ECN Forum Forums Safety Discussion and News Occupational Safety Discussion long time no see all, heres a one from work tuesday night.

We had no lighting over an assembly area in the plant. I troubleshoot the situation and find we are not getting full voltage in out 480/277 breaker panel. So me and 2 other guys go upstairs to the electrical room i find the fuse panel for this breaker panel LPC2. Find that i have blown fuse on the A leg so i send one guy down to get me set up electrical gloves, fuse puller, and 100amp fuse. I radio to our new boss we call them section heads that i will need to shut down and change fuse. He says don't shut down yet. Well he comes up with the gloves on fuse puller in hand and fuse headed for the panel. I say hay you need to shut that down, he says no i dont we cant shut it down. Bull #$%@ its only lights. Well he pulls the fuse live with full load down stairs nothing shut off. They pullers break in half the fuse is hanging from the incoming side of the 480V he finally gets it out. Then goes to put in the new one not knowing what caused the fuse to blow in the first place. I looked at my buddy who is also in maint but doesn't have the elec experience i do and told him to move back so we backed up. The boss started to put the fuse in and it has some nice sparks at both ends and he pulls back and goes in agian finally getting the fuse in. then goes to shut the panel and i said why don't you check the legs and make sure its ok he did and it was. Luckily no one was hurt but this guy is suppose to be our leader and in charge no one trust him or wants to work with him. He has been with us about 3months. needless to say a formal incident has been filed and it is under investigation by the company starting tomorrow.

(small edit to appease the ratings committee)

[This message has been edited by Webmaster (edited 09-05-2003).]

jlh, that guy's gonna' kill someone. He desperately needs a 'new assignment' as far away from you and your peers as possible, and likely some serious “administrative leave” without pay. It may be appropriate to question date and quantity of the guy’s OSHA-standards-based training and qualifications.

It may be time to independently contact your state's industrial safety/OSHA group. Spare no details during your interview{s}. If he doesn’t go away I would, and make it very clear my reasoning for doing so.

I would makes as many noted as possible about the incident, building on what you have written here if you need a place to start.

Er, fuses have no breaking or pickup current capacity when removed from or installed in energized fuseholders.

jlh,

Wow, does this guy have a boss that's approachable? It sounds likely that someone will eventually get hurt over there.

Take care of yourself and don't let this guy talk you into doing something that could get you hurt.

Please let us know what happens with this.

Bill

I know exactly what you guys are saying and that is how we all feel on our shift. We notified the saftey manager, HR, and about everyone else in the maint deptartment. We filled out incedent reports today. All the other maint guys on other shifts cant believe it. I have over 10yrs in maint and i would never do this. This guy is suppose to have over 20yrs. He has only been with us a short time like i said. We will see what happens and how this unfolds. He will not enfluence me or any others around me i can guarantee you that. That is why we are not just going to sit by on this one because he is going to get himself or someone else hurt. None of us will work with him.

jlh,
Bosses, eh?!.
They're all the same, the world over.
Odd paralell, I had a Boss try and show me a couple of months back how to pull a 600A HRC fuse, with the load still on it.
No gloves and when I asked him to wear them, he said that he didn't need them(it's only a fuse!).
I had the last laugh though, it's a bit different putting the new fuse in, eh!, especially when there is still a fault on the circuit.
1st degree burns to both hands and loss of composure.
"I told you so!" was heard to be spoken, which was met with not very nice comments!.

Well today the boss told one of the other maint guys that he is not allowed to use any tools or go on the shop floor to work on anything until monday when the Maint manager gets back with him. Not sure what will happen to the guy

jlh,
.
Good on you for filing this.
Do you guys have an Incident Register on site for any Accidents and occurences such as this?.
I'd agree with Bjarney, in saying that you should write down as much as you can now, about this incident while it is fresh in your head.
Even things like the weather on the day and the time of day that it occured, will make your account of the incident more credible, should this go to court!.
Believe me, I've been through this all before.

You can always find a time to shut down, especially if it is just lights!!!! One easy way to do it is to wait for break time, or lunch time. I had the maint. guys work through their breaks many times. They just have to take their break a little later.

I am glad to hear that you reported this. I also hope that this guy moves on soon. He may change his thinking a little, but he has shown his true colors.
Scott

jlh, watch yourself around this loose cannon, bro. Yes Scotts, I have worked through many breaks and lunches to shut stuff down. We never even did work hot when I was in a hospital maint dept, we could always coordinate a shut-down. Scary man to work around.

I know what you mean guys. Thanks for the understanding and support. I will keep you updated as to the outcome of this.