A memo from Carl Sgrecci, vice president for finance and administration and Rick Couture, director of physical plant.
As required by federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) regulations, Ithaca College has a Lockout/Tagout Program that specifies procedures for isolating and controlling hazardous energy such as electricity while employees are engaged in maintenance and repairs of machines, equipment, and facilities.
Under the OSHA regulations, physical plant electricians are not allowed to work on "live" wiring while performing maintenance such as replacing electrical outlets or light fixtures. The circuit breaker must be turned off and locked before the electrician can make the repair. In doing so, computers, lights, appliances, and other equipment on that circuit will lose power while the maintenance is performed.
When requesting maintenance of electrical systems, please be mindful that the power in your area may be shut off while the work is completed. Please indicate the best time(s) between the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (Monday-Friday) for the repairs in your service request. Physical plant will do its best to schedule the work to minimize disruption to your operations. Every attempt will be made to notify all the potentially affected areas before turning off the power, however in some cases that may not be possible.
These procedures are intended to prevent serious injuries to our physical plant employees. Your consideration and cooperation is appreciated. If you have any questions, please contact Rick Couture, director, physical plant (4-3225 or rcouture@ithaca.edu) or Mike Lewis, Manager, environmental health and safety (4-3353 or milewis@ithaca.edu).
