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Not sure of the current restrictions but we had an OSHA inspection in the shop I used to work. Before the inspector walked into the shop, any cord that had an aftermarket end on it had to be discarded. What was really a bumber is that several of us had quad boxes made by our certified electrician. All were considered illegal. If a cord had a nick it, even it was covered in some way, illegal.
I no longer build museums but don't want to change my name. My new job is a lot less stressful. Life is much better.
Garry
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Guess I'm lucky osha don't come here.......I make my own extension cords.
Ed
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Osha would have a field day with me.
I put
QwikLok plugs on most of my cords.
And my worm drive is drilled and tapped to lock out the guard.
I am sure I am guilty of other crimes against humanity as well.
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The last company i worked for had offices in multiple states. When a job in Arizona was ticketed by OSHA for an offense, our job in Great Falls, if ticketed for the same offense, was treated as though it was our second offense, event though it was actually 'our' first offense. This meant the company was very very very safety conscious, and we went out of our way every every day to follow OSHA regulations. Multiple safety violations become very expensive.
That being said, we repaired our cords all the time, used them on the job, and were never ever ticketed for doing so. One thing we never ever did was use a cord with the ground prong busted off. Using a cord with the ground busted off was an expensive offense. It was customary for any of us to cut the male end without a ground, off the cord, and replace it with a good new male end. Cords damaged in the middle were not repaired. Cords damaged in the middle were cut, and two cords were made from the cut cord. This was a wonderful thing; we had several short cords on the job, and they were very useful, when finishing the interior work. To this day, i still like using short cords in the shop.
At the time, table saw guards were a big big deal, as were magnetic switches. All the table saws had guards; we left them loose, so we could saw without them. When finished with the table saw, we replaced the guard, so they would pass OSHA inspection.
GFCI were sure a big deal. Every cord had to be plugged into a GFCI, or there was hell to pay. Sometimes working in the rain was difficult, but we persevered.
OSHA was a good thing for me. OSHA made my life much more comfortable. It was good not to put myself in harms way every day after day. Required fall protection sure changed the way we worked. Some changes seemed silly, but most made our job safer.
Today, i can still recall the first time, as a youngster, i walked on a job where every skilsaw had the guard wedged up. It was a weird feeling it was; it made me uncomfortable . It wasn't long before i grew used to it. After using the saws with the guards wedged up for months, i started to believe it was safe. Long after, i believed using a skilsaw without a guard was safer than using a saw with a guard. When one is using a saw without a guard, one doesn't rely on the guard; one 'knows' there is no guard.
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OSHA would close every Trade show I have been to for all the made up cords and I worked for a display company that does trade shows all the time.
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I added a junction box to the end and a two outlet fixture. Very handy. A four outlet box would lay flat better though.
No animals were injured or killed in the production of this post.
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Location: Milwaukee area
Not to hijack the thread, I just thought I'd check whether OSHA really doesn't allow extension cord repair.
And I found this:
https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp...p_id=27353
Answer: Extension cords used in construction may be repaired, so long as the repair returns the cord to the "approved" state required by §1926.403(a).
"Links to news stories don’t cut it." MsNomer 3/2/24
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what is that required state? If I did the repair, it would have heat shrink and solder and be bomb proof.
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I think my junction box would be OK. It complies with building codes. I wonder if it is waterproof enough though.
No animals were injured or killed in the production of this post.
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(08-03-2017, 11:53 AM)EricU Wrote: what is that required state? If I did the repair, it would have heat shrink and solder and be bomb proof.
It would be difficult to get it to the original state if a mid-cord repair. Besides capacity, resistance and insulation it must also return to its same state in pliability. Butt joint, crimped or soldered, plus heat shrink, then taped or second heat shrink would be much stiffer than original.
Generally, I think new plugs, if applied correctly would be acceptable. At least that is what was accepted last time we were inspected about 7 years ago. They allowed new plugs on tools but would not allow mid-cord repairs.
