Safety Tidbit 3.34 - Cord Repair

Safety Tidbit 3.34 – Cord Repair

Reference: OSHA Letter of Interpretation dated September 9, 1997 to Mr. Yotz

I received an email yesterday out of blue from one of my better client’s asking:

“Is it ok/legal for my maintenance folks to repair broken plugs on cords or tools? How about replacing a damaged cord on a tool or fan? Our maintenance guys have been to electrical courses.”

This client was in general industry (vs. Construction) so we’ll only look at OSHA’s General Industry standards.

As OSHA states in their 1997 Letter of Interpretation, “Under paragraph 1910.303(a), electrical conductors and equipment are acceptable for use in the workplace only if approved. An electrical appliance which is certified by a NRTL is considered to be approved by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as long as it is used in accordance with the condition(s) of NRTL certification.” However, the letter later states: “Repair or replacement of the flexible cord is required when the outer jacket is penetrated or the conductors or their insulation, inside are damaged. Flexible cord not less than No. 12 American Wire Gauge (AWG) may be repaired by splicing the conductors with a suitable vulcanized or molded splice. Please note that removing a damaged section of a flexible cord on an appliance and installing an attachment plug and a cord connection on the two ends would not be allowed. Such a repair would result in an extension cord between the flexible cord of the appliance and the installed building receptacle. Under paragraph 1910.305(a)(2)(i), this extension cord would be considered temporary wiring which is not permitted for workplace use.”

Looking at this problem from a liability angle and the latter part of my client’s email message, if someone is injured because the piece of equipment fails due to the repair who is responsible for the injury - the manufacturer, the employer, or the maintenance person (who has been to electrical courses)? The employer will be responsible. My take - is the piece of equipment so expensive that repairing it is better than replacing it? If so, get the manufacturer representative to repair it so the liability if it fails falls back on them and not you. Otherwise, discard the piece of equipment and buy a new one. And, oh by the way, do an investigation to learn why the piece of equipment became broken in the first place.

Hope this was helpful and thanks for reading my Safety Tidbits! Comments and questions are always welcome. ~ Bryan

P.S. If you have an interesting safety or health question please let me know.