Was I right?

brizospark · May 13, 2011

OK, so I am currently carrying out a PIR in an industrial factory.

Today i was working on a dist. board and discovered a major fault in the way that when I isolated the DB one of the phases was still live.

Upon further investigation I further discovered that the reason for this was in fact that on of the circuits on the L2 phases was being fed from another DB as well.

This meant that with the fuse for this particular circuit in place the voltage was transferred to every circuit on the L2 phase I removed this fuse, the rest of the circuits on the L2 phase were now de-energised but of course the top of the fuse in question was still live.

I decided to inform the head of electrical maintenance about this fault immediately as I thought it would require immediate remedying. I suggested that although we were only carrying out a PIR that I felt this was a particularly dangerous banana skin for any other sparks working in the DB and that I should trace out the cable (single core in steel trunking along with 100 other cables) to find out the exact implications of putting this to rights.

After a bit of deliberation he said "I think you should just cut the (live) cable put a connector on it and stick it in the trunking. I point blank refused to carry out this procedure and managed to convince him that although it would probably take the rest of the day it was very important to correctly rectify this fault.

So I traced the cable to a light switch, where it went out on another cable, by which time it was time to call it a day. I put a note on the DB warning of the danger and told the electrical supervisor that I would continue tracing the circuit on Monday morning.

His parting shot was " I still think you should have just cut the cable"

What do you guys think about this?

Knobhead · May 14, 2011

Stick to you’re guns, you are in the right.
Old industrial installations are a nightmare. I’ve worked on plants built in the 30’s. Drawings were pure fiction. A classic was turning off a 800A feed, no one shouted or complained, for the life of me I don’t know where it went!

Octopus · May 14, 2011

If its a PIR you're doing wouldn't you simple note it on the report and mark it as a Code 1?

brizospark · May 14, 2011

Murdoch - usually I would just note down a fault on the PIR, but in that particular instance I did feel that it was critical to rectify without delay as the maintenance sparks in the place, or any other contractors could have been working on that board and I was concerned that this was not an immediate obvious fault, a bit of complacency from someone working on the DB could have resulted in a serious problem. I know this would be the fault of the spark working on the DB not following recommended isolation procedures but, hey these things happen, we've all done it! So this is why I highlighted the problem immediately and highly recommended tracing the cable out

markiesparkie - you are spot on, with this being an industrial situation where the plant runs 24/7 the option of shorting the cable out was a definite no, and I would not have taken this route anyway as the installation is around 40 years old with rewirable fuses and for all I know there could be a 4 inch nail in place of fusewire wherever the hell the backfeed is from

Thanks for all posts

impecc · May 14, 2011

I agree with your move as this is a serious safety issue. It suggest to me there are still people out there like you, who believe in doing it right. All the best on Monday.

PC Electrics · May 14, 2011

telectrix said:
cut cable. dab live end onto metal trunking......... fuse finder!!!!!!

What if it's not fused!!

PC Electrics · May 15, 2011

OP, are you going to get paid for all this extra work?

How about laminating up a danger sign over the weekend, disconnect that conductor at the switch and screw the sign to the wall next to it. At least you will have removed the danger from the DB. Then issue a danger notice direct to the most senior company man you can find on site on Monday morning. Ask him for authorisation to continue with the rectification work. if it's not forthcoming you've done your bit (except if you still feel it's v dangerous and they aren't really taking it/you seriously then report it anonymously to HSE).

I'd certainly say you're doing the "right thing", but it sounds like you're doing it off your own back rather than with the full cooperation of the company concerned.