The Occupational Safety and Health Administration published a final rule in the February 14, 2006 Federal Register for an updated electrical installation standard. These are the first changes to federal OSHA's electrical installation requirements in 25 years. The revised standard strengthens employee protections and adds consistency between OSHA's requirements and many state and local building codes, which have adopted updated National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and National Electrical Code provisions.

Changes to OSHA's general industry electrical installation standard focus on safety in the design and installation of electric equipment in the workplace. The updated standard includes a new alternative method for classifying and installing equipment in Class I hazardous locations, new requirements for ground-fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs), and new provisions on wiring for carnivals and similar installations.

The final rule updates the general industry electrical installation requirements to the 2000 edition of the NFPA 70E, which was used as the foundation of the revised standard. The final rule also replaces the reference to the 1971 National Electrical Code in the mandatory appendix to the powered platform standard with a reference to OSHA's electrical installation standard.

Additional Resources:

California's Requirements for Low-Voltage Electrical Installations

Federal OSHA's Electrical Safety and Health Topic Page

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