Inspection Detail

Inspection: 112131453 - Alflex Corp

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

An electrical manufacturing company was producing flexible cable. One of its products consisted of a coil of flexible cable containing three insulated circuit conductors. (The coils were about the size of a roll of garden hose.) Before being shipped, the cables were tested to ensure that the insulation on the conductors had not been damaged. A production tester at the company was using a Hipotronics AC Dielectric Test Set (Model No. 702-2, Part No. CS14-1159) to test the cables. The test set was mounted above a coil testing bench. The test was conducted by clamping one high voltage lead to the conductors and the other lead to the conduit. The test leads were then energized (to 1500 to 2000 volts depending on the product being tested) for 1 minute. If the current exceeded 1.1 amperes, the test set would trip out. After the test, the test leads were deenergized and disconnected. On this particular day, the employee conducting the test apparently contacted the leads while they were still energized and was electrocuted (per the coroner's report). He had been wearing work boots, safety glasses, ear plugs, a back support belt, and leather gloves. The gloves had what appeared to be a burn hole in one finger on each glove, and the employee had corresponding burn marks on his fingers. Witnesses heard the employee groan and saw him fall backward and hit his head on a conveyor on the way down. In May 1993 (9 to 10 months before the accident), the manufacturer of the test equipment recommended that the company enclose the test specimen and interlock the enclosure so that the leads could not be energized while the enclosure was open. The company had not followed this recommendation.

Keywords: E GI IV, ELECTRICAL, ELECTRICAL TESTING, ELECTROCUTED, LOCKOUT, TEST EQUIPMENT, UNGUARDED LIVE PARTS, ELEC CIRC PART--MISC