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Electrical Safety Policies

LLE Safety Zone

Electrical – Policies

Facility Modification Policy

  • Work on direct wiring (building power distribution in walls, panel boxes, conduit) is to be done only by authorized facilities personnel. Research personnel (staff and students) are not permitted to install, or modify, or handle direct wiring.

Extension Cord/Line Strip Policy

  • Indirect wiring such as extension cords, ac line strips, and outlet boxes used to distribute power within an office or laboratory is limited to 500-W service (UR policy).
    • Extension cords and power strips should be three-wire and UL listed.
    • Use only one extension cord, line strip, or outlet box for appliances or equipment in conjunction with the power supply cord. Laboratory practice prohibits daisy chaining, which can easily overload distribution devices and cause excessive heat.
    • Extension cords should be sized to safely carry enough power to the connected loads being fed.
    • Warm cords indicate a possible overloaded condition. Overheated receptacles and cords can result in fire and/or degrade insulation properties of materials.
    • Immediately discard or tagout equipment with frayed, cracked, or deteriorated insulation line cords.
    • Only qualified and authorized persons shall repair extension cords, line strips, or outlet boxes.
    • Immediately discard or tagout equipment with cracked plugs or missing prongs (missing ground prong is a common issue)

De-energize >50 V Policy

  • De-energize equipment containing >50 V prior to performing maintenance.
  • Identify and isolate equipment from energy source.
  • Use lockout/tagout procedures.
  • Release stored energy from equipment.
    • Beware of nonelectrical forms of stored energy such as mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, gravity, or chemical.
  • Grounding is a critical step to ensure that de-energized equipment remains in a zero-volt safe state while work is being performed.
    • Initially use momentary contact.
    • Subsequently the attachment of clip leads or clamped grounding cables prevents charge buildup.

Permissions and Monitor Policy

When it is not feasible to de-energize equipment due to design, when equipment must be active to test, or where alarms cannot be de-activated, etc.,

  • LLE Policy dictates you must obtain permission from a Group Leader and LLE Electrical or Chief Safety Officer.
  • LLE Policy dictates a minimum of two persons must be present, one to perform the maintenance and one to act as the safety monitor.
    • The safety monitor must be knowledgeable.
  • LLE Policy dictates that someone qualified in CPR must be available in the Laboratory.
    • See LLE phone list for personnel with CPR qualifications.

Tagouts within the OMEGA, OMEGA EP, and CRYO CT&F Facilities:

Lockout/Tagout Policy

Lockout is defined as the installation of a physical barrier to operation such as a lock or the removal of a connecting link to prevent operation of the component being worked on.

Tagout is defined as the placement of a tag on a breaker, switch, control device, or valve that states “DANGER DO NOT OPERATE.”

  • All personnel should immediately tag out equipment that is suspected of presenting a hazard to other equipment or persons if operated.
  • Tags should be securely affixed to the actual breaker or switch in a manner that ensures their visibility to anyone who might attempt operation.
  • Tags should contain information about reason for existence, person responsible for placement, and time/date of placement.

Equipment undergoing maintenance shall be locked/tagged out to prevent inadvertent operation by others. When possible, disconnect tagged-out equipment from its power source and place a tag on a plug or connector to reinforce its offline status.

Under no circumstances will lockout/tagged-out equipment be used without formally clearing the lockout/tagout procedure.

PDF format of the lockout/tagout procedure can be found in Section 4005 of LLEINST 3000.