Gaffing cables/ Cable trays

[Roderick]

[pedantic alert]

The current version is AS/NZS 3002:2008 - Electrical installations - Shows and carnivals

The abstract: This Standard sets out requirements for the supply of electricity at low-voltage by wiring distribution systems to power consuming devices used for accommodation, entertainment or display purposes within concessions, tents, living quarters and other structures, associated with events with a maximum duration of four weeks.

[/pedantic]

I have highlighted what for me are the keywords. Happy to be corrected but from my point of view, that covers pretty much what we do for a living.

And if nothing else, you'd be hard pressed to convince a magistrate why it shouldn't apply to you.

 

But suitable protection doesn't always mean cable ramps. In Cooks example, definitely but for 'general foot traffic' some decent matting should be fine.

I have seen people use old conveyor belts for that purpose.

[Ashley R]

For someone who has always done small time LX work, as Mac pointed out, ive never really read any regulations, just applied common sense to many situations.

 

so far in the past its been standard for me, if there was a half dozen 10A ext leads going across the floor, they would be neatly arranged, and then gaffed to provide the lowest, and smallest tripping hazard, and for larger cables (Wielands, 3Phase) Gaffed, and then 2 layers of carpet/ matting over the top, as ive never had any decent sized, or any decent qty of proper cable traps. Currently all I do have, are these 1m long drop over versions, and only half a dozen of them.

 

So this standard would, cover anything directly production and event related.

 

hmm looks like I should be stocking up on rubber matting, and some more cable, to ensure that I comply with this standard...

 

someone just mentioned this to me, and it made me stop and think a bit. They said it was "illegal"(Eventually corrected this to be "against Common sense") to run 110/240v cabling along floors, even when gaffed down,

that wouldnt be on a certain dodgy site by any chance

 

Yes his comment, is also on said dodgy site, which then ensued a little discussion between me and him, and then me eventually posting both here and in the ALIA forums (Australian version of the BR)

[mac.calder]

[pedantic alert]

The current version is AS/NZS 3002:2008 - Electrical installations - Shows and carnivals

The abstract: This Standard sets out requirements for the supply of electricity at low-voltage by wiring distribution systems to power consuming devices used for accommodation, entertainment or display purposes within concessions, tents, living quarters and other structures, associated with events with a maximum duration of four weeks.

[/pedantic]

 

:blink: There needs to a a cross-eyed smiley. That could be interpreted a number of ways. I think I will ask our OH&S department to have a look into it and make a decision as to how they want to interpret it.

[kerry davies]

"For someone who has always done small time LX work, ive never really read any regulations..."

 

Oh #####! Roderick, can help here but I would have thought everyone should start with OSHA 2004 and go from there, perhaps he can suggest a set of basic knowledge that Aussie workers and particularly the self-employed should have?

 

cooks44 has the gist of it and if you cannot go around because you do not have sufficient cabling and anything happens, you are in deep doodoo, a judge would cut any defence short right there.

 

To put this in context, over 15 years ago I worked with a bunch of stoned hippies doing a mobile rave and multi-media club and never, ever did they run cables across public areas. Even they knew better.

[ramdram]

I detect a certain inconsistency in the approach to rules and regs, "down under", as we might say here, ** laughs out loud **.

 

You know who you are...and how much does a cable bridge cost anyway? Ref was made above as to whether you could convince a Magistrate that "you" were exempt from certain regs.

 

Far, far, far better for a punter to trip over a cable bridge than a cable taped to the floor. You could at least claim you had adhered to the rules and the accident was just "bad luck". Can't imagine an employer would be too keen to keep you on the books once he had forked out the compensation or had to pay the increased insurance premium.

 

Ref the likelihood of a stiletto heel damaging the TRS and the heel conducting current, see note on construction (more for the ladies you understand):

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stiletto_heel

 

http://www.stilettostyle.com/metalstilettoheel.html

 

And this is for the blokes (of course). It would appear that damaging the TRS sheath may not be that difficult after all:

 

http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2003/JackGreen.shtml

[mac.calder]

Australian Standards are not necessarily law (they only become a legal requirement when referenced in law) - so adhering to an AS that I am not sure applies (grey area in how you interpret the abstract, I have not read the standard so I cannot say that it doesn't at this time) and that appears to have an indeterminate legal status (from my brief look) is not something I am going to instantly jump on.

 

A couple of lines of gaffer tape is visually more appealing than big ugly cable trays - this is not something that should be underestimated in the 5 star venue market - a number of our client venues require that we use the closest matching colour gaffer tape we can get to the carpet, that all setups be made "visually appealing". Knee-jerk reactions like buying thousands of dollars worth of cable trays will both annoy the venues and may prove unnecessary.

 

As for how much does a cable bridge cost? Well 1 does not cost too much... But... 1 venue - let's say 10 rooms for metrics sake. Each room requiring 5m minimum of cable bridge. Add another 20m for the ballroom - that is 70m for one venue - minimum. 50+ venues that "not too much" is suddenly a significant amount. You can see why a knee-jerk reaction of "Lets just err on the side of absolute caution and go with cable bridges" which then end up being a source of complaint for the venue could be a very bad decision.

[ramdram]

How amazing it was you who responded mac...

 

All joking aside, if you were to read up on the tallescopes issue (bear with me on this) you will see or possibly recall a post penned by Bertie Wooster (nom de plume of our H&S visitor) on how a typical prosecution under our regs would develop.

 

Basically IF you are prosecuted then H&S are 99.99% confident of a successful outcome...for H&S. Arguments to the Judge, so to speak, of a lack of funds get you absolutely nowhere. In fact ANY counter argument you try in mitigation already has a standard response from prosecuting counsel. Bluntly you cannot win...you are not supposed to...and you are held as an example to others.

 

Now, your case for the expense, as detailed above, will cut no ice at all. Casinos are not known to be hard up, they exist solely to transfer money from your pockets to theirs as painlessly as possible...for them. I noted a parallel post from yourself about noise reduction schemes. You cited cost again. Cost is not a sure defence in law when it come to H&S.

 

I have a suspicion your managers have given you the party line about how it would cost far too much to do this or that ergo you, meaning "you", must find an alternative way of doing the safety thing. It occurs to me too that you could be the duty scapegoat.

 

Were you to employ cable bridges then you could lay a runner of matching carpet over the bridge and have a fair overlap. The carpet could then be gaffered down, could it not? The result being a a gentler slope cf a ridge of solid rubber. Such as exercise is doable.

 

You see where we are going on this? Forget the "knee jerk" reaction thing...sounds like a quote...forget the it's too dear thing as well. The outlay is likely to be nothing in comparison to the cost of fines and private prosecution, not to mention your job.

[mac.calder]

I don't work for a casino - but that is irrelevant.

 

AS 3002 was flagged in this thread - never read it before, but as it was suggested that it may apply I am going to bring it up to our OH&S guru's at Head Office - cable bridges are something we have not really disused in the past - except for large gala dinners where we use them for the multitude of cables that cross service entrances and back stage areas - more from a trip hazard point of view. The only other discussions have been about cable bridges being made up containing looms for small rooms.

 

If our OH&S guru's were to state that to be compliant we need cables bridges we would get cable bridges. Outfitting every venue we are in with cable bridges to solve a problem that OH&S would rule as not one would be ridiculous. I've had work place inspectors come through doing spot inspections and make no mention of the gaffer runs. They made mention of a number of things that we did not see as issues - like jackets on the back of wheeling chairs being dangerous, an unearthed rack etc, but walked right past the cables - it means nothing in the scheme of things if something were to go wrong, but the inspectors are usually pretty thorough with electrical compliance.

[Junior8]

The last fairground I went to had what I suspect were three phase cables across public thoroughfares left right and centre (gennies around the outside of the site, rides inside of the outer circle were all fed by radially laid cables). No protection whatsoever. Far be it for me to suggest that travelling fairs have lower standards of safety than the rest of us but I didn't notice anyone being electrocuted there...

 

Can't remember an incident with a punter. Fairgrounds are regulated by the HSE and the main details are available in Fairgrounds and amusement parks - Guidance on safe practice which is available for free download if you are interested. Do not be deceived by appearances either, the majority of the equipment you will see is still good old 110v DC and there may even be a few tram controllers in use too. With more modern equipment, using 3 phase, the preference is often to mount the generator, suitably silenced, as close to the device as possible to cut down on cable runs.In many cases you wouldn't even know it was there! If you are interested the Written Scheme of Inspection including that relevant to BS7671:2008 section 740 is downloadable here

 

[dbuckley]

One could do worse than consult the Guide For Safe Working Practices In The New Zealand Theatre (PDF free download) which mentions that unprotected cables should not be subject to sharp edges or heavy loads. I'd guess a stiletto would qualify as both of those.

[kerry davies]

No need for too much thought really, "4.2.2.1 General. Cables shall not be laid on the ground in areas accessible to the public." That may be written down in an Aussie standard but it is universal good practice. The discussion went off on one because the risks of damaging cables that shouldn't be there in the first place was the question. So we have three very separate topics.

 

1) Can stilettos damage cable? Answer; Yes! If we can agree on that and then forget it we have made a start.

2) Is gaffa sufficient protective cover for cables. Answer; No! See cooks44 and Simon Lewis posts.

2) Is using capping etc anything other than a last resort choice of cabling? Answer; No! See same posts and others.

 

Basically unless there is a very good reason for it cables should never be run across public areas, doorways, access and egress routes end of. If there is a very good reason, only then do you enter the realms of cable protection vis a vis trip hazards.

 

Note: lack of cable, money, time, not being bothered are NOT very good reasons. Complete inability to do it any other way and not being able to do without it, MIGHT be good reasons. Judges decide.

That linky of DBuckley's is well worth everyone saving and reading UK as well.

[Roderick]

The nitpicking about which standard is or is not applicable in which situation is utterly irrelevant.

These standards, codes of practice, guidelines etc. are just giving guidance how things could and should be done.

But the core of everything is the OH&S Act and Regulation, in Australia soon (1 January 2012) to be replaced by the WHS (Workplace Health and Safety)Act.

And the Act states very clearly that you mustprovide a safe place of work for employees, contractors AND visitors. So if there is an incident causing injury or worse, you have failed in your duty of care and can be prosecuted by the State Regulator (Workcover, Worksafe, etc.). And they will refer to these standards or CoP's as they see fit. I am not talking about litigation here, this is simply the Government taking a dim view on you damaging someone. You of course can defend yourself but a few things that won't hold water are:

- Didn't know about that

- Didn't have enough cable to run it properly

- Aesthetically not pleasing for the client

- Didn't have the right protection covers

- Too expensive

- Not enough time to do it properly

Fines for breaches are very steep and will rise sharply with the new WHS Act, think decent sized family sedan for individuals, good size family home for corporations.

And to clarify, fines will be applied to both the individual that was held responsible for the breach as well as the corporation that employed him/her. If you are self employed, it would be a double whammy.

 

As stated before, not knowing is not an excuse!

[Ashley R]

The only regs I have ever read, was highlighted by Mac, the one about building sites and construction requiring cables to be above 4m, or something along those lines.

 

Roderick, any suggested regs, or reading material that I should be reading, to get myself up to speed on all of this?

[cooks44]

It's always quite annoying that to read relevant information regarding regulations and standards in Australia always requires $$. The price for me to purchase the product that is AS/NZS 3002:2008 is currently AU$80.51...

 

Shouldn't Government standards be free to peruse??

[Roderick]

Shouldn't Government standards be free to peruse??

Don't get me started on those @#%$#@ at SAI Global who managed to pry the publishing rights of Australian Standards from Standards Australia. It is pure daylight robbery. The amount of money I spend with them annually is ridiculous.

I do believe, but can't confirm, you can read Standards at libraries, but you can't take them with you on loan.

Maybe something Julius Grafton could get stuck into

 

Ashley, sadly, as with all things OH&S, there is not a single piece of information that gives all the answers. It is a bit of a treasure hunt where you start of with one thing but then need several other publications to get the full picture.

As suggested, AS3002 is a good start, the most relevant I could find, but also get a copy of the Victorian OH&S Regulation (This is available free!). Also be aware that AS3760 (test & tag) changed last year with some notable changes (yes, more money). Most importantly it is now required to have detachable cables (ie. all your IEC cables) tested and tagged separately from the appliance which needs it own tag.