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North Carolina Department of Labor North Carolina Department of Labor
Division of Occupational Safety and Health

Raleigh, North Carolina

Field Information System
Standards Notice 49A

Subject: 29 CFR 1926.404 (b) - Ground-Fault Protection in Construction Operations

A.
Standard.

29 CFR 1926.404(b)(1): Ground-fault protection.

i.
General. The employer shall use either ground-fault circuit interrupters as
specified in paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section or an assured equipment
grounding conductor program as specified in paragraph (b)(1)(iii) of this section,
to protect employees on construction sites. These requirements are in addition to
any other requirements for equipment grounding conductors.

ii.
Ground-fault circuit interrupters. All 120-volt, single-phase, 15- and 20-ampere
receptacle outlets on construction sites, which are not a part of the permanent
wiring of the building or structure and which are in use by employees, shall have
approved ground-fault circuit interrupters for personnel protection. Receptacles
on a two-wire, single-phase portable or vehicle-mounted generator rated not
more than 5kW, where the circuit conductors of the generator are insulated from
the generator frame and all other grounded surfaces, need not be protected with
ground-fault circuit interrupters.

iii.
Assured equipment grounding conductor program. The employer shall establish
and implement an assured equipment grounding conductor program on
construction sites covering all cord sets, receptacles which are not a part of the
permanent wiring of the building or structure, and equipment connected by cord
and plug which are available for use or used by employees. This program shall
comply with the following minimum requirements:

[A.]
A written description of the program, including the specific procedures
adopted by the employer, shall be available at the job site for inspection
and copying by the Assistant Secretary and any affected employee.

[B.]
The employer shall designate one or more competent persons (as defined
in 1926.32(f)) to implement the program.

[C.]
Each cord set, attachment cap, plug and receptacle of cord sets, and any
equipment connected by cord and plug, except cord sets and receptacles
which are fixed and not exposed to damage, shall be visually inspected
before each day's use for external defects, such as deformed or missing
pins or insulation damage, and for indication of possible internal damage.
Equipment found damaged or defective may not be used until repaired.
[D.]
The following tests shall be performed on all cord sets, receptacles which
are not a part of the permanent wiring of the building or structure, and
cord- and plug-connected equipment required to be grounded:

[1.]
All equipment grounding conductors shall be tested for
continuity and shall be electrically continuous.

[2.]
Each receptacle and attachment cap or plug shall be tested for
correct attachment of the equipment grounding conductor. The
equipment grounding conductor shall be connected to its proper
terminal.

[E.]
All required tests shall be performed:

[1.]
Before first use;
[2.]
Before equipment is returned to service following any repairs;
[3.]
Before equipment is used after any incident which can be
reasonably suspected to have caused damage (for example, when
a cord set is run over); and
[4.]
At intervals not to exceed 3 months, except that cord sets and
receptacles which are fixed and not exposed to damage shall be
tested at intervals not exceeding 6 months.

[F.]
The employer may not make available or permit the use by employees of
any equipment which has not met the requirements of this paragraph
(b)(1)(iii) of this section.

[G.]
Tests performed as required in this paragraph shall be recorded. This test
record shall identify each receptacle, cord set, and cord- and plug-
connected equipment that passed the test, and shall indicate the last date
it was tested or the interval for which it was tested. This record shall be
kept by means of logs, color coding, or other effective means, and shall
be maintained until replaced by a more current record. The record shall
be made available on the job site for inspection by the Assistant
Secretary and any affected employee.

B.
Discussion and Interpretation.

Since the initiation of enforcement of the ground-fault protection requirements of the
OSHA standards, several questions have repeatedly occurred. They are:

1.
What is a construction site? A construction site, for the purpose of ground-
fault protection requirements, is any location where construction, alteration,
and/or repair, including painting and decorating takes place, as set forth in
1910.12 and 1926.13. The term "alteration" includes demolition. This site may be
on the site of or within an existing structure, or a completely new location.
Regular manufacturing and production line operations are not included, such as
mobile home manufacturing.

2.
Who is responsible for providing ground-fault protection? Ground-fault
protection in the form of GFCI or an assured grounding program shall be provided by each employer of employees required to use 120 volt, 15- and 20-
ampere receptacles on construction sites. In some cases, a contractor may make
arrangements for ground-fault protection of a job site, thereby relieving
him/herself of the physical operation of installing the protection. This
arrangement, however, does not relieve these contractors of the legal
responsibility for providing the ground-fault protection to their employees. In
cases where no GFCI or assured grounding program is present, the employers of
all employees exposed will be cited. In a situation where a contractor has been
required by the job contract to provide temporary power and other general
utilities on the construction site, his responsibility for providing ground-fault
protection under the OSHA regulations only applies to the protection of his
employees. Each contractor on the site is still legally responsible for protecting
his own employees with some form of ground-fault protection. The contractor
responsible for providing the temporary power on the site should notify each of
the other contractors on the site of the existence or nonexistence of ground-fault
protection at the 120 volt, 15- and 20-ampere receptacles on the construction site.

3.
What is the difference between temporary and permanent wiring as it
applies to ground-fault protection? Temporary wiring is a class or method of
wiring which is specifically permitted by the National Electrical Code
(ANSI/NFPA No. 70) for use during periods of construction, remodeling,
maintenance, repair, or demolition of buildings, structures, equipment of similar
items. Permanent wiring is a complete system or portion thereof, which has been
accepted by the customer, owner, and electrical inspector. Such a permanent
system would require covers, conduits, conductors, grounds, bonds, anchors, etc.
Where extension cords or any similar nonpermanent wiring is used with
permanent wiring, the extension cord and all nonpermanent wiring will be
considered temporary wiring and 29 CFR 1926.404 will be cited accordingly.
The alternative method of complying with 29 CFR 1926.404(b) is an assured
equipment grounding program.

4.
What ground-fault protection must be provided where double-insulated
tools are used? When double insulated tools are encountered on a construction
site, professional judgment must be exercised in evaluating the presence of a
violation and the extent of the hazard. The National Electrical Code exempts
tools protected by an approved system of double insulation from the
requirements for electrical grounding. There is no such exemption from the
ground-fault protection requirements under 29 CFR 1926.404(b). If an inspector
encounters double insulated tools on a construction site, he or she must determine
if these are the only tools likely to be used by the employees on the site. Where
double insulated tools are the only type present, the extent of the hazard may be
low and issuing a citation may not be necessary. If employees use power tools
which are not double insulated, the hazard to employees is greater and some form
of ground-fault protection is required.

5.
What testing and evaluation methods should be used when inspecting
ground-fault circuit interrupting devices? In testing and evaluating ground-
fault circuit interrupting devices on a construction site, the specific instruction on
the GFCI unit being used should be followed. All GFCI devices are required to
have a test button that places greater than a 6 milliamp