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About Bubba Essary
Expertise
I have 27 years in the Construction Safety Industry. I can answer questions relating to construction safety for industrial, commercial, heavy high & bridge, residential, and power plants.
Experience
I have 27 years experience in both construction and general industrial safety. I have worked many projects from offshore marine construction, large industrial projects, automotive construction projects, shipyard construction, petrochemical and refinery construction, both fossil fuel and gas turbine power plants to name a few. I have worked for clients such as Fluor Daniels, Texas Utilities, Proctor & Gamble, Daimler Chrysler, General Motors and J. Ray McDermott.
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National Safety Council
American Society of Safety Engineers
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Industrial Safety Magazine
Safetyinfo.com
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You are here: Experts > Industry > Industrial Health and Safety > Occupational (OSHA) and Environmental Hazards > Extension Cord Guage
Expert: Bubba Essary - 10/27/2009
Question
QUESTION: Is there an OSHA minimum guage/length requirement for extension cords on 1926 construction projects?
ANSWER: Thank you for this question.
Section 1926.405(a)(2)(ii)(J) states:
Extension cord sets used with portable electric tools and appliances shall be of three-wire type and shall be designed for hard or extra-hard usage. Flexible cords used with temporary and portable lights shall be designed for hard or extra-hard usage.
Note: The National Electrical Code, ANSI/NFPA 70, in Article 400, Table 400-4, lists various types of flexible cords, some of which are noted as being designed for hard or extra-hard usage. Examples of these types of flexible cords include hard service cord (types S, ST, SO, STO) and junior hard service cord (types SJ, SJO, SJT, SJTO).
Generally, 12 guage 3 conductor extension cords are designed for hard usage - construction use. There is no length requirement I can find.
I recommend you review the NEC for more info, if needed.
I hope this helps.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thank you very much. I have a small dilemma--I oversee Site Safety on a large project. I am one of 5 safety representatives. We have many subs; many use 14 & some use 16 guage cords.?. Not all cords are marked, so how can someone determine whether an extension cord is in compliance? There seems to be no clear criteria from OSHA/NEC or identification/marking from manufacturers. If this is a critical area, why isn't it more clear?
Answer
I feel your pain.
Are you the senior site safety rep? Or, as I suspect, there is someone else that is senior & actually running the whole site?
I staff many construction sites with safety reps, both at the contractor & client levels. I tell my safety guys (& gals) to make their recommendations, document their recommendations And document wqhether or not their recommendations were followed. While you probably can recommend a contractor's removal from the site, you cannot control their every action.
Another thing you have to ask yourself is this: Is this a battle worth fighting, or should you save your battles for more life threatening type of situations? Are the contractors using GFCIs and/or double insulated tools? Are the cords in use in good repair? Are they using proper fall protection? To me, while I know they should be using 12 guage 3 conductor cords, I would be more concerned about lack of fall protection over 6 feet. As my old mentor told me "Pick & choose your battles".
The packages the cords come in are marked for heavy duty, and usually the cords are marked with the type on the cord itself. It is probably, repeat probably, a good bet if it does not have the initials on the cord near the plugs, it is NOT a hard duty cord.
As far as OSHA not being more clear, I cannot answer that. My apologies.
Again, I hope this helps. If so, please rate me.
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