Voltage testing 120VAC

Are voltage rated gloves needed for shock protection when voltage testing in panel that only has 120VAC single phase and is Category 0? Would require the use of proper tools and voltage probes with finger gaurds.

Thanks

I have seen some documentation about using a DVM and 120 voltage testing. If I remember correctly the document said gloves could be excluded if: 1. The meter leads have finger safe probes. 2. There is not other possibility of making physical contact with other devices in the area being tested.

IMO, this is a company policy issue. My policy is as above with more details.

No sneezing, cell phone ringing, pedestrian traffic, nervous twitches, surprise alarms, fasteners giving up the ghost, earthquakes or atomic bombs going off in the area, and of coarse, it idiot layman that walks by and goes "BZZZZZ" as loud as he can. Sure, no other possibility of making physical contact. Do you remember where you read that?

This is the only thing I could quickly locate on a search. I believe this is from Brookhaven National Lab committe. You can search for an older OSHA letter referencing the same.

CK have a good Thanksgiving day down in FL.

Well cable guy is right, the rule says "Avoid contact" , now what that means is a little fuzzy, I have discussed it with several commitee members and they generally say the same thing, what cable guy said. But that also means what Chris said too.

The way I see it is if you are testing external test points, an outlet, something easily accessed you dont need gloves, but once you have to reach into something elbow deep, or around somehting else, etc.. wear the gloves. The problem is enforcement of this rule in a large facility. You can't put "be smart about it" in your policy, and you can't say not to wear them, so you are left with the option of requiring gloves for any live work.

Nothing is ever black and white it is always gray How about requiring them to use leather gloves when working on these circuits? I know leather gloves have no voltage rating but they must provide some voltage protection.

Gloves for 120V testing

I will say this very specific topic was discussed at great length during an NFPA 70E class in Quincy a few weeks ago.

When I specifically pushed to ask if gloves were REQUIRED, I never received a direct answer other than it's a good idea to wear them.

A formal interpretation is in order here.

OSHA Interpretation

I use OSHA's interpretation letter dated June 22, 1998 which can be found at www.osha.gov. An exerpt:

Whether an employee needs to wear rubber insulating gloves while working with test equipment on energized circuits will depend on several factors including:

1. Whether the probes are designed so that the employee's hand can slip off the end of the insulated handle; and
2. Whether there are other exposed energized parts that the employee's hand might contact during testing.

If either of these conditions are present, the use of rubber insulating gloves or other electrical protective equipment would be warranted.

The letter also mentions 240 volt testing. This is one of those items that company policy should address. And we all know that everything will be great without gloves until someone gets hurt!