110.12 Mechanical Execution of Work.

Electrical equipment shall be installed in a neat and workmanlike manner.

What does this mean to a "Qualified Person?

I try to be sure that the installation is done right the first time!

To me it means "TAKE PRIDE IN YOUR WORK" no matter were you are working make it look like it was done for a palace. Remeber your work is a direct reflection of you. Every time we bring a machine tool to our building from the corporate shop i cant believe some of the wireing the veteran maint guys do. no pride in there work.

true jlhmaint,
yet to a 'qualified' person the neatest job may incorporate the worst 'workmanlike' electrical design.....

Oh Well, here goes:
Neat and workmanlike should mean that the job was done professionally, and LOOKS it.
Level, square, plumb, straight, etc., etc.

Pride in your work? That's my company policy
Do it right the first time? Definitley.
There's some shoddy work around, and it's to bad that it reflects on the trade in general.
HotLine1
John

Reprinted from the neca site.
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has approved NECA 1-2000, Standard Practices for Good Workmanship in Electrical Construction. Envisioned as the ‘centerpiece’ of the National Electrical Installation Standards series of publications, NECA 1 defines what is meant by installing equipment in a “neat and workmanlike manner” as required by the National Electrical Code, Section 110-12.

Subjects covered include receiving, storing, and protecting construction materials on site, properly mounting and supporting electrical equipment, installing raceways and conductors, and Americans with Disability Act Guidelines (ADAG) for locating electrical products and systems. NECA 1 is the sixth NEIS to receive ANSI approval. It will be available for purchase in August.

I agree with all that was stated above. Let me throw another twist into this mix. Neat and workmanlike is defined by the inspector who passes or fails the installation. When an installation passes inspection, it is by virtue of that fact, neat and workmanlike. We all know that any self respecting inspector would never pass an installation that wasn't up to code (neat and workmanlike). It is also the electrician who installs the work. Here in Texas, as many of you may know, there is not a state license for electricians. Therefore, many areas don't have an AHJ. In those areas with no inspections, the electricians define what is neat and workmanlike.

Neatly,
Doc

Oh the venerable 110.12...

It was the first code I memorized as an apprentice, and became my favorite (and least favorite) quote in the entire book.

The subjectivity of the wording lends to all sorts of interpretation, and if the AHJ was in a particularly bad mood that day, any installation could fail 110.12 .

There's nothing more that I could add, but that I'm glad to see the quotes and better explanations of this.

I even asked an inspector once if he was going to bust me on 110.12 for having my conduit a little skewed... He just looked at me for a moment with an odd look on his face, and said "Nah..."

as opposed to?
!!OFF WITH HIS HEAD!!!

yer far to self-critiqing my friend....


'Neat & Workmanlike" , IMHO, is when other electricians say 'oooh!'

I had a problem with some PVC conduit in a garage/home workshop a few weeks ago.

I carefully fitted the spacer saddles in line with the brickwork across the end extension and installed the conduit nicely parallel with the joints. When I stood back and looked at it from a distance the conduit (white) was obviously sloping downhill.

The problem was that the brickwork was not horizontal. If I adjusted the conduit with a spirit level to get it dead horizontal, it looked fine from a distance, but up close it looked bad because it didn't line up withe the brickwork.

No way to win on that one!

Pauluk,

When I run into situations like you describe, all too often I might add, I always follow the building lines. It's likely no one will ever put a level on your pipework, but if it looks crooked to the eye everyone can see it.

JMO
GJ

Reminds me of a story:

I was getting ready to install the feed for a cell tower, which was mounted on the side of a mountain, and I was at the site checking out what I needed for the job, alone. Figured, what the heck, may as well climb up a take in the view (I know, stupid when alone) so I did. And I climbed back down. Then back at the truck, I looked back towards the tower to find it canted at about a 15º angle! Oh my! The guys must not have been tight, and the thing must've slipped with my weight! Now what do I do!

So I got my level out, and hunh?!? It was perfectly plumb... Apparently, the trees were all canted (due to slow landslide?) and I hadn't noticed it before the climb!

Whew!

on that note.....

The man I apprenticed with in Chicago demanded that all flat headed screws lined up horizontal. I must admit 21 years later it is one of my "signatures".
I routinely walk away from anyone who mutters the dispicable phrase;"Can't see it from my house".

Yep, that's how I left it in the end. The brickwork was so far out that from a distance you could see the downhill slope on the conduit (and mortar joints!) easily, but as you say, better than the alternative.

I like cover screw slots vertical. But as long as they're all the same...



And if you think I'm meticulous, I'm a slob compared to my partner Joe! He would've lined up the Hub Plug and the Hex Screws too!

(Sorry to repeat a pix, but I had wondered if anyone had noticed the screw slots...)

[This message has been edited by sparky66wv (edited 08-05-2002).]

Wow, Virgil -- That really is meticulous!

I would say much of our neatest work gets covered up...

Now if we are talking about meticulous....
What about the screwplug on the side of the box?

As for what sparky said I agree. The opposite of neat and workmanlike is when somebody says " Who in the H*** put this mess in!!"

Joe,

As a contractor, when my guys did a job I made sure that all the screws in the switch plate were vertical. Noy only did id show that my men where "neat and workmanlike" but it kept the general contractor off my back. He use to complain that my guys would install the switch plates crooked. So I made each man install the plate with a level and the vertical screws. This way if a plate was found to be crooked, I would know if it was one of my guys or if the painter came along behind me and removed the plate for painting.

Caper

Harold,

Was not critiquing the work, just pokin' some fun. As for the vertical screws, my grandfather was a cabinetmaker and aligned all his screws vertically.

Using a level to check the alignment is something that never crossed my mind. Thanks for the tip!

I think we all know neat & workmanlike when we see it.

However, just to start an arguement, what does "neat & workmanlike" have to do with safety? See 90.1 which states the purpose of the code. If the installation is code compliant in every respect except "neat...", what hazard exists?

On the other hand, I am glad to see the NEIS being adopted by ANSI so that there will at least be some standard that is enforceable that doesn't depend on someone's imagination.

One more question, should 2 levels of "neat & workmanlike" exist? One for the homeowner & one for the pro? When I've got my inspectors hat on, I have enough trouble getting some homeowners to comply with the NEC. I can just imagine what they'll say if I turn down their work because it doesn't meet a high level of craftsmanship.

Tom

I can appreciate that Tom, i am not an inspector, however may be the sole viewing party, and simply side on safety....

<threadjack>
Hey Tom! Welcome back!

Uh, where ya been?

(Just curious)
</threadjack>

Tom,

I agree with you a lot on this one. Trying to get homeowners to follow the NEC is a tough enough job. By the way, I have had contractors, yelling at me when their job fails. Calling someone's work, "sloppy" "Unworkmanlike" or not neat, is a tough call. I try to "politly" ask them to change something, so that it will pass inspection.

Caper

At least the National Electrical Installation Standards will give us an impartial way to judge the workmanship issue, but I would still be hesitant to cite someone if the rest of the job is safe.

Virgil- Does four tens & two eights since mid-May explain it? Plus a few weeks of six tens and one stretch of 20 straight days worked. Whew! we're down to four tens & one eight, almost feels like a vacation.

Tom

When I took my fire service administrative law course the lawyer instructing the course made us read a case that had gone against an electrical inspection office that turned down a job on the basis of it being not neat and workman like. The appeals court ruled that the term was too vague to be enforceable and that any ruling based solely on that section would be "arbitrary and capricious" by definition. I know you are going to ask for the legal citation but that course was twenty five years ago. The point the instructor was trying to make was that those who exercise the police power of the state must always have a specific reason to bring that power to bear against a citizen. Maybe one of you has access to online legal research facilities and can do a search for the phrase.
--
Tom