Electrical Safety
12 talks
Electricity gives no warning and no second chance. There is no smell, no sound, and no visible difference between a dead conductor and a live one — which is why every talk in this bundle ends up being about proving a state rather than assuming one.
29 CFR 1926 Subpart K is the construction electrical subpart. Ground-fault protection is 1926.404(b)(1), which offers a choice between GFCIs and an assured equipment grounding conductor programme that the rule makes look more equivalent than it is. Lockout and tagging of circuits is 1926.417 — three short paragraphs whose operative text never uses the word "lock". Working near live parts is 1926.416, wiring design and protection 1926.405, and general requirements 1926.402. Power transmission and distribution work has its own subpart, Subpart V. Underground electrical hazards reach excavation work through 1926.651.
Use this bundle for temporary power, tool and cord inspection, panel work, de-energising decisions, and any work near overhead or buried lines. The most-missed rule in the whole bundle is that construction requires de-energising and grounding, not just switching off.
Talks in this bundle
- Battery Charging Station Safety
The 25-foot drenching rule, the explosive mixture OSHA wrote 1926.441 to prevent, and why the lithium-ion packs on your site fall outside it entirely.
- Electrical Fire Prevention
The two overcurrent clauses almost nobody follows, the 1984 edition of the NEC that Subpart K still points to, and the four provisions OSHA kept itself.
- Electrical Safety
OSHA 1926 Subpart K requirements, shock and arc flash hazards, the live-dead-live verification method, and why care is worthless without testing.
- Energized vs De-Energized Work
OSHA's four accepted justifications, the 50-volt threshold everyone quotes without its condition, and why construction's rule is worded differently.
- Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI)
What 29 CFR 1926.404(b)(1) actually requires, the equipment the rule leaves out, the grounding conductor program alternative, and the faults GFCIs miss.
- Grounding & Arc Flash
OSHA's only numerical arc flash rule and why it misses most construction, the permanent-and-continuous grounding path, and the 25-ohm rule reversed.
- Lockout / Tagout (LOTO)
Why 1926.417 never uses the word lock in its requirements, what rendered inoperative actually demands, and why construction has no energy control rule.
- Portable Generator Safety
The ground rod OSHA does not require, the moment a generator becomes a separately derived system, backfeed onto utility lines, and why exhaust kills more.
- Static Electricity Hazards
The difference between bonding and grounding, the only resistance range OSHA puts on static control, and why some things can be neither bonded nor earthed.
- Temporary Power Safety
The one concession OSHA grants temporary wiring, the 90-day limit that is not in the construction standard, and the 12-volt rule for lights in tanks.
- Underground Electrical Hazards
The difference between estimated and exact location, the 24-hour clause that is not permission to dig, and why OSHA refused to name hand digging.
- Working Near Overhead Power Lines
Why one wire has four legal clearances, the 3-foot scaffold distance OSHA had to correct in writing, and why every wire is energized until proven safe.
Frequently asked questions#
Does OSHA require GFCIs on construction sites?
1926.404(b)(1)(i) requires either GFCIs or an assured equipment grounding conductor programme. They are both lawful and they are not equivalent: one is a device that acts in milliseconds, the other is an inspection schedule.
Does 1910.147 lockout/tagout apply to construction?
Construction's provision is 1926.417, which is far thinner. The talk on lockout/tagout covers what "rendered inoperative" actually demands and why good practice runs ahead of the standard here.
Is low voltage safe to work on live?
Not automatically. The under-50-volt exemption carries a condition about increased exposure to burns or arcing that is almost never quoted with it.