ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Near miss even with Lockout

I have a real scary story to relate to all of you. The manufacturing facility that I work at is having a roof overlay put on, so they are using a contract electrician to remove the roof exhaust fans to install fan curbs. Our fans are in groups of three with starters and start-stop switches covered by a sheet metal cover so they can be locked out. The contract electrician turned off the fans, verified no voltage was present and locked the out using his lock and tag. The next day the fan was to be re-installed so he gets on the roof, checks the wires for voltage like any good Sparky and finds all three are hot (480V 3 phase). He comes down to find that someone had pried the cover open to turn the fans on and his lock was still hanging in the hasp,still locked! This happened 3 days after the production workers safety meeting on lockout procedures!!! Really had all the electricians in the maintenance department spooked and a little nervous. The bad part is that the person who did this is still employed there because no one has come forward to say who did it. Sure pays to be careful and check everything.

I'd plant my boot so hard in his A** he'd taste leather!

Sparky, that's what we all want to do. Also had I have been the contract guy they would have been putting doors back on hinges in someone's office.

No doubt about it, always treat a conductor as live until proved otherwise. Glad no one got hurt.

Tom

Thank God no one got hurt! There's allways the I should of done this or that, but in some situations the load wires could be taken off the lugs, and or the fuses pulled along with lock/out tag out method you used.It's an extra step to take if you have some itiots like you mentioned still working there. Was there a Red tag or caution tag along with the lock?
Stay safe
Steve T.