Like Bill said, "safety training on the hazards involved" is a pretty broad requirement. You will notice most of the people in these forums who are in favor of this definition change is in the training business. This will be a boon to their industry. Now you, Bill, as a small contractor will have to either develope a training program with documentation or buy training from a third party to be able to prove that someone you already know to be "qualified" is qualified to the satisfaction of the AHJ, if the AHJ gets involved. As a small business that is a large time and money drain. As a small contractor you probably know the qualifications of your people better than a 100 or 200 man shop and supervise them more closely. You may also not have the level of cash flow to be able to meet the requirements as interpreted by the AHJ. With the growth of many towns these days, which of them has the manpower and financial resources to duplicate the effort we, as federal taxpayers, are already paying OSHA for. This definition change will either be ignored or (if the powers in town has a vested interest) abused, or maybe just a duplication of OSHA with no real results, just another cost for contractors to try to pass on to their customers and the city to levy on the taxpaying citizens. What an incentive for customers to use unlicensed and uninsured electricians.
Just what type of training will be required? Training will be required and there will need to be documentation to stand up in a legal venue. Since there is very little work done according to Code that involves electrical shock, arc and blast, you could really avoid training on OSHA electrical safety related work practices by avoiding any hot work. Make it a company policy that there is no hot work and all the AHJ needs to be concerned about is training for use of ladders, safety belts, handtools, trenching, tripping hazards, etc. But be realistic; there is always going to be some hot work needing to be done, if only testing for voltage. Still, the electrical inspector, to insure the electricians have been trained to avoid the hazards they are exposed to will need to enforce the general OSHA requirements, not just the electrical requirements, because most electricians are injured from falls, pinches, cuts, non-electrical burns etc. The definition does not specify electrical hazards, just the hazards involved with installing electrical equipment. What is the hazards involved with running conduit in a trench or ceiling?
When an electrician is killed or injured there is usually an OSHA requirement that has been violated. That is not meant to be judgemental. Everyone makes mistakes. Let OSHA do what we are paying them for: insuring safety of people in the workplace. And let the AHJ do what they were intended for; insuring electrical installations are safe as per the NEC, which is a building standard, not an employee workplace standard.
Every electricain should be working according to NFPA 70E any way to be in compliance with OSHA.
Gerald Powell, Electrical Instructor
