Washington Administrative Code › Title 296 - Labor and Industries, Department of › Chapter 296-46B - Electrical safety standards, administration, and installation › Part A - NEC INSTALLATION AMENDMENTS, STANDARDS, INSPECTIONS, AND DEFINITIONS › Section 296-46B-100 - General definitions

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
All definitions listed in the National Electrical Code and
				  chapter 19.28 RCW are recognized in this chapter unless other specific
				  definitions are given in this chapter and chapter 19.28 RCW. The definitions in
				  this section apply to all parts of this chapter. Some sections may have
				  definitions specific to that section.
"Accreditation" is a determination by the department that a
				  laboratory meets the requirements of this chapter and is therefore authorized
				  to evaluate electrical products that are for sale in the state of
				  Washington.
"Administrative law judge" means an administrative law judge
				  (ALJ) appointed pursuant to chapter 34.12 RCW and serving in board proceedings
				  pursuant to chapter 19.28 RCW and this chapter.
"ANSI" means American National Standards Institute. Copies of
				  ANSI standards are available from the National Conference of States on Building
				  Codes and Standards, Inc.
"Appeal" is a request for review of a department action by
				  the board as authorized by chapter 19.28 RCW.
"Appellant" means any person, firm, partnership, corporation,
				  or other entity that has filed an appeal or request for board review.
"Appliance" means household appliance.
"ASTM" means the American Society for Testing and Materials.
				  Copies of ASTM documents are available from ASTM International.
"AWG" means American Wire Gauge.
"Basement" means that portion of a building that is partly or
				  completely below grade plane. A basement will be considered as a story above
				  grade plane and not a basement where the finished surface of the floor above
				  the basement is:
(a) More than six
				feet above grade plane;
(b) More
				than six feet above the finished ground level for more than 50 percent of the
				total building perimeter; or
(c)
				More than 12 feet above the finished ground level at any point. Also see
				"mezzanine" and "story."
"Board" means the electrical board established and authorized
				  under chapter 19.28 RCW.
"Category list" is a list of manufacturing safety standards
				  or product types determined by the department.
A "certified electrical product" is an electrical product to
				  which a laboratory, accredited by the state of Washington, has the laboratory's
				  certification mark attached.
A "certification mark" is a specified laboratory label,
				  symbol, or other identifying mark that indicates the manufacturer produced the
				  product in compliance with appropriate standards or that the product has been
				  tested for specific end uses.
"Certificate of competency" includes the certificates of
				  competency for master journey level electrician, master specialty electrician,
				  journey level, and specialty electrician.
A laboratory "certification program" is a specified set of
				  testing, inspection, and quality assurance procedures, including appropriate
				  implementing authority, regulating the evaluation of electrical products for
				  certification marking by an electrical products certification
				  laboratory.
A "complete application" includes the submission of all
				  appropriate fees, documentation, and forms.
"Chapter" means chapter 296-46B WAC unless expressly used for
				  separate reference.
"Construction," for the purposes of chapter 19.28 RCW, means
				  electrical construction.
"Coordination (selective)" as defined in NEC 100 must be
				  determined and documented by a professional engineer registered under chapter
				  18.43 RCW.
"Department" means the department of labor and industries of
				  the state of Washington.
"Director" means the director of the department, or the
				  director's designee.
"Egress - Unobstructed (as applied to NEC 110.26 (C)(2)(a))"
				  means an egress path that allows a worker to travel to the exit from any other
				  area in the room containing the equipment described in NEC 110.26 (C)(2)
				  without having to pass through that equipment's required working space.
"Electrical equipment" includes electrical conductors,
				  conduit, raceway, apparatus, materials, components, and other electrical
				  equipment not exempted by
				  RCW
				  19.28.006(9). Any
				  conduit/raceway of a type listed for electrical use is considered to be
				  electrical equipment even if no wiring is installed in the conduit/raceway at
				  the time of the conduit/raceway installation.
An "electrical products certification laboratory" is a
				  laboratory or firm accredited by the state of Washington to perform
				  certification of electrical products.
An "electrical products evaluation laboratory" is a
				  laboratory or firm accredited by the state of Washington to perform on-site
				  field evaluation of electrical products for safety.
An "equivalent apprenticeship program" for the purposes of
				  RCW
				  19.28.161 (2)(a)(i), means
				  one that is party to a reciprocal agreement recognized by the Washington state
				  apprenticeship and training council (WSATC) under WAC
				  296-05-011(3).
"Field evaluated" means an electrical product to which a
				  field evaluation mark is attached. Field evaluation must include job site
				  inspection unless waived by the department, and may include component sampling
				  and/or laboratory testing.
"Field evaluation mark" is a specified laboratory label,
				  symbol, or other identifying mark indicating the manufacturer produced the
				  product in essential compliance with appropriate standards or that the product
				  has been evaluated for specific end uses.
A "field evaluation program" is a specified set of testing,
				  inspection, and quality assurance procedures, including appropriate
				  implementing authority regulating the testing and evaluation of electrical
				  products for field evaluation marking.
The "filing" is the date the document is actually received in
				  the office of the chief electrical inspector.
"Final judgment" means any money that is owed to the
				  department under this chapter, including fees and penalties, or any money that
				  is owed to the department as a result of an individual's or contractor's
				  unsuccessful appeal of a citation.
"Fished wiring" is when cable or conduit is installed within
				  the finished surfaces of an existing building or building structure (e.g.,
				  wall, floor or ceiling cavity).
"Household appliance" means utilization equipment installed
				  in a dwelling unit that is built in standardized sizes or types and is
				  installed or connected as a unit to perform one or more household functions
				  such as food preparation, cooking, and cleaning. Includes appliances typically
				  installed in a dwelling unit kitchen, clothes washing, drying, and water
				  heating appliances, portable room air conditioning units and portable heaters,
				  etc. Fixed electric space-heating equipment covered in NEC 424 (furnaces,
				  baseboard and wall heaters, electric heat cable, etc.) and fixed
				  air-conditioning/heat pump equipment (NEC 440) are not household appliances.
				  Household appliance does not mean any utilization equipment that:
(a) Supplies electrical power, other than
				Class 2, to other utilization equipment; or
(b) Receives electrical power, other than
				Class 2, through other utilization equipment.
HVAC/refrigeration specific definitions:
(a) "HVAC/refrigeration" means heating,
				ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration.
(b) "HVAC/refrigeration component" means
				electrical power and limited energy components within the "HVAC/refrigeration
				system," including, but not limited to: Pumps, compressors, motors, heating
				coils, controls, switches, thermostats, humidistats, low-voltage damper
				controls, outdoor sensing controls, outside air dampers, stand- alone duct
				smoke detectors, air monitoring devices, zone control valves and equipment for
				monitoring of HVAC/refrigeration control panels and low-voltage connections.
				This definition excludes equipment and components of non-"HVAC/refrigeration
				control systems."
(c)
				"HVAC/refrigeration control panel" means an enclosed, manufactured assembly of
				electrical components designed specifically for the control of a
				HVAC/refrigeration system. Line voltage equipment that has low voltage, NEC
				Class 2 control or monitoring components incidental to the designed purpose of
				the equipment is not an HVAC/ refrigeration control panel (e.g., combination
				starters).
(d) "HVAC/refrigeration
				control system" means a network system regulating and/or monitoring a
				HVAC/refrigeration system. Equipment of a HVAC/refrigeration control system
				includes, but is not limited to: Control panels, data centers, relays,
				contactors, sensors, and cables related to the monitoring and control of a
				HVAC/refrigeration system(s).
(e)
				"HVAC/refrigeration equipment" means the central unit primary to the function
				of the "HVAC/refrigeration system." HVAC/refrigeration includes, but is not
				limited to: Heat pumps, swamp coolers, furnaces, compressor packages, and
				boilers.
(f) "HVAC/refrigeration
				system" means a system of HVAC/refrigeration: Wiring, equipment, and components
				integrated to generate, deliver, or control heated, cooled, filtered,
				refrigerated, or conditioned air. This definition excludes
				non-HVAC/refrigeration control systems (e.g., fire alarm systems, intercom
				systems, building energy management systems, and similar non-HVAC/refrigeration
				systems).
"IBC" means the International Building Code. Copies of the
				  IBC are available from the International Code Council.
An "individual" or "party" or "person" means an individual,
				  firm, partnership, corporation, association, government subdivision or unit
				  thereof, or other entity.
An "installation" includes the act of installing, connecting,
				  repairing, modifying, or otherwise performing work on an electrical system,
				  component, equipment, or wire except as exempted by WAC
				  296-46B-925. An installation is
				  not the passive testing or operational programming of an electrical system,
				  component, equipment, or wire. See "passive testing."
An "identification plate" is suitable for the environment and
				  is a printed or etched adhesive label approved by the department or a phenolic
				  or metallic plate or other similar material engraved in block letters at least
				  1/4 inch high unless specifically required to be larger by this chapter,
				  suitable for the environment and application. The letters and the background
				  must be in contrasting colors. Screws, rivets, permanent adhesive, or methods
				  specifically described in this chapter must be used to affix an identification
				  plate to the equipment or enclosure.
"Job site" means a specific worksite having a single address
				  or specific physical location (e.g., a single-family residence, a building, a
				  structure, a marina, an individual apartment building with a specific address,
				  etc.).
"Journey level electrician" means a person who has been
				  issued a journey level electrician certificate of competency by the department.
				  The terms "journey level" and "journeyperson" in chapter 19.28 RCW are
				  synonymous.
"Labeled" means an electrical product that bears a
				  certification mark issued by a laboratory accredited by the state of
				  Washington.
A "laboratory" may be either an electrical product(s)
				  certification laboratory or an electrical product(s) evaluation
				  laboratory.
A "laboratory operations control manual" is a document to
				  establish laboratory operation procedures and may include a laboratory quality
				  control manual.
"License" means a license required under chapter 19.28
				  RCW.
"Like-in-kind" means having the same overcurrent protection
				  requirements and similar characteristics such as voltage requirement, current
				  draw, short circuit characteristics, and function within the system and being
				  in the same location. Like-in-kind also includes any equipment component
				  authorized by the manufacturer as a suitable component replacement part.
For the purpose of WAC
				  296-46B-940, a "lineworker" is a
				  person employed by a serving electrical utility or employed by a licensed
				  general electrical contractor who carries, on their person, evidence that
				  they:
(a) Have graduated from a
				department-approved lineworker's apprenticeship course; or
(b) Are currently registered in a
				department-approved lineworker's apprenticeship course and are working under
				the direct 100 percent supervision of a journey level electrician or a graduate
				of a lineworker's apprenticeship course approved by the department. The
				training received in the lineworker's apprenticeship program must include
				training in applicable articles of the currently adopted National Electrical
				Code.
"Listed" means equipment has been listed and identified by a
				  laboratory approved by the state of Washington for the appropriate equipment
				  standard per this chapter.
"Low voltage" means:
(a) NEC, Class 1 power limited circuits at 30
				volts maximum.
(b) NEC, Class 2
				circuits powered by a Class 2 power supply as defined in NEC
				725.60(A).
(c) NEC, Class 3
				circuits powered by a Class 3 power supply as defined in NEC
				725.60(A).
(d) Circuits of
				telecommunications systems as defined in chapter 19.28 RCW.
"Member of the firm" means the member(s) on file with the
				  department of licensing for sole proprietorships/partnerships or with the
				  secretary of state for corporations.
"Mezzanine" is the intermediate level or levels between the
				  floor and ceiling of any story with an aggregate floor area of not more than
				  one-third of the area of the room or space in which the level or levels are
				  located. Also see "basement" and "story."
"NEC" means National Electrical Code. Copies of the NEC are
				  available from the National Fire Protection Association.
"NEMA" means National Electrical Manufacturer's Association.
				  Copies of NEMA standards are available from the National Electrical
				  Manufacturer's Association.
"NESC" means National Electrical Safety Code. Copies of the
				  NESC are available from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers,
				  Inc.
"NETA" means International Electrical Testing Association,
				  Inc. Copies of the NETA standards and information are available from the
				  International Electrical Testing Association, Inc.
"NFPA" means the National Fire Protection Association. Copies
				  of NFPA documents are available from the National Fire Protection
				  Association.
"NRTL" means Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory
				  accredited by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
				  after meeting the requirements of
				  29 C.F.R.
				  1910.7.
A "new building" for the purposes of
				  RCW
				  19.28.261 includes the setting of a
				  manufactured, mobile, or modular building.
"Passive testing" (e.g., pressing of test buttons, use of
				  testing equipment like voltage testers, clamp-on meters, removal of a device
				  head where the wiring is terminated on a separate base plate, etc.) means
				  testing that does not require any:
(a)
				Physical modification to the electrical system wiring; or
(b) Wiring to be disconnected or terminated,
				except as necessary for an approved electrical testing laboratory or approved
				engineer performing an equipment evaluation.
"Point of contact" or "point of connection" means the service
				  point.
"Proceeding" means any matter regarding an appeal before the
				  board including hearings before an administrative law judge.
"Public area or square" is an area where the public has
				  general, clear, and unrestricted access.
A "quality control manual" is a document to maintain the
				  quality control of the laboratory's method of operation. It consists of
				  specified procedures and information for each test method responding to the
				  requirements of the product standard. Specific information must be provided for
				  portions of individual test methods when needed to comply with the standard's
				  criteria or otherwise support the laboratory's operation.
"RCW" means the Revised Code of Washington. Electronic copies
				  of electrical RCW are available from the department and the office of the code
				  reviser (
https://leg.wa.gov/codereviser
).
"Readily accessible" means the definition as defined in NEC
				  100. In addition, it means that, except for keys, no tools or other devices are
				  necessary to gain access (e.g., covers secured with screws, etc.).
"Service" or "served" means that as defined in
				  RCW
				  34.05.010(19) when used in
				  relation to department actions or proceedings.
A "sign," when required by the NEC, for use as an
				  identification method (e.g., legibly marked, legible warning notice, marked,
				  field marked, permanent plaque/directory, etc.) means "identification
				  plate."
A "stand-alone amplified sound or public address system" is a
				  system that has distinct wiring and equipment for audio signal generation,
				  recording, processing, amplification, and reproduction. This definition does
				  not apply to telecommunications installations.
"Story" is that portion of a building included between the
				  upper surface of a floor and the upper surface of the floor or roof next above.
				  Next above means vertically and not necessarily directly above. Also see
				  "basement" and "mezzanine."
"Structure," for the purposes of this chapter and in addition
				  to the definition in the NEC, means something constructed either in the field
				  or factory that is used or intended for supporting or sheltering any use or
				  occupancy as defined by the IBC.
"Supervision" for the purpose of supervising electrical
				  trainees, means that the appropriately certified supervising electrician is on
				  the same job site as the trainee being supervised. The trainee is not
				  considered to be on the same job site if the supervising electrician and the
				  trainee are working:
(a) In separate
				buildings at a single address (e.g., a campus, multibuilding industrial
				complex, multibuilding apartment complex, etc.) except for a single-family
				residence; or
(b) On an outdoor
				project (e.g., irrigation system, farm, street lighting, traffic signalization,
				etc.) where the trainee is more than 1,000 feet from the supervising
				electrician or where the trainee is more than 200 feet from the supervising
				electrician and out of sight.
"System design review" means a set of design documents that
				  include the manufacturer's installation information, a legible one-line diagram
				  of the system design, and calculations used to determine voltage and current
				  within the system. The one-line diagram must show the system equipment,
				  devices, overcurrent protection, conductor sizing, grounding, ground fault
				  protection if required, and any system interconnection points. The review must
				  be available to the inspector during all inspections.
A "telecommunications local service provider" is a regulated
				  or unregulated (e.g., by the Federal Communications Commission or the utilities
				  and transportation commission as a telephone or telecommunications provider)
				  firm providing telecommunications service ahead of the telecommunications
				  network demarcation point to an end-user's facilities.
"TIA/EIA" means the Telecommunications Industries
				  Association/ Electronic Industries Association which publishes the TIA/EIA
				  Telecommunications Building Wiring Standards. Standards and publications are
				  adopted by TIA/EIA in accordance with the American National Standards Institute
				  (ANSI) patent policy.
A "training school" is a Washington public community or
				  technical college or not-for-profit nationally accredited technical or trade
				  school licensed by the work force training and education coordinating board
				  under chapter 28C.10 RCW.
"Under the control of a utility" for the purposes of
				  RCW
				  19.28.091 and
				  19.28.101 is when electrical
				  equipment is not owned by a utility and:
(a) Is located in a vault, room, closet, or
				similar enclosure that is secured by a lock or seal so that access is
				restricted to the utility's personnel; or
(b) The utility is obligated by contract to
				maintain the equipment and the contract provides that access to the equipment
				is restricted to the utility's personnel or other qualified
				personnel.
"UL" means Underwriters Laboratory.
"Utility" means an electrical utility.
"Utility system" means electrical equipment owned by or under
				  the control of a serving utility that is used for the transmission or
				  distribution of electricity from the source of supply to the point of contact
				  and is defined in section 90.2 (b)(5) of the National Electrical Code, 1981
				  edition (see
				  RCW
				  19.28.010(1)).
"Utilization voltage" means the voltage level employed by the
				  utility's customer for connection to lighting fixtures, motors, heaters, or
				  other electrically operated equipment other than power transformers.
"Variance" is a modification of the electrical requirements
				  as adopted in chapter 19.28 RCW or any other requirements of this chapter that
				  may be approved by the chief electrical inspector if assured that equivalent
				  objectives can be achieved by establishing and maintaining effective
				  safety.
"WAC" means the Washington Administrative Code. Electronic
				  copies of this chapter of the WAC are available from the department and the
				  office of the code reviser (
https://leg.wa.gov/codereviser
).
Statutory Authority:
					 Chapter
					 19.28 RCW. 13-03-128,
					 § 296-46B-100, filed 1/22/13, effective 3/1/13. 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. 09-20-032, §
					 296-46B-100, filed 9/29/09, effective 10/31/09; 08-24-048, § 296-46B-100,
					 filed 11/25/08, effective 12/31/08; 06-24-041, § 296-46B-100, filed
					 11/30/06, effective 12/31/06.