Electrical contractors carry a specific hazard profile, energized work, and that shapes which written safety programs ISNetworld's RAVS reviewers expect to see. The exact list depends on your scope and on what your hiring client turned on, but most electrical firms are asked for the same recognizable set. If you want the platform-wide picture first, start with our guide to what ISNetworld requires from contractors.
The two programs that define electrical work
These are the overlays that separate an electrical contractor's submission from a generic one. Reviewers expect them when your declared scope involves energized equipment:
- Lockout/Tagout (control of hazardous energy). The controlling reference is 29 CFR 1910.147; construction has an electrical-specific provision at 1926.417. Your program has to describe your actual energy-control procedures, not a generic template.
- Electrical safety and work practices. General industry safe-work-practice rules live at 29 CFR 1910.331 through 1910.335; construction electrical requirements are at 1926.416 and Subpart K (1926.400–.449). Note that arc-flash analysis, PPE, and boundaries are governed by the consensus standard NFPA 70E; OSHA has no arc-flash-specific section and enforces through these work-practice rules, so a program should reference NFPA 70E as the method rather than citing an OSHA "arc flash" standard that does not exist.
Overlays triggered by the rest of your scope
Electrical work rarely stays in one lane. Depending on what your crews do, expect some of these as well:
| If your crews do this | Add this program | OSHA standard |
|---|---|---|
| Enter vaults, manholes, transformers, tunnels | Confined Space | 1926 Subpart AA / 1910.146 |
| Underground/site work, direct-burial, duct bank | Excavation | 1926 Subpart P |
| Elevated work, ladders, lifts, rooftops | Fall Protection | 1926.501 & 1926.502 |
| Core drilling, cutting into concrete/masonry | Respirable Crystalline Silica | 1926.1153 / 1910.1053 |
| Setting gear with cranes or rigging | Cranes & Rigging | 1926 Subpart CC; 1926.251 |
The common core, same as any trade
On top of the electrical-specific programs, you will still need the baseline set every contractor is asked for: Hazard Communication (29 CFR 1926.59 / 1910.1200), PPE with a written hazard assessment (1926.95 & 1926.28 / 1910.132), Emergency Action Plan (1926.35 / 1910.38), Fire Prevention (1926.150 & Subpart F / 1910.39), a safety training and accident-prevention program (1926.21 & 1926.20), and injury and illness recordkeeping under 29 CFR Part 1904.
What actually gets an electrical submission approved
The programs above are the "what." RAVS grades the "how." For an electrical contractor that means:
- Your Lockout/Tagout program describes your equipment and procedures, with responsibilities assigned to named roles, not a downloaded generic policy.
- Electrical safe-work practices reference NFPA 70E correctly and spell out approach boundaries, PPE selection, and energized-work permitting in assertive language ("shall," "must," "will").
- Training sections state when training happens (new hire, annual, after an incident, when a new hazard is introduced) with specific frequencies.
- Every document carries your legal company name, an effective and revision date, version history, and a management signature.
Most electrical contractors run safe jobs. The reason a submission comes back is almost never the safety, it is the format: a generic template, a missing date, hedging language, or a program that does not match the declared scope. That is exactly the gap this work closes.