# oops. now what



## buddhakii (Jan 13, 2011)

Got a bit of an issue on a current project. A little preliminary info first. I have a customer owned 13.2 kv line feeding a transformer that feeds an mcc inside a building. The underground concrete encased conduits were installed about 6 months ago by my project manager and everything was installed, poured and back filled before I got on the project. The pad for the transformer was poured last week which was also layed out by my p.m. I didn't bother to check it cause he had all the cut sheets and I assumed he new what he was doing. I guess I assumed wrong. I went to set the transformer today and the h.v. conduit and l.v. are backwards. 

My solution: Fabricate a divider for the bottom of the transformer for a wireway and install chase nipples on the bottom of the vertical divider to get the ones on the left to the right. Install an LB on the one on the right and go into a m.a. into the vertical divider to get the one on the right to the left side. What do you guys think? Any other ideas that doesn't involve renting a 90 pound jackhammer?


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## wildleg (Apr 12, 2009)

pour a new pad and swing the tranny 180 degrees ?


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## buddhakii (Jan 13, 2011)

No can do. Puts the back of the tranny into a driveway.


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## wildleg (Apr 12, 2009)

is this a poco tranny ? maybe they can provide one that will work ? otherwise it sounds like hammer time to me.


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## buddhakii (Jan 13, 2011)

No this is a customer owned tranny. What about the divider idea? If it's hammer time I think some people are going to loose their job. Sure hope I'm not one of them


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## guest (Feb 21, 2009)

Divider idea won't fly here (and probably a lot of other places) for several reasons:

1: Wire bending and clearance issues;
2: HV and LV isolation;
3: Restriction of working space in the tranny's termination spaces;
4: Access door security (Sometimes different on HV/LV sides).

Even though customer owned, their POCO will have input on this. SEE EDIT

Another possibility: 

Pour an elevated pad on top of the existing to provide crossover space for the cabling. 

In any event I feel the OP's POCO MUST be involved in a possible solution..it would more than suck to try something then find the POCO won't approve it. 

EDIT: Just noticed customer owns the HV line too. Now it becomes more of an AHJ/OSHA(?)/transformer manufacturer call....

And sounds like your PM better hunt up a new job...if this was my company involved he would lose his job for sure..OP. you would be secure as long as you stay up front and honest about the foul-up.


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## MDShunk (Jan 7, 2007)

Nothing a breaker hammer, a little conduit work, and a new pad won't fix. I really don't see this as a huge deal. A couple days, and you're back in business. It's a shame, to be sure, but not the end of the world.


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## buddhakii (Jan 13, 2011)

I'm thinking a little more than a couple of days. The pad is about 2 1/2 foot thick and the conduits are all encased in concrete.


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## buddhakii (Jan 13, 2011)

All the concrete has a ton of rebar in it also.


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## JoeKP (Nov 16, 2009)

I like the idea of re-routing the conduit and pouring an elevated pad over all the rerouting


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## Southeast Power (Jan 18, 2009)

We had an egomaniac PM on one of our jobs that would always say "Plan the work and work the plan"
Then he screwed up a similar substation conduit installation.

They had to chip it up and fix the conduit. They called in a concrete cutting contractor and it was all done in one day.

After that, I came up with a new saying for him of "plan the work, work the plan, then read the plans". 

I thought it was funny but only a very few were laughing.

Things happen and no one should be so job scared that time is wasted trying to hide anything. 

It would cost more money if the wire cuts were wrong. That happens quite a bit. Fix it, move on. 
If the boss was any kind of good business man, he would keep the guy around and hold it over his head for 20 years. He would become "ductbank Dan" or something like that.


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## WarrenG (Apr 25, 2012)

Wow! Interesting thread.

Bottom line is to just put it right, irrespective of the time or cost. Customer will thank you for it.

We can't assume with electrics. ASSUME - '_it makes an ASS out of U and ME'_.

As a young electrician I asked a fellow spark if a circuit was Isolated in order to cut through a cable. He assured me it was dead and I assumed he was true to his word.

Following the big bang and a flash and a damaged pair of Knipex side cutters, he said oops sorry not that one.

Lucky for me I have always used Knipex (_German_) side cutters for many years and they are fully insulated, otherwise this could have be fatal.

Today, fellow sparks laugh at me when I walk past them to check that the circuit is dead and off load. Learn't by my mistake.


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## cultch (Aug 2, 2011)

no way to work the other end of your conduits to make them go where you want them???


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## buddhakii (Jan 13, 2011)

Well all is fixed and right with the world now. Funny thing, my PM thought it was my mistake, I thought it was his mistake. Turns out the big boss owner layed everything out before either one of us got there. He even owned up to it. Ended up cutting and chipping away the front of the slab and swapping the conduits to make it right. Lost an apprentice for about a week and I had about a half a day so hopefully I can make it up somewhere else. Thanks for all your help. Greatly appreciated.


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