Inspection Detail

Inspection: 100271519 - Fort Worth Pipe Company

Inspection Information - Office: Houston North Area Office

Investigation Summary

An electrician was using a voltage meter to take voltage readings on induction heating equipment. The equipment was enclosed in a steel cabinet on an elevated catwalk located above the work floor of a quench converter unit. The employee had opened the steel cabinet and had bypassed the interlock switch located on the side of the equipment so that he could take voltage readings. The interlock switch was designed to open the circuit when the cabinet door is opened. It is bypassed by pulling it all the way out. When the cabinet door is opened, the relay switch pops out and signals the circuit breaker to open. A second employee opened the back door of equipment cubicle without notifying the first employee. Consequently, the second employee did not know that this interlock had been bypassed. A second interlock switch, which was located on the back of the cabinet, failed, allowing the circuit to remain energized. The second employee contacted one of the three 600-volt, three-phase busbars inside the cabinet and was electrocuted.

Keywords: E GI IV, ELECTRICAL, ELECTRICIAN, ELECTROCUTED, BUSBAR, ELECTRICAL WORK, INTERLOCK, LOCKOUT, ELECTRICAL CABINET