Search
Search

Displaying Holiday Lights

Posted on 12/4/2012 by James Griffin

It’s time again to decorate for the holidays! Whether your holiday lights are red, green, blue, flashing, icicle-shaped, or still knotted in a ball in the storage room—there are several workplace lighting, electrical, and installation/wiring guidelines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) you should be aware of before stringing up the decorations.
 
Lighting standards can be found at 29 CFR Part 1910, under the rules for electrical wiring installation. The rules, including regulations regarding grounding, wire size, and installation locations for permanent wiring can be found at §1910.304. Keep in mind that permanent wiring rules still apply regardless of the light source. For instance, OSHA standard 1910.304(c)(5) states that lights used outdoors must be placed below all live transformers, conductors, and any other electrical equipment unless adequate clearances and safeguards are provided.
 
At §1910.305, there are also rules for temporary lighting, which is where you will find specific standards for holiday lights. These requirements include, but are not limited to:
 
  • All other requirements for permanent wiring still apply to temporary wiring (unless specifically modified in §1910.305(a)(2));
  • The temporary lighting must be 600 volts, nominal, or less;
  • Holiday lights may only be up for 90 days;
  • Flexible cords and cables shall be protected from accidental damage, as might be caused, for example, by sharp corners, projections, and doorways or other pinch points;
  • Cable assemblies and flexible cords and cables shall be supported in place at intervals that ensure that they will be protected from physical damage. Support shall be in the form of staples, cables ties, straps, or similar type fittings installed so as not to cause damage; and
  • Specific rules for feeders and branch circuits.
For full requirements, check out 29 CFR 1910.305(a)(2).
 
Have a happy and safe holiday season!
 

Tags: osha

Find a Post

Recent Posts

Compliance Topics

Compliance Archives

Lion - Quotes

Lion is my preferred trainer for hazmat and DOT.

Jim Jani

Environmental Coordinator

The course is well thought out and organized in a way that leads to a clearer understanding of the total training.

David Baily

Hazmat Shipping Professional

Excellent course. Very interactive. Explanations are great whether you get the questions wrong or right.

Gregory Thompson

Environmental, Health & Safety Regional Manager

Lion's training was by far the best online RCRA training I've ever taken. It was challenging and the layout was great!

Paul Harbison

Hazardous Waste Professional

Course instructor was better prepared and presented better than other trainers. Course manual and references were easier to use as well.

Marty Brownfield

Hazardous Waste Professional

Lion does a great job summarizing and communicating complicated EH&S-related regulations.

Michele Irmen

Sr. Environmental Engineer

I really enjoy your workshops. Thank you for such a great program and all the help Lion has provided me over the years!

George Chatman

Hazardous Material Pharmacy Technician

More thorough than a class I attended last year through another company.

Troy Yonkers

HSES Representative

I love that the instructor emphasized the thought process behind the regs.

Rebecca Saxena

Corporate Product Stewardship Specialist

The online course was well thought out and organized, with good interaction between the student and the course.

Larry Ybarra

Material Release Agent

Download Our Latest Whitepaper

Explore ten hazardous waste management errors that caused generators in California the most trouble last year.

Download
Latest Whitepaper

By submitting your phone number, you agree to receive recurring marketing and training text messages. Consent to receive text messages is not required for any purchases. Text STOP at any time to cancel. Message and data rates may apply. View our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.