection, Maintenance, Incident Investigation, Auditing, and specific protocols for Lithium Containing Batteries.

Roles and Responsibilities

Identify Qualified Persons (QPs) and outline their responsibilities and qualifications.

Training

Include mandatory training for both qualified and unqualified persons, document training sources, and maintain training completion records.

Emergency Response

Develop a rescue plan for work involving electrical hazards and provide annual refresher training on safe release methods.

Assured Equipment Grounding Conductor Program (AEGCP) Overview

Develop AEGCP according to 29 CFR 1926.404, ensuring it's approved by the relevant authorities and available upon request.

AEGCP Components

Identify conditions for exemption and establish written procedures for equipment inspections, tests, and schedules.

Equipment Inspection and Testing

Conduct visual inspections, remove defective equipment, and perform continuity and terminal connection tests at specified intervals.

Documentation and Enforcement

Document all inspections and tests, detailing equipment that passed, the date, and the inspector. Designate competent persons to enforce the AEGCP.

Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.

11-8. The Electrical Safety Plan (ESP) should include specific protocols for _____.

lithium containing batteries

roles and responsibilities

maintenance and incident Investigation

job safety planning

You forgot to answer the question!

EM 385-1-1 Paragraph 11-7.

11-7. Minimum Plan Requirements.

a.  An Electrical Safety Plan (ESP) is required when personnel perform work that involves exposure to electrical hazards.  The ESP must be developed according to NFPA 70E and when work involves exposure to electrical hazards associated with electric power generation, transformation, transmission, and/or distribution lines and equipment, additional requirements according to 29 CFR 1926.950, 29 CFP 1910.269, and the NESC.  UFC 3-560-01 was developed for the DoD and can be used as a resource when developing a new safety plan.  The plan must include the following:

(1)  Roles and Responsibilities.  Identify QPs while outlining their responsibilities and providing qualifications.

(2)  Training. The ESP must include training for qualified and unqualified persons meeting the requirements of paragraph 11-3.  The ESP must document the contract employer’s sources for the required training and outline course content.  Training completion documentation must be kept as part of the ESP.

(3)  Emergency Response.  Develop rescue plan for work that involves exposure to electrical hazards. Also, in addition to first aid and resuscitation requirements identified in chapter 3 and paragraph 11-3.d, train employees exposed to shock hazards and first responders in methods of safe release.  Provide and document annual refresher training on the release methods.

(4)  Hazard Awareness.  The ESP must educate and provide an awareness of the hazards employees are exposed to while performing electrical work.  These may include, but are not limited to, shock and arc flash.  The contract employer must identify any hazards they anticipate encountering while performing their work.

(5)  Job Safety Planning.  Prior to the performance of any work, the contract employer must develop an AHA and conduct a briefing with the employees performing the work. An AHA must be developed according to the requirements of paragraphs 1-6 and 2-6 for all activities, tasks, or DFOW identified for each major phase of work.  AHAs for electrical work must include the additional requirements identified in paragraph 11-6. The AHA must address an EEWP if required.  The requirements for the EEWP are documented in paragraph 11-8.e(4).

(6)  Principles.  The ESP must include the various principles comprising the program. Address all the principles included in Annex E of NFPA 70E, such as: inspecting and evaluating electrical equipment, identifying electrical hazard, and protecting employees from shock, burn, blast, and other hazards due to the working environment. Include additional principles, as appropriate.

(7)  Controls.  The ESP must include controls that will be implemented to ensure safety. Annex E of NFPA 70E provides a list of controls.  Examples from the annex include:

(a)  The employer develops programs and procedures, including training, and ensuring the employees apply them.

(b)  Employees are to be trained to be qualified for working in an environment influenced by the presence of electrical energy.

(c)  Procedures are to be used to identify the electrical hazards and to develop job safety plans to eliminate those hazards or to control the associated risk for those hazards that cannot be eliminated.

(d)  Every electrical conductor or circuit part is considered energized until the absence of voltage is verified (see para 11-8.d).

(e)  Precautions appropriate to the working environment are to be determined and taken.

(8)  Procedures.  The ESP must detail procedures used by employees exposed to electrical hazards prior to starting work.  Annex E of NFPA 70E provides a list to include qualifications and number of employees to be involved, identification of hazards and assessment of risks of the task, safe work practices to be used, and PPE involved.

(a)  Operations Adjacent to Overhead Lines.  Standard emergency communication procedures must be established and rehearsed to assure rapid emergency shutdown for all work being conducted on overhead power lines.  (See para 11-8.s)

(b)  Power Transmission and Distribution.  See paragraph 11-8.q for additional information.

(9)  Risk Assessment Procedures.  When working with electricity, employees must attain the knowledge to be able to identify the hazards, assess the risk presented by the hazard, and implement controls.  The program must educate employees on the following Hierarchy of Control Methods:

(a)  Elimination.

(b)  Substitution.

(d)  Awareness.

(e)  Administrative Controls.

(f)  PPE.

(10)  Inspection.  The ESP must address the inspection of new or modified equipment to verify it has been installed per applicable codes and standards before being energized.

(11)  Condition of Maintenance.  An employee must be able to assess the maintenance condition of existing equipment as it may affect the risk of hazard exposure.  The ESP must include elements that employees must consider when assessing the condition and determining risk.

(12)  Incident Investigation.  The ESP must show how the contract employer will identify, investigate, and document incidents.  Incidents include “close calls” or “near misses” that do not result in a fatality, injury, damage to health, or damage to equipment.

(13)  Auditing. The ESP must be audited to ensure its requirements protect employees and that personnel are following and supporting the program.  Program audits must be performed at least every three years.  The contract employer must perform annual “field work” audits to verify employee participation in the program. Revise the procedures or training program if audits determine that personnel are not following the program requirements.

(14)  Lithium Containing Batteries.  The ESP must contain specific paragraph covering lithium-based batteries used or stored on the work site.  This paragraph of the ESP requires specific approval by the AHJ who may require limited group storage or charging rules based on the location; quantity, size, and type of batteries being stored or other unique conditions to the site (see chapter 9).  The ESP must contain at a minimum the following:

(a)  Inventory all types of primary and secondary lithium-based batteries at each site to include quantity, storage, and charging location, fire prevention methods at each location, hazard labeling, and intended use.  The location map must be submitted to the USACE supervisor/KO or COR for transfer to fire protection officials at the site.

(b)  A lithium-based battery hazard analysis for storage and charging locations.

(c)  Required training for employees for use, handling, inspection, storage, transport, and charging of the types of lithium-based batteries at each site (see para 11-3.e).

(d)  Be based on industry standards, manufacturer’s recommendations, NFPA fire protection standards for building storage and charging location regulations, and NRTL Standards for storage and/or charging containers.

b.  Assured Equipment Grounding Conductor Program (AEGCP).  When an AEGCP is used in place of GFCIs for ground-fault protection, the AEGCP must be developed according to 29 CFR 1926.404 (29 CFR 1926 Subpart K) requirements.  The AEGCP must be submitted and approved by the USACE supervisor or accepted by the KO or COR and made available upon request by any affected persons (see para 11-8.l.(9)(h)).  The AECGP must consist of the following:

(1)  Identification of the conditions or need for the exemption.

(2)  Written procedures for equipment inspections, tests, and test schedule.

(a)  Visual Inspections.  Visually inspect all cord sets, attachment caps, plugs and receptacles, and any equipment connected by cord and plug before each day's use for external damage and for indication of possible internal damage (for example, deformed or missing pins, damaged insulation).  Ensure flexible cords are being inspected and those arriving onsite between tests are identified and tested.

(b)  Removing Equipment.  Equipment found to be damaged or defective or which fails any of the prescribed inspections or tests must be removed from service until repaired or replaced.

(c-1)  Before first use.

(c-2)  Before placing back in service following any repairs.

(c-3)  Before equipment is used after any incident that can be reasonably suspected to have caused damage (for example, when a cord set is run over).

(c-4)  At intervals not to exceed three months, except that cord sets and receptacles that are fixed and not exposed to damage must be tested at intervals not to exceed six months.

Note. A continuity test ensures that the equipment grounding conductor is electrically continuous. A terminal connection test ensures that the equipment grounding conductor is connected to its proper terminal at receptacles and cord plugs.  (See 29 CFR
    1926.404)

(3)  Documentation of results for all cord sets, receptacles that are not part of the permanently wiring of a building or structure, and cord sets and equipment connected by cord and plug used on construction sites.  All inspections and tests must be documented to identify all equipment that passed the inspection or test, the date of the inspection or test, and the individual responsible for the inspection.

(4)  Designation of one or more CPs (see chapters 1 and 2) to implement and enforce the AEGCP at each site it is implemented.