During the early stages of construction, when the steel columns are being set and a temporary electrical service cable (ESC) is strung from the utility pole to provide electricity to power the lights and hand tools, unsafe installation of the ESC can create a risk of serious injury or death by electrocution to the workers onsite.
    
Standard electrical cables are rated at 80 amps, which produces 200 volts of electrical power. Anyone who comes into contact with a damaged cable could instantly be electrocuted. Ironworkers and the crane operator are particularly at high risk because steel, especially steel when wet, conducts electricity.  
    
To protect the people working onsite, it is imperative that the general contractor (GC) and electrical contractor (EC) are trained n the National Electric Code (NEC), and the Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA). Compliance with these Federal and State regulations by the GC and EC is mandatory.
    
In particular, both Codes require the EC to employ a New Jersey licensed electrician who then has the responsibility to obtain the required technical permits from the municipality’s building code inspector. The NEC and OSHA require that the EC position the electrical pole so as to keep the temporary SEC at least 10 feet away from the closest structural steel member where the cable enters the interior of the structure. The cable must be supported, so it cannot “sway” in the wind.
    
The 10 foot distance requirement keeps the SEC a safe distance away from the steel. This space ultimately prevents it from coming in contact with the sharp edges of the steel, potentially cutting the thin rubber covering, thus creating an electrical “arc” energizing 200 volts of electricity through the steel.
    
Unfortunately, the National Safety Council and OSHA annually report many instances when the electrical contractor has failed to obtain the necessary permits. As a consequence, there is no inspection, so the SEC is strung too close to the structural steel, or the “boom” of the crane.
    
Another unsafe condition is created in the instances where the GC’s site superintendent is not trained in the NEC’s regulations applicable to temporary electrical service. If that happens, the GC invariably relies on the electrical contractor foreman, and fails to take notice, through inspection, there is no valid permit affixed to the pole by the municipal code official.  
    
In the past, I represented an ironworker who was seriously injured and almost killed due to the fact that the electrical contractor failed to obtain any permits, and strung the temporary SEC right up against a steel column. In addition, the GC never inspected the cable because he had no training in the NEC’s regulations for temporary electrical service.