Permanent Power Requirements

[eatapeach]

I have a 20 story residents hall that was energized by the power company on Tuesday and I found out today the switchgear is hot and the electrical contractor plans to make panels throughout hot and start-up mechanical equipment on Friday. I have not performed any inspections of the electrical panels and was told by the contractor it's not required by code that I must perform inspections prior to making the panels hot. He stated he is only required to have a lock-out/tag plan in place. The contractor stated he will shut down the power at a much later date to allow me to look into the panels. I'm sure he will not want to remove all the panel covers for me to perform my inspection to verify the labeling on each circuit, inside the panel, is clean and that the conductors are nice and tight. I'm used to performing all electrical rough-in inspections in the electrical rooms which are on each floor and the main electrical room on level 1 prior to having panels energized. What are your thoughts? Does anyone know if the NEC allows the panels to be energized first and inspected later?

 

[davidbeach]

What's the project spec's require?

I’ll see your silver lining and raise you two black clouds. - Protection Operations

 

[eatapeach]

It doesn't state if inspections must be completed prior to power being turn on and the engineer has not responded to my question

 

[dpc]

Most local authorities require inspection after rough-in and before energization. But that's not an NEC requirement. As David said, this is generally covered by the construction specifications. Your post doesn't say if where the project is located and what your contractual role is.

The NEC does require testing of any ground fault protection that is required by the NEC.

 

[eatapeach]

It's a government project not requiring local jurisdiction inspections. I'm a 3rd party inspector and I'm only allowed to enforce code requirements.

 

[davidbeach]

It totally depends on the T&C of the contract. Badly done, there may not be any reason for the contractor to make things easy for you at all. But without a full contract to review (which I won't bother with) there's absolutely no way of knowing one way or the other. Where the government is the AHJ, as it always is on government projects, there's no way of knowing anything about the requirements without the contract. Been there, done that.

I’ll see your silver lining and raise you two black clouds. - Protection Operations

 

[FacEngrPE]

"A COR’s Guide to Inspection and Acceptance" may provide some ideas how to proceed.

https://www.navsup.navy.mil/site/public/flcph/documents/contracting/cor_guides/A_CORs_Guide_to_Inspection_and_Acceptance.pdf[/URL]]One of the most important duties and responsibilities the contracting officer frequently delegates to the contracting officer’s representative (COR) is inspection and acceptance of the contractor’s work during contract performance. Inspection and acceptance are critical functions for several reasons. Inspection determines the acceptability (or nonacceptability) of the services or supplies furnished by the contractor. Acceptance is the government’s acknowledgment that a particular contract output or product adequately meets the pertinent contract requirement. Thus, acceptance of an item entitles the contractor to payment and usually transfers the risk of loss of the work from the contractor to the government. Specific “inspection” clauses in many government contracts delineate the government’s right to inspect and test the contractor’s output, often including inspection of work in progress, at all stages of performance and wherever the work is being conducted.

Failure to allow the government required QC and inspections (depending on the specific contract) will result in delayed (or perhaps non) payments to the contractor. You need to understand your responsibilities under your contract. You might be required to report the situation to the contracting officer.

davidbeach is correct about the importance of the contract. There is also a list of CFR's in the linked / attached document that are important to the inspection process (not just electrical).

 

[eatapeach]

Thanks for all the information. It’s very difficult sometimes dealing with the folks I perform inspections for. I am constantly told I can only enforce what’s in the code book and have tried my best to explain that all construction documents ( drawings, specifications, etc.) become part of the code book once submitted and approved. Many owners and contractors think inspectors do not have the authority to enforce specifications and I think this comes from them having dealt with municipality inspectors who never enforce specifications.
Again thanks for everyone’s input

 

[FacEngrPE]

Municipality inspectors do not have authority beyond the legislation they work under. Owners should never depend on a municipal inspector to enforce the construction contract documents.

If you are the Government Contracting Officer's inspector, you are not only the code inspector, but also the owner's representative. In commercial construction, the code is invoked by enabling legislation which directs the municipal inspectors to enforce the code.

In government construction, the code (electrical code or what ever) is invoked in the contract documents. They will make it amply clear that a contractor that wants to build something other than what is contracted can get in really hot water. Your charging documents should have guidance how to handle the situation, and when to advise the Contract Officer.

Plenty of source material on designing, specifying managing and commissioning government construction projects can be found here - Whole Building Design Guide.

 

[eatapeach]

Thanks for all the info. I still feel like I’m at a little standstill because there’s nothing in the construction documents that states the contractor can not energize the panels prior to inspection and unfortunately code doesn’t address it either. My past experience with this issue the contractor tells me they will have a shutdown at a later date and I can inspect the panels at that time however that never happens. Unfortunately everything is always about scheduling and when contractors begin to start talking about delays everyone agrees to move forward. I have been doing this for 40 yrs and it seems to get worse each year. When I started out the A/E team made weekly visits to job sites now I never see them. Engineers tell me their fees have been cut back so much they can not afford to make site visits

 

[thermionic1]

Have you asked about acceptance test results for the transformers, bus work, protection settings settings for the circuit breakers, etc? Has anything been meggered? If the contractor can't show you results and documentation, it may give you a little leverage.