(a) General.
(1) Prior to use on each shift, visual
inspections and operational checks shall be made of equipment to determine that
it is in safe operating condition.
(2) Truck warning devices shall comply with
the provisions of Section
3706, General Industry Safety
Orders, Title 8, California Code of Regulations.
(3) Hydraulic fluids used for the insulated
sections of derrick trucks, aerial lifts, and hydraulic tools which are used on
or near energized conductors or equipment shall provide insulation for the
voltage involved.
(b)
Aerial Lifts.
(1) Except as otherwise
required or permitted by these orders, personnel aerial lift equipment used in
the construction, operation or maintenance of electric power supply systems
shall comply with the requirements of the General Industry Safety Orders, Title
8, California Code of Regulations, Article 24, Elevating Work Platforms and
Aerial Devices.
(2)
(A) When working near energized lines or
equipment, aerial lift trucks shall be grounded or barricaded and considered as
energized equipment, or the aerial lift truck boom shall be insulated for the
voltage being worked on.
(B) Aerial
lifts/digger derricks used for rubber gloving high voltage conductors and
equipment energized over 7,500 volts shall have both upper and lower horizontal
and vertical positioning controls. Both sets of controls shall be operational
when high voltage work is being done.
(C) A minimum distance that must be extended
shall be marked on the insulated portion of the boom on digger derrick vehicles
to meet the dielectric capabilities required for the voltages involved. The
minimum distance that shall be maintained is three (3) feet.
(D) When performing work on voltages above
7,500 volts, buckets of aerial lifts/digger derricks shall have insulating
bucket liners with a liner bottom protector installed.
(E) Effective Feb. 23, 1998, insulating booms
of aerial lifts/digger derricks used for work on energized high voltage
conductors and equipment shall have a periodic dielectric test performed every
12 months in accordance with paragraph 5.4.3.2 of American National Standard
Institute (ANSI) Standard A92.2 (1990), Vehicle-Mounted Elevating and Rotating
Aerial Devices, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
(F) Effective Feb. 23, 1998, insulated bucket
liners used for work on energized high voltage conductors and equipment shall
have a periodic dielectric test performed every 12 months in accordance with
paragraph 5.4.3.5 of American National Standard Institute (ANSI) Standard A92.2
(1990), Vehicle-Mounted Elevating and Rotating Aerial Devices, which is hereby
incorporated by reference.
NOTE: Newly purchased and placed in service aerial
lifts/digger derricks labeled or certified by the manufacturer as meeting the
requirements of ANSI 92.2 (1990) are exempt from field testing for one
year.
(3)
Equipment or material shall not be passed between a pole or structure and an
aerial lift while an employee working from the aerial lift is within reaching
distance of energized conductors or equipment that are not covered with
insulating protective equipment.
(4)
(A)
Employees in aerial lift equipment shall be secured to the lift equipment when
in an elevated position by a lanyard attached to a safety belt, body belt or
body harness.
(B) Safety belts/body
belts are prohibited for use in personal fall arrest systems, but may be used
as part of a fall restraint or positioning device system.
(C) Safety belts/body belts used as part of a
positioning device system shall be rigged such that an employee cannot free
fall more than 2 feet.
(D) A body
harness may be used in a personal fall restraint, positioning or fall arrest
system. When a body harness is used in a fall arrest system, the lanyard shall
be rigged with a deceleration device to limit maximum arresting force on an
employee to 1,800 pounds and prevent the employee from hitting any levels or
objects below the basket or platform, and shall limit free fall to a maximum of
6 feet.
(5)
(A) Climbing on the edge of a basket or work
platform railing of aerial lift equipment or using planks across a basket or
work platform railing for added height shall be prohibited. Except in an
emergency involving immediate hazard to life, no employee shall be permitted to
climb in or out of a basket or work platform with railings, unless it is in the
cradle position; at ground level; or is equipped with a self-closing gate so
designed and constructed that it will not open outwardly nor
inadvertently.
(B) When an employee
is elevated in aerial lift equipment without full controls at the upper level,
there shall be an employee in the immediate vicinity of the lower level
controls which must be "readily accessible" to that
employee.
(6) Clearances.
Metal booms, metal baskets, or metal platforms of personnel aerial lift
equipment operated in accordance with Section
2949 shall not be brought closer
than the distances specified in Section
2940.2 to any exposed energized
conductors or equipment.
EXCEPTION: The insulated portion of an aerial lift
operated by a qualified employee in the lift is exempt from this requirement if
the applicable minimum approach distance is maintained between the uninsulated
portions of the aerial lift and exposed objects having a different electrical
potential.
(7) Visual
Inspection. A visual inspection of personnel aerial lift equipment for defects
and safe operating conditions shall be made daily, prior to use. Insulated
sections of the boom shall be maintained in a clean condition.
(8) Shop Inspection. A shop inspection of
personnel aerial lift equipment shall be made at such intervals as may be
reasonably necessary to maintain the equipment in a safe operating condition.
Inspection information shall be recorded by the owner of the
equipment.
(9) Warning Lights.
Approved-type flashing amber warning lights shall be installed and used on
vehicles having personnel aerial lift equipment in use on a highway or when
moving at a speed slower than the normal flow of traffic.
(10) Operating Controls. Articulating boom
and extensible boom platforms, primarily designed as personnel carriers, shall
have both platform (upper) and lower controls. Upper controls shall be in or
beside the platform within easy reach of the operator. Lower controls shall
provide for over-riding the upper controls. Controls shall be plainly marked as
to their function. Lower level controls shall not be operated unless permission
has been obtained from the employee in the lift, except in case of
emergency.
(11) Stop Mechanism.
Personnel aerial lift equipment shall be equipped with a stop mechanism readily
available to the employee at the work platform in addition to controls at the
truck level.
(12) Aerial lift
equipment shall be operated to check each of its functions prior to each day's
use. Only equipment in proper operating condition shall be
used.
(c) Derrick Trucks,
Cranes and Other Lifting Equipment.
(1)
Derrick trucks, cranes and other lifting equipment shall comply with Articles
91 through 101 of the General Industry Safety Orders except:
(A) Section
2946, which contains provisions to
prevent accidents due to overhead high voltage lines.
(B) Section
2940.2, which prescribes minimum
approach distances for qualified electrical workers performing work.
(C) Derrick trucks (electric line trucks)
shall not be required to comply with ANSI B30.5 and B30.6 as referenced in
Section
4884, General Industry Safety
Orders, Title 8, California Code of Regulations.
(2) For work to be performed by qualified
electrical workers, a designated qualified employee other than the equipment
operator shall observe the approach distance to exposed lines and equipment and
provide timely warnings before the minimum approach distance required by
Section
2940.2 is reached, unless the
employer can demonstrate that the operator can accurately determine that the
minimum approach distance is being maintained.
(3) Each employee shall be protected from
hazards that could arise from mechanical equipment contact with energized lines
or equipment. The measures used shall ensure that employees will not be exposed
to hazardous differences in electric potential. Unless the employer can
demonstrate that the methods in use protect each employee from the hazards that
could arise if the mechanical equipment contacts the energized line or
equipment, the measures used shall include all of the following techniques:
(A) Using the best available ground to
minimize the time the lines or electric equipment remain energized,
(B) Bonding mechanical equipment together to
minimize potential differences,
(C)
Providing ground mats to extend areas of equipotential, and
(D) Employing insulating protective equipment
or barricades to guard against any remaining hazardous electrical potential
differences.
NOTE to subsection (c)(3): Appendix E to this section
contains information on hazardous step and touch potentials and on methods of
protecting employees from hazards resulting from such
potentials.
(4)
With the exception of equipment certified for work on the proper voltage,
mechanical equipment shall not be operated closer to any energized conductor or
exposed energized parts of equipment than the clearances set forth in Section
2940.2 unless, in addition to the
requirements of Section
1612.3:
(A) an insulated barrier is installed between
the energized part and the mechanical equipment, or
(B) the mechanical equipment is
insulated.
(5) When
setting, moving, or removing poles using cranes, derricks, gin poles, A-frames,
or other mechanized equipment near energized conductors or equipment,
precautions shall be taken to avoid contact with energized conductors or
exposed energized parts of equipment except where barriers or protective
devices are used.
(6) When a pole
is set, moved, or removed near an exposed energized overhead conductor, the
employer shall ensure that each employee wears electrical protective equipment
or uses insulated devices when handling the pole and that no employee contacts
the pole with uninsulated parts of his or her body.
(d) Hoisting Devices.
(1) A crane, boom, derrick, hoist, or winch
shall not be loaded beyond the rated capacity or safe working load, whichever
is smaller.
(A) Except as provided in (B)
below, such devices shall not be left unattended while a load is suspended,
unless the load is suspended over water, a barricaded area, or is blocked up or
otherwise supported from below during repairs or emergency.
(B) While energized conductors are supported
or suspended with an umbrella arm, auxiliary hot arm, or similar devices, and
employees are working in an elevated position where the conductor movement
could present a hazard to them, there shall be an employee at ground level at
the pole or structure where the conductors are supported. The boom operating
controls shall be readily accessible to such employee.
(2) During construction, operation or
maintenance of power transmission and distribution systems, employees operating
equipment such as cranes, booms, or derricks, shall not be permitted to stand
on a grounded surface, other than the equipment itself, when such equipment is
operated within 6 feet of exposed energized high voltage conductors or
equipment. During movement of such cranes, booms, or derricks, employees on the
ground shall be required to stay clear of the equipment.
(e) Hoisting Cables.
(1) Chains, wire ropes, and fiber ropes used
for hoisting purposes shall be of sufficient strength to safely lift or
otherwise handle the loads. The maximum allowable working loads shall be based
on manufacturer's specifications.
(2) During construction, operation, or
maintenance of power transmission and distribution systems, wire rope or
chains, except slings, shall not be used to raise or lower transformers, poles
or any other material within 6 feet of exposed energized high voltage
conductors or equipment.
EXCEPTION: No. 1: When the cable is rigged below
exposed energized conductors or equipment a sufficient distance (not less than
specified in Section
2940.2(b) Table
2940.2) to prevent the possibility of electrical contact between such
conductors or equipment and the cable or conductive material being raised or
lowered.
EXCEPTION: No. 2: When the cable and any conductive
material being raised or lowered are protected by insulating covering placed on
such energized conductors or equipment.