We begin a new quarter on, 4/1/18 for our Assured Grounding Conductor Program and we are to switch over to green tape. To all Safety Advocates/Coordinators - We need your help to keep our employees safe and to help keep us OSHA compliant by following our assured grounding conductor program. Please inspect, test and color-code with green tape all 3 pronged electrical tools and extension cords. All electrical tools and cords need to be visually inspected. If you see any defects in the cords such as bare wires, severe kinks, missing or damaged ground prong, the cord pulling away from the plug end-housing, etc., then that tool or cord would need to be immediately removed from service and reported to the lead field supervisor. If your tool/cord passes the visual inspection, your next step is to test the cord with a receptacle tester. First, you should test the outlet that you will be plugging your cord into to ensure that it is properly wired. You should see 2 yellow lights lit up on your tester and the red light should be off. This means the outlet is working appropriately. Next, plug your cord into the outlet and then test the cord with the receptacle tester. Again, you should see the same light pattern as mentioned above and this would mean the cord passed the test and it is good and safe to use. Any other light pattern means that there is a problem with the cord and the cord needs to be removed from service and reported to your lead field supervisor. If the cord passes the visual inspection and the cord tester test, you should then remove the previous quarter's white electrical tape and install the green electrical tape about 1" down from both plug ends. Your cord is now in compliance with our 2nd quarter's Assured Grounding Conductor Program. The green tape shall remain in place from 4/1/18 through 6/30/18. You are not quite done yet! All employees now need to visually inspect all electrical cords and tools on a daily basis before use and if any defects are found, the cord needs to be immediately removed from service.
If you do not have green tape, please ask your Superintendent and they will coordinate getting it to you.
Thank you for taking the time to ensure your electrical tools and cords are in safe working order. Your actions may prevent one of our family members from sustaining an electrical shock type injury or worse yet, an electrocution. If you have any questions regarding our Assured Grounding Conductor Program, please contact our Safety Director, Peter Graham, at (847) 417-1689.
Have a Safe Day!
