WAC 296-46B-903   Equipment standards.  

     General.

     (1) The standard(s) used, as the basis of electrical product certification, field evaluation, or department approval must be determined by the department to provide an adequate level of safety or define an adequate level of safety performance. Except for the reference of construction requirements to ensure the product can be installed in accordance with the National Electrical Code, field evaluations, by an approved laboratory, shall not use the National Electrical Code as standard for product evaluation.

     (2) Generally, standards will be:

     (a) Developed by a standards developing organization under a method providing for input and consideration of views of industry groups, experts, users, consumers, governmental authorities, and others having broad experience in the electrical products safety field. A standard is used to control the quality and safety of a product;

     (b) Compatible with and be maintained current with periodic revisions of applicable national codes and installation standards; and

     (c) Approved by the department. The department will evaluate the proposed standard to determine that it provides an adequate level of safety.

     (3) All ANSI safety designated electrical product standards may be deemed acceptable for their intended use without further qualification.

     (4) If the product safety standard is not ANSI, the standard must be reviewed and approved by the department as an appropriate electrical product safety standard as a part of the field evaluation or department inspection process.

     Industrial control panel and industrial utilization equipment inspection.

     (5) Specific definitions for this section:

     (a) "Department evaluation" means a review in accordance with subsection (6)(b) of this section.

     (b) "Engineering evaluation" means a review in accordance with subsection (6)(c) of this section.

     (c) "Food processing plants" include buildings or facilities used in a manufacturing process, but do not include:

     (i) Municipal or other government facilities;

     (ii) Educational facilities or portions thereof;

     (iii) Institutional facilities or portions thereof;

     (iv) Restaurants;

     (v) Farming, ranching, or dairy farming operations;

     (vi) Residential uses; or

     (vii) Other installations not used for direct manufacturing purposes.

     (d) In RCW 19.28.901, "industrial control panel" means a factory or user wired assembly of industrial control equipment such as motor controllers, switches, relays, power supplies, computers, cathode ray tubes, transducers, and auxiliary devices used in the manufacturing process to control industrial utilization equipment. The panel may include disconnecting means and motor branch circuit protective devices. Industrial control panels include only those used in a manufacturing process in a food processing or industrial plant.

     (e) "Industrial plants" include buildings or facilities used in a manufacturing process or a manufacturing training facility (e.g., educational shop area in an educational or institutional facility), but do not include:

     (i) Municipal or other government facilities;

     (ii) Other educational facilities or portions thereof;

     (iii) Other institutional facilities or portions thereof;

     (iv) Restaurants;

     (v) Farming, ranching, or dairy farming operations;

     (vi) Residential uses; or

     (vii) Other installations not used for direct manufacturing purposes.

     (f) "Industrial utilization equipment" means equipment directly used in a manufacturing process in a food processing or industrial plant, in particular the processing, treatment, moving, or packaging of a material. Industrial utilization equipment does not include: Cold storage, warehousing, or similar storage equipment.

     (g) "Manufacturing process" means to make or process a raw material or part into a finished product for sale using industrial utilization equipment. A manufacturing process does not include the storage of a product for future distribution (e.g., cold storage, warehousing, and similar storage activity).

     (h) "Normal department inspection" is a part of the department electrical inspection process included with the general wiring inspection of a building, structure, or other electrical installation. Normal department inspection will only be made for equipment solely using listed or field evaluated components and wired to the requirements of the NEC. Fees for the normal department inspections required under this chapter are included in the electrical work permit fee calculated for the installation and are not a separate inspection fee. However, inspection time associated with such equipment is subject to the progress inspection rates in Part C of this chapter.

     (i) For the purposes of this section, "panel" means a single box or enclosure containing the components comprising an industrial control panel. A panel does not include any wiring methods connecting multiple panels or connecting a panel(s) and other electrical equipment.

     (6) Industrial control panels and industrial utilization equipment will be determined to meet the minimum electrical safety standards for installations by:

     (a) Listing or field evaluation of the entire panel or equipment;

     (b) Normal department inspection for compliance with codes and rules adopted under this chapter; or

     (c) An engineering evaluation review where an engineer, accredited by the department, shows the equipment to be in compliance with an appropriate industrial equipment standard(s).

     (i) See WAC 296-46B-997 for the requirements to become an accredited engineer.

     (ii) The engineer may review equipment upon request by the equipment owner or the equipment manufacturer.

     (iii) The engineer must notify the department of the intent to evaluate and submit a final approval report, within 10 days after applying the approval label or disapproving the equipment, using forms provided by the department. See Part C of this chapter for fee information.

     (iv) The equipment may be reviewed for compliance with the standard(s) before the equipment is located in Washington.

     (v) Appropriate standards are:

     (A) NEMA;

     (B) ANSI;

     (C) NFPA 79;

     (D) UL 508A;

     (E) International Electrotechnical Commission 60204; or

     (F) Their equivalent.

     (vi) In cases where equipment has been previously reviewed and approved by an accredited engineer or the department and found to meet an appropriate standard(s), the equipment information will be placed on a "reviewed and approved industrial utilization equipment list" established and maintained by the department. The list may be used by a reviewing engineer to aid in evaluating other like equipment. Because standards change over time, equipment will be removed from the list three years after the last successful review. The list will contain the following information:

     (A) Equipment manufacturer name;

     (B) Model and serial numbers;

     (C) Voltage, full load current; phasing; and asymmetrical fault current rating of the equipment;

     (D) Accessory items approved for use with the equipment;

     (E) Standard(s) to which the equipment was built;

     (F) Application of use for the equipment;

     (G) Original reviewing engineer's name; and

     (H) Date of the original review approval.

     (vii) If the engineer uses the "reviewed and approved industrial utilization equipment list," the engineer will visually determine that the equipment being reviewed is the exact same model as equipment on the list.

     (viii) Before the engineer's approval label can be applied, the engineer must visually inspect the equipment on site to determine that the equipment is in factory original good condition, has not been modified electrically, and the equipment use is appropriate to the standard(s).

     (ix) When the review is completed and the equipment is eligible for approval, the engineer must personally affix a permanent label to the equipment showing:

     (A) Engineer's name;

     (B) Date of approval;

     (C) Equipment serial number;

     (D) Equipment voltage, full load current, phasing, and fault interrupting rating; and

     (E) The following statement: "This equipment meets appropriate standards for industrial utilization equipment."

     (7) The department may authorize, on a case-by-case basis, use of the industrial control panel or equipment, for a period not to exceed six months or as approved by the chief electrical inspector after use is begun, before its final inspection, listing, field evaluation, or engineering evaluation is complete.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 19.28.006, 19.28.010, 19.28.031, 19.28.041, 19.28.061, 19.28.101, 19.28.131, 19.28.161, 19.28.171, 19.28.191, 19.28.201, 19.28.211, 19.28.241, 19.28.251, 19.28.281, 19.28.311, 19.28.321, 19.28.400, 19.28.420, 19.28.490, 19.28.551. 08-24-048, § 296-46B-903, filed 11/25/08, effective 12/31/08.]