GFCI outlets and bad cords
Electrical 5 min 29 CFR 1926.404
Why it matters
A temporary outlet on a construction site is protected by a GFCI or by the site's assured equipment grounding conductor program. Plug into the GFCI, test it, and do not bypass it. A cord with a cut jacket, a missing ground pin, or a tape repair does not belong in the work.
The talk
Temporary power is a spider box in the mud by the footing. A cord runs from it across a puddle, through a doorway, and up the stairs to a saw. The door swings on that cord every time someone comes through with material. The jacket is cut where a pallet dragged it. Someone wrapped the cut in tape and kept going. The ground pin is snapped off so the plug will fit an old adapter. The GFCI on the box is held down because it tripped this morning and slowed the cut. Another cord has no GFCI in sight, and a worker is about to call that cord illegal. This site may be on its grounding program. You still do not use a wrecked cord.
Temporary receptacle outlets on a construction site are protected by a GFCI or by the site's assured equipment grounding conductor program. Both are real options. Do not say the rule bans every cord that lacks a GFCI when the site uses the grounding program. For the crew, the habit is still plain. Plug into the GFCI, test it, and do not bypass it. If it trips, unplug the tool and tell the foreman. Do not reset it and keep cutting until you know why it opened. A trip means something is wrong with the tool, the cord, or the wet ground around them. Do not use a cord with a cut jacket, a missing ground pin, or a repair made of tape. Tape hides the damage. It does not fix it. Do not run a cord through a puddle or a doorway where a door will cut it. Water and a pinched jacket are how a cord becomes the shock.
Before you plug in today, look at the cord and the outlet. Use the GFCI and test it. If this site protects temporary outlets with the assured equipment grounding conductor program instead, follow that program. Do not tell the crew that every cord without a GFCI is banned when that program is what the site uses. Either way, do not bypass a GFCI that is there. If it trips, unplug the tool and tell the foreman. Take out any cord with a cut jacket, a missing ground pin, or a repair made of tape. Do not run the cord through a puddle. Do not lay it where a door will close on it. Pick it up out of the water and off the swing of the door. If you do not know whether this box is on a GFCI or on the grounding program, ask the foreman before you tape anything or keep working off a device that already tripped.
Key points
- Temporary outlets are protected by a GFCI or by the site's assured equipment grounding conductor program.
- Do not say every cord without a GFCI is banned when the site uses that program.
- Plug into the GFCI, test it, and do not bypass it.
- If a GFCI trips, unplug the tool and tell the foreman.
- Do not use a cord with a cut jacket, a missing ground pin, or a tape repair.
- Do not run a cord through a puddle.
- Do not run a cord where a door will cut it.
Do this
- Plug into the GFCI and test it before you work.
- Follow the grounding program when that is what protects the outlets.
- Unplug the tool and tell the foreman if the GFCI trips.
- Take damaged cords out of service.
- Route cords out of puddles and out of door swings.
Do not do this
- Do not bypass a GFCI or hold it so it cannot trip.
- Do not claim every cord without a GFCI is illegal when the site uses the grounding program.
- Do not use a cord with a cut jacket.
- Do not use a cord with a missing ground pin or a repair made of tape.
- Do not run a cord through a puddle or a doorway where a door will cut it.
Talk about it
- Are today's temporary outlets on a GFCI or on the site's assured equipment grounding conductor program?
- Which cords have a cut jacket, a missing ground pin, or a tape repair and need to come out?
- Where are cords running through a puddle or a doorway, and who moves them?
Blank sign-in sheet
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