So I was given what turned out to be a bit more work than I was told to do today, or had sufficient time to fit into my schedule. Just two 24" square drummer platforms that for some reason had a light and a Edison receptacle, but no means of powering them up. Band is low budget as normal in not our show persay, just something to work on as proposed in me doing only what is necessary to get a flange mount surface mount plug on the platforms to power them up. Song with the Little Rascals starting it really annoys me but it’s a project to do as economically as possible in normal for such 70's early 80's bands.
Got the platforms and found out on inspection that there was a single 20A Edison receptacle flush mounted to the platform and tapped off it was a 35w PAR 16 lamp housing remote to it also flush mounted on the platform. These both in standard household 1900 type boxes to mount or protect that were flush mounted to the platform. Standard stock carpenter trade type wiring of such things and not persay code but sufficient overall to protect hands from the terminals. A few other specific code and in general safety violations done on the other platforms I was not to work on these would interconnect to by way of on surface of the platform jumpers jumping between them. Not the best way to do it but my task was to do the power for the two end platforms for this assembly. Not hard to add a flange mount Edison to the face of the platform on the surface in accepting the task on the surface at least.
Than I opened up the outlets and noted a very specific lack of grounding by way of grounding wire instead of terminated to electrical box just cut off. Already noted the wire passed thru some sharp cut in steel support type wire ways without bushings and lack of strain relief in any way by way of sufficient to the size of cable drilled hole in electrical box so as to not do a strain relief for it. Just shove the cable thru the hole in the box and not even bushing it, or shove thru the cable thru the sharp edges of the fraiming and call it a day.
Project was mine now and could be simple enough in wiring up a plug that in someway fed the receptacle which than fed the lighting fixture. Could have simply grounded the first thing in line, but than I considered say some drink spilled on the platform and that water as if drain outlet collected up in that of the un-grounded - ground wire cut lamp socket as a life safety type thing. Also considered cable fed thru box steel that has sharp edges which while not showing damage now, could at some point. Considered the knife blade that stripped the outer jacket of the cable feeding the outlets in stripping it to far and causing serious cuts in the inner conductors at a place it was feeding thru the un-bushed or strain relief conduit boxes.
At some point the project turned into not just that of providing power to the platform assembly, but doing it properly or at least as safely as given what I was presented wiring it safely sufficient. Added an extra 2.5 hours to the project in doing so at my skill/pay rate. Decided that now that I’m working on the platform, the companies liability and or mine for doing the work was not worth risking someones life in doing it as simple as asked. Also that the rest of the platforms were to be on record in observing what was done, that they should come see me for proper wiring given the system in use with the rest of the platforms was un-grounded and any water on the stage would make the screens to the flush mounted light fixtures potential shocking type stuff in killing someone. On record for this in hoped for proposal to the band in more work to do on the platforms and my work is safe given what it is plugged into might be ungrounded and defeat the purpose of what I did.
Big question than comes up in that not that I will be fired or yelled at for doing a proper job when asked to only do a hack job for me doing it properly, but how could I do less? What amount of job to do of what is requested by those that don’t know, verses those that do know but are tasked with doing what is specific to the project?
Certainly I with the driver/rep. for the tour was ticking off code violations on the surface of other stuff I saw on these platforms and willing to let the driver for the tour do simple stuff within the bounds of what was requested by him in general in me just giving him parts. Sorry thing a truck driver doing the tour wiring but within bounds as long as he stuck with me in ensuring he was sufficient to install what was requested and what was requested not sufficient that I was concerned with him doing the work. On the other hand, once given the platforms to do the work on, I could not accept what was done. Budget or not, someone gets electrocuted and it is me and the company held liable no matter if at fault or not. Yea, I wanna be liable for the drummer for some 70's band being electricuted....
Strain reliefs and grounding of all electrical elements and the platform itself is what I did but it took a bit of time to do the work required and make it safe in fitting with the hack already done. Might have even been more cost effective to just scrap and start from scratch in some instances. Still grounded and done properly is what the work was sent to me for and I did it to the platforms I was sent. Had to seriously modify some boxes to work with what I was given and even bend the concept of the code in getting it done safely but it was both professionally done and done within the spirit of the code.
But to what worth given the rest of the platforms these connect to probably also have the grounding conductor cut beyond warning that hopefully makes it to the band in paying for it? What I did was sufficient and withing what I could do very safe but what the rest of it indicates negates what I did. Given this, why bother? This in fairly understanding what system it was plugged into was also unsafe and now negates my extra work?
To what extent does one do what is asked, what beyond this is safe and professional, yet stand back for a what one is not asked to do and is very unsafe given what was done is probably negated by what others this connects to is negating this? Beyond doing what is best and safe, when faced with what you cannot get done in still being unsafe, either why bother even making a warning that won’t go anywhere and living with what is known as opposed to just playing it simple and doing what specifically is requested? What I did is safe and as proper as I can make it given what I had to work with, what it is plugged into is not thus what I did is not as a known concept that does not sit well.
Got the platforms and found out on inspection that there was a single 20A Edison receptacle flush mounted to the platform and tapped off it was a 35w PAR 16 lamp housing remote to it also flush mounted on the platform. These both in standard household 1900 type boxes to mount or protect that were flush mounted to the platform. Standard stock carpenter trade type wiring of such things and not persay code but sufficient overall to protect hands from the terminals. A few other specific code and in general safety violations done on the other platforms I was not to work on these would interconnect to by way of on surface of the platform jumpers jumping between them. Not the best way to do it but my task was to do the power for the two end platforms for this assembly. Not hard to add a flange mount Edison to the face of the platform on the surface in accepting the task on the surface at least.
Than I opened up the outlets and noted a very specific lack of grounding by way of grounding wire instead of terminated to electrical box just cut off. Already noted the wire passed thru some sharp cut in steel support type wire ways without bushings and lack of strain relief in any way by way of sufficient to the size of cable drilled hole in electrical box so as to not do a strain relief for it. Just shove the cable thru the hole in the box and not even bushing it, or shove thru the cable thru the sharp edges of the fraiming and call it a day.
Project was mine now and could be simple enough in wiring up a plug that in someway fed the receptacle which than fed the lighting fixture. Could have simply grounded the first thing in line, but than I considered say some drink spilled on the platform and that water as if drain outlet collected up in that of the un-grounded - ground wire cut lamp socket as a life safety type thing. Also considered cable fed thru box steel that has sharp edges which while not showing damage now, could at some point. Considered the knife blade that stripped the outer jacket of the cable feeding the outlets in stripping it to far and causing serious cuts in the inner conductors at a place it was feeding thru the un-bushed or strain relief conduit boxes.
At some point the project turned into not just that of providing power to the platform assembly, but doing it properly or at least as safely as given what I was presented wiring it safely sufficient. Added an extra 2.5 hours to the project in doing so at my skill/pay rate. Decided that now that I’m working on the platform, the companies liability and or mine for doing the work was not worth risking someones life in doing it as simple as asked. Also that the rest of the platforms were to be on record in observing what was done, that they should come see me for proper wiring given the system in use with the rest of the platforms was un-grounded and any water on the stage would make the screens to the flush mounted light fixtures potential shocking type stuff in killing someone. On record for this in hoped for proposal to the band in more work to do on the platforms and my work is safe given what it is plugged into might be ungrounded and defeat the purpose of what I did.
Big question than comes up in that not that I will be fired or yelled at for doing a proper job when asked to only do a hack job for me doing it properly, but how could I do less? What amount of job to do of what is requested by those that don’t know, verses those that do know but are tasked with doing what is specific to the project?
Certainly I with the driver/rep. for the tour was ticking off code violations on the surface of other stuff I saw on these platforms and willing to let the driver for the tour do simple stuff within the bounds of what was requested by him in general in me just giving him parts. Sorry thing a truck driver doing the tour wiring but within bounds as long as he stuck with me in ensuring he was sufficient to install what was requested and what was requested not sufficient that I was concerned with him doing the work. On the other hand, once given the platforms to do the work on, I could not accept what was done. Budget or not, someone gets electrocuted and it is me and the company held liable no matter if at fault or not. Yea, I wanna be liable for the drummer for some 70's band being electricuted....
Strain reliefs and grounding of all electrical elements and the platform itself is what I did but it took a bit of time to do the work required and make it safe in fitting with the hack already done. Might have even been more cost effective to just scrap and start from scratch in some instances. Still grounded and done properly is what the work was sent to me for and I did it to the platforms I was sent. Had to seriously modify some boxes to work with what I was given and even bend the concept of the code in getting it done safely but it was both professionally done and done within the spirit of the code.
But to what worth given the rest of the platforms these connect to probably also have the grounding conductor cut beyond warning that hopefully makes it to the band in paying for it? What I did was sufficient and withing what I could do very safe but what the rest of it indicates negates what I did. Given this, why bother? This in fairly understanding what system it was plugged into was also unsafe and now negates my extra work?
To what extent does one do what is asked, what beyond this is safe and professional, yet stand back for a what one is not asked to do and is very unsafe given what was done is probably negated by what others this connects to is negating this? Beyond doing what is best and safe, when faced with what you cannot get done in still being unsafe, either why bother even making a warning that won’t go anywhere and living with what is known as opposed to just playing it simple and doing what specifically is requested? What I did is safe and as proper as I can make it given what I had to work with, what it is plugged into is not thus what I did is not as a known concept that does not sit well.