California Code of Regulations › Title 8 - Industrial Relations › Division 1 - Department of Industrial Relations › Chapter 4 - Division of Industrial Safety › Subchapter 5 - Electrical Safety Orders › Group 2 - High-Voltage Electrical Safety Orders › Article 1 - Definitions › Section 2700 - Definitions

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
The following definitions of frequently used terms
						  shall be accepted as the intended meanings of these terms whenever used in
						  these High-Voltage Electrical Safety Orders (HVESO).
NOTE: Definitions of other terms used in only one
						  article are included in the front of that article.
Accepted. An installation is "accepted" if it has been
						  inspected and found by a nationally recognized testing laboratory to conform to
						  specified plans or to procedures of applicable codes. Accessible.
(A) Accessible (as applied to equipment).
						Admitting close approach because not guarded by locked doors (unless keys are
						readily available to those requiring access), elevation or other effective
						means. (See "Readily Accessible.")
(B) Accessible (as applied to wiring
						methods). Not permanently closed in by the structure or finish of the building;
						capable of being removed or exposed without disturbing the building structure,
						finish, or fixed appurtenance thereto. (See "Concealed" and
						"Exposed.")
(C) Readily Accessible.
						Capable of being reached quickly for operation, renewal, or inspections,
						without requiring those to whom ready access is requisite to climb over or
						remove obstacles or to resort to portable ladders, chairs, etc.
(D) Safely Accessible. Not exposing persons
						installing, operating, maintaining, or inspecting electrical apparatus to
						serious risks of tripping or falling or of coming in contact with energized
						electrical parts, moving machinery, surfaces or objects operating at high
						temperatures, or other hazardous equipment.
Aerial Lift. A device used to raise workers to an
						  elevated position.
Affected Employee. An employee whose job requires him
						  or her to operate or use a machine or equipment on which cleaning, repairing,
						  servicing, setting-up, or adjusting operations are being performed under
						  lockout or tagout, or whose job requires the employee to work in an area in
						  which such activities are being performed under lockout or tagout.
Ambient Temperature. The temperature of the cooling
						  medium that comes in contact with the device or equipment.
Ampacity. The current, in amperes, that a conductor can
						  carry continuously under the conditions of use without exceeding its
						  temperature rating.
Apparatus Case. The case (or tank) of electrical
						  apparatus is that part which serves as the container for the principal
						  energized parts and insulating medium.
Armored cable (Type AC). A fabricated assembly of
						  insulated conductors in a flexible metallic enclosure.
Askarel. A generic term for a group of nonflammable
						  synthetic chlorinated hydrocarbons used as electrical insulating media.
						  Askarels of various compositional types are used. Under arcing conditions the
						  gases produced, while consisting predominantly of noncombustible hydrogen
						  chloride, can include varying amounts of combustible gases depending upon the
						  askarel type.
Atmosphere.
(See Environment, also.)
(A) Contaminated Atmosphere. An atmosphere
						containing contaminants which tend to impair the effectiveness of electrical
						insulation.
(B) Corrosive
						Atmosphere. An atmosphere containing contaminants which react chemically with
						the parts of an electrical installation so as to impair its electrical
						conductivity and/or its mechanical strength.
(C) Explosive Atmosphere. (See Article
						34.)
(D) Flammable Atmosphere. (See
						Article 34.)
Authorized Employee or Person. For the purposes of
						  Section 2940.13, a qualified person who
						  locks out or tags out specific machines or equipment in order to perform
						  cleaning, repairing, servicing, setting-up, and adjusting operations on that
						  machine or equipment. An affected employee becomes an authorized employee when
						  that employee's duties including performing cleaning, repairing, servicing,
						  setting-up and adjusting operations covered under this section.
Authorized Person. A qualified person delegated to
						  perform specific duties under the conditions existing.
Automatic. Self-acting, operating by its own mechanism
						  when actuated by some impersonal influence, as, for example, a change in
						  current strength, pressure, temperature, or mechanical configuration.
Automatic Circuit Recloser. A self-controlled device
						  for automatically interrupting and reclosing an alternating current circuit,
						  with a predetermined sequence of opening and reclosing followed by resetting,
						  hold closed, or lockout operation.
Automatic Opening. (Tripping). The opening of a
						  switching device under predetermined conditions without the intervention of an
						  attendant.
AWG. American Wire Gauge.
Bare Conductor. See Conductor.
Barricade. Physical obstruction such as tapes, screens,
						  cones, or structures setup in a manner intended to warn and limit access to a
						  hazardous area.
Barrier. Physical obstruction which is intended to
						  prevent contact with energized lines or equipment or prevents unauthorized
						  access to a work area.
Basic Impulse Level (BIL). (See Ratings.)
Bond. An electrical connection from one metallic
						  element to another for the purpose of minimizing potential differences and
						  providing for mitigation of leakage current and electrolytic action.
Bonding (Bonded). The permanent joining of metallic
						  parts to form an electrically conductive path which will assure electrical
						  continuity and the capacity to conduct safely any current likely to be
						  imposed.
Bonding Jumper. A reliable conductor to assure the
						  required electrical conductivity between metal parts required to be
						  electrically connected.
Branch Circuit. That portion of a wiring system
						  extending beyond the automatic overcurrent protective device, excluding any
						  thermal cutout or motor running overload protective device that is not approved
						  for short circuit duty.
Building. For the purposes of these Orders, a building
						  is a structure which stands alone or which is cut off from adjoining structures
						  by fire walls with all openings therein protected by approved fire
						  doors.
Bus.
(A)
						Isolated Phase Bus. One in which each phase conductor is enclosed by an
						individual metal housing separated from adjacent conductor housings by an air
						space.
(B) Non-Segregated Phase
						Bus. One in which all phase conductors are in a common metal enclosure without
						barriers between phases.
(C)
						Segregated Phase Bus. One in which all phase conductors are in a common metal
						enclosure but are segregated by barriers between phases.
Bushing. An insulating structure including a through
						  conductor, or providing a passageway for such a conductor, with provision for
						  mounting on a barrier, conducting or otherwise, for the purpose of insulating
						  the conductor from the barrier and conducting current from one side of the
						  barrier to the other.
BWG. Birmingham Wire Gauge.
Cabinet. An enclosure designed either for surface or
						  flush mounting, and provided with a frame, mat, or trim in which a swinging
						  door or doors are or can be hung.
Cablebus. An assembly of insulated conductors with
						  fittings and conductor terminations in a completely enclosed, ventilated,
						  protective metal housing.
Cable, Electrical. A stranded conductor
						  (single-conductor cable) or a combination of conductors insulated from one
						  another (multiple-conductor cable).
Cable Riser. (See Riser.)
Cable Sheath. A protective covering applied to
						  cables.
NOTE: A cable sheath shall be permitted to consist of
						  multiple layers of which one or more is conductive.
Cable Terminations.
(A) Pothead. A device for the electrical and
						mechanical termination of an insulated electrical cable.
(B) Stress Cone. Cable termination which
						provides electrical stress relief for an insulated electrical cable.
(C) Terminal Chamber (Conduit Box). A
						separate compartment on electrical apparatus for terminating insulated
						electrical cables.
(D) Wiping
						Sleeve. A hollow, cylindrical, metal attachment to the tank (or case) or
						terminal chamber of electrical apparatus which is used for the mechanical
						termination of lead-sheathed insulated electrical cable.
Cable tray system. A unit or assembly of units or
						  sections and associated fittings forming a rigid structural system used to
						  securely fasten or support cables and raceways. Cable tray systems include
						  ladders, troughs, channels, solid bottom trays, and other similar
						  structures.
Case (Tank). (See Apparatus Case.)
Certified. Equipment is "certified" if it bears a
						  label, tag, or other record of certification that the equipment:
(A) Has been tested and found by a nationally
						recognized testing laboratory to meet nationally recognized standards or to be
						safe for use in a specified manner; or
(B) Is of a kind whose production is
						periodically inspected by a nationally recognized testing laboratory and is
						accepted by the laboratory as safe for its intended use.
Circuit. A conductor or system of conductors through
						  which an electric current is intended to flow.
Circuit Breaker. (See Switching Devices.)
Clearance (Authorization). Authorization to enter an
						  area and/or to perform an act restricted to authorized personnel.
Clearing Time. The time elapsing from the beginning of
						  an overcurrent to the final circuit interruption.
Close and Hold. (See Ratings.)
Collector Ring. An assembly of slip rings for
						  transferring electrical energy between a stationary and a rotating
						  member.
Communication Lines. The conductors and their
						  supporting or containing structures which are used for public or private signal
						  or communication service, and which operate at potentials not exceeding 400
						  volts to ground or 750 volts between any two points of the circuit, and the
						  transmitted power of which does not exceed 150 watts. When operating at less
						  than 150 volts no limit is placed on the capacity of the system.
NOTE: Telephone, telegraph, railroad signal, data,
						  clock, fire, police-alarm, community television antenna, and other systems
						  conforming with the above are included. Lines used for signaling purposes, but
						  not included under the above definition, are considered as supply lines of the
						  same voltage and are to be so run. Concealed. Rendered inaccessible by
						  enclosures, raceways, structures, the finish of a building, etc.
Conductor. A wire, cable, or other conducting material
						  suitable for carrying current.
(1)
						Bare. A conductor having no covering or electrical insulation
						whatsoever.
(2) Covered. A
						conductor encased within material of composition or thickness that is not
						recognized by these Safety Orders as electrical insulation.
(3) Insulated. A conductor encased within
						material of composition and thickness that is recognized by these Safety Orders
						as electrical insulation.
Construction. The erection of new wiring and equipment,
						  and the alteration, conversion, and improvement of existing wiring and
						  equipment.
Contactor. A device for repeatedly establishing and
						  interrupting an electric power circuit.
Contaminated. (See
						  Atmosphere.)