Professional Documents
Culture Documents
by Thomas A. Domitrovich
worker and complements the efforts of NFPA 70E. help in the understanding of this important relation-
Let’s explore this a little further to understand how ship between the NEC and NFPA 70E. I have elected
these documents complement each other. to break this discussion into the following categories:
Photo 2. Labels: Labels are important for safety and very informative for those who service equipment. Ensuring
equipment is labeled appropriately also helps when trying to correlate such documents as one-lines and short circuit
studies to the equipment. Labeling is essential for safety.
Photo 3. Lockout/Tagout: Equipment like circuit breakers can be equipped with hardware that stays with the
breaker, ready to receive locks to meet lockout/tagout requirements from NFPA 70E, the main reference for safe work
practices.
In addition to the what and how, the NEC also through the requirement for a label with the follow-
addresses all of the wheres when it comes to this ing language “WARNING — LOAD SIDE TERMI-
topic: from arc-flash hazard warning labels on gear NALS MAY BE ENERGIZED BY BACKFEED”.
(Section 110.16 Arc-Flash Hazard Warning) to
cable tray labels (230.44 Cable Trays) and the cables Make It Safe
themselves [210.5(C) Identification of Ungrounded As with any electrical project, ensuring a safe work
Conductors]. The sections I provide here are merely condition is essential; working de-energized should
examples as there are many more throughout the be priority one. The NEC includes important provi-
NEC on labels and markings. The labels and mark- sions to help you increase safety on the job site
ings are there to raise awareness and to ensure that through requirements for disconnecting means to be
you are working with the correct equipment. Haz- made available when needed, as well as to help en-
ards that you may not be aware of are brought to sure all conductors are de-energized when the circuit
light as demonstrated in Section 404.6, Position and is turned off. The NEC caps off the installation with
Connection of Switches, where the awareness that provisions around illumination.
load-side terminals may be energized is brought forth Disconnecting means are peppered throughout