Inspection Detail

Inspection: 301932463 - Medley Electric Company, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Nc Department Of Labor - Winston-Salem

Investigation Summary

Two employees were installing a new Trane gas-pack heating and cooling system at a residence. The 9.7-meter by 14.3-meter home had been moved to this location within the last couple of years. The stick-built home was positioned on a block foundation, with a 710-millimeter-high crawl space opening. The employees set the system on a concrete pad and cut vent holes within the house. The next day, the employees were installing the main trunk line and the 150-millimeter-diameter ventilation ducts in the crawl space. The employees were tying the prefabricated ductwork in position by 25-millimeter-wide duct strap. The 30-gauge Hughes duct strap was manufactured in 30-meter lengths, and the employees had been unrolling the duct strap along the ground and pulling it across the crawl space as they needed it. The employees were using battery-operated drills to drive the 6.35-millimeter hex screws through the duct strap into the wooden floor joists. However, they were also using 120-volt electric equipment in the crawl space, including a squirrel-cage fan, a couple of portable lights, a radio, and a Woods multiple-receptacle outlet box. The employees supplied this equipment through a 7.6-meter-long extension cord set connected to an interior, permanently wired receptacle. The Woods outlet box supplied power to the radio, a droplight, and the other portable light. The Woods outlet box was missing its equipment grounding pin, and the 120-volt circuit was not protected by a ground-fault circuit interrupter. One of the employees was working 9.1 meters from the crawl space entrance. After not hearing anything for the previous 10 or 15 minutes, his coworker (the first employee's brother) turned his portable light toward the first employee and saw him face down, about 4.6 meters away. The second employee nudged the first and noticed arcing beneath the first employee. The first employee was entangled in the duct strap. After the second employee cut the duct strap, he saw that it had been pulled between the droplight's plug and the Woods outlet box. The duct strap was touching the ungrounded energized conductor. Employee #1 had been electrocuted.

Keywords: E GI V, ELECTRICAL, CORD SET, ELECTROCUTED, ATTACHMENT PLUG, GROUND FAULT, EQUIPMENT GROUNDING, METAL STRIP, CRAWL SPACE