MCB lock outs

[LifesABitchAndThenYouFry]

MCB lock-outs, sound like a good idea - can they bought from any electrical wholesalers? A spark I know was nearly killed once whilst working in an attic, the customer's kid had gone to the fuse-board and re-set the mcb cause his video game wasn't working - oUcH!

 

[mildmanneredjanitor]

A simple sign placed over the fuseboard might not be a bad investment? In fact aren't these commercially available?

 

[yankey-sparky]

I work in the manufacturing industry, and we strictly observe the lockout procedure because we are dealing with large groups of people, very powerful equipment, and much higher voltage fed from much larger circuit breakers than one would find in a residential installation.

Since the lockout procedure was defined by the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration, fatalities in the workplace plummeted and have remained low. The system relies on the fact that only the person who shut down the equipment can start it back up again.

A sign might be all right for a DIYer who has also verbally warned his family not to touch anything until he is finished, but I recommend in the strongest possible terms that anyone who works with electricity professionally invest in a circuit breaker lockout. They are not expensive and they could very well save your life.

 

[LifesABitchAndThenYouFry]

A simple sign placed over the fuseboard might not be a bad investment? In fact aren't these commercially available?

like I said, unlikely to deter a youngster who wants to play on his nintendo

 

[masona]

You can buy a lockable transparent lid on C/Unit

 

[supersparks]

You can buy a lockable transparent lid on C/Unit

oh yea? and what about the cu lids that arnt lockable? or dont have a transparent lid? also that is NOT an mcb lock, an mcb lock locks the switch.

 

[masona]

what about the cu lids that arnt lockable? or dont have a transparent lid? also that is NOT an mcb lock, an mcb lock locks the switch.

I didn't say it was,I was saying maybe better to have a lockable transparent lid on C/Unit instead of a simple sign placed over the fuseboard suggested by mildmanneredjanitor and also LifesABitchAndThenYouFry quoted "the customer's kid had gone to the fuse-board and re-set the mcb cause his video game wasn't working - oUcH!"

 

[securespark]

Now, now gents. Let's cool down a bit!!

 

[masona]

Let's cool down a bit!!

Whaaaat,I'm trying to warm up,we got 4" of snow down here

 

[BR]

In the industrial end of things we use a heavier version of this, if more than one worker is worker is working on a piece of equipment each worker puts their own padlock on the hasp, when the last worker removes this lock he switches back on the power.

In relation to mcb lockouts we got a few each at a hager conference recently, these are the only really effective ones I’ve seen, when used in conjunction with modern hager breakers the mcb is designed to physically break should someone try to force the breaker up again. Many others are available such as these below, but act as a deterrent only. You would be amazed at the ignorance of some people in industrial/commercial situations.