IEC 61477:2009

IEC 61477 ®
Edition 2.0 2009-02
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
NORME
INTERNATIONALE
Live working – Minimum requirements for the utilization of tools, devices and
equipment
Travaux sous tension – Exigences minimales pour l’utilisation des outils,
dispositifs et équipements
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IEC 61477 ®
Edition 2.0 2009-02
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
NORME
INTERNATIONALE
Live working – Minimum requirements for the utilization of tools, devices and
equipment
Travaux sous tension – Exigences minimales pour l’utilisation des outils,
dispositifs et équipements
INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
COMMISSION
ELECTROTECHNIQUE
PRICE CODE
INTERNATIONALE
N
CODE PRIX
ICS 13.260; 29.240.20; 29.260.99 ISBN 978-2-88910-519-9
– 2 – 61477 © IEC:2009
CONTENTS
FOREWORD.3
INTRODUCTION.5
1 Scope.6
2 Normative references .6
3 Terms and definitions .7
4 Characteristics of tools .7
4.1 Marking, graphical symbols and information to the users.7
4.2 Dimensions and weight .8
4.3 Electrical characteristics.8
4.4 Mechanical characteristics .9
4.5 Thermal characteristics .9
5 Conditions of use .9
5.1 Operating range .10
5.2 Precautions for use .10
5.3 Verifications before use.11
6 Conditions for maintenance .11
6.1 Cleaning.11
6.2 Periodic checks and verifications.12
6.3 Repair .12
7 Conditions for storage and transportation .13
Bibliography.14

61477 © IEC:2009 – 3 –
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
LIVE WORKING –
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR THE UTILIZATION
OF TOOLS, DEVICES AND EQUIPMENT

FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote
international co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To
this end and in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications,
Technical Reports, Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) and Guides (hereafter referred to as “IEC
Publication(s)”). Their preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested
in the subject dealt with may participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-
governmental organizations liaising with the IEC also participate in this preparation. IEC collaborates closely
with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by
agreement between the two organizations.
2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international
consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation from all
interested IEC National Committees.
3) IEC Publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted by IEC National
Committees in that sense. While all reasonable efforts are made to ensure that the technical content of IEC
Publications is accurate, IEC cannot be held responsible for the way in which they are used or for any
misinterpretation by any end user.
4) In order to promote international uniformity, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC Publications
transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional publications. Any divergence
between any IEC Publication and the corresponding national or regional publication shall be clearly indicated in
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5) IEC provides no marking procedure to indicate its approval and cannot be rendered responsible for any
equipment declared to be in conformity with an IEC Publication.
6) All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.
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Publications.
8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
9) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of
patent rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
International Standard IEC 61477 has been prepared by IEC technical committee 78: Live
working.
This second edition of IEC 61477 cancels and replaces the first edition published in 2001, its
Amendment 1 (2002) and Amendment 2 (2004).
The document 78/772/FDIS, circulated to the National Committees as Amendment 3, led to
the publication of the new edition.
The text of this standard is based on the first edition, Amendment 1, Amendment 2 and the
following documents:
FDIS Report on voting
78/772/FDIS 78/786/RVD
Full information on the voting for the approval of this standard can be found in the report on
voting indicated in the above table.

– 4 – 61477 © IEC:2009
This publication has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The committee has decided that the contents of this publication will remain unchanged until
the maintenance result date indicated on the IEC web site under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in
the data related to the specific publication. At this date, the publication will be
• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.
The contents of the corrigendum of April 2009 have been included in this copy.

61477 © IEC:2009 – 5 –
INTRODUCTION
This International Standard does not replace national regulations but it can be regarded as a
reference for the development of national regulations. Where National regulations are in force
to dictate the conditions of utilization of tools, devices and equipment for live working, these
can be more stringent than the minimum requirements of this standard.

– 6 – 61477 © IEC:2009
LIVE WORKING –
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR THE UTILIZATION
OF TOOLS, DEVICES AND EQUIPMENT

1 Scope
This International Standard gives the minimum requirements relative to specification,
manufacture, selection, application and maintenance of tools, devices and equipment for live
working.
It provides the type of information which is useful to skilled persons in order to make the use
of tools, devices and equipment safer.
This type of information includes:
• the characteristics of tools, devices and equipment;
• their conditions for use;
• their conditions for maintenance;
• their conditions for storage and transportation.
Such information may be given in standards, manufacturer’s instructions for use and in
internal regulations set forth by companies for their own employees.
Such information should be completed by work methods, which are excluded from the scope
of this standard.
In this standard, the word tool(s) is used for "tools, devices and equipment for live working"
unless otherwise specified.
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document.
For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition
of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
IEC 60050-651:1999, International Electrotechnical Vocabulary (IEV) – Part 651: Live working
IEC 60417, Graphical symbols for use on equipment
IEC 60743, Live working – Terminology for tools, equipment and devices

61477 © IEC:2009 – 7 –
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, th
...