I've reflected on the event and the chain of responsibility. I hesitate to admit a mistake on a public forum but it wouldn't be the first time. Learning from the situation is the bigger issue to me. Perhaps I take my work too seriously.
I'm not a [licensed] electrician. I am not asking for electrical advice.
I was called as local crew for a touring gymnastics/fitness act. 1000 seat room, small stage. I was not working for the room but as an employee of a stagehand staffing outfit. The nature of my job was not sound related, but lighting and setwork. The setguy is a jack of all trades, master of none, but he gets the job done. He's got this collection of cables, chains, truss, motors, electrical, etc., for his set. Probably a half-dozen things that are well below the margin of safety...if you only counted those with failure modes involving serious bodily injury. My degrees and experience are mechanical engineering...throws flags sometimes.
During layout, traveling setguy discovers a cable for his motor controller is too short for our stage. Venue sound offers a piece of surplus copper to construct a longer cable plus my time to transfer connectors to the new cable. Non-union house, operating without a licensed electrician on hand. My job is to extend his cable.
I had concern over the application of the cable. His equipment isn't unpacked but my first guess would indicate this cable to be undersized for the load based on motor plates. Setguy denies this...it's the same as what he has. My main concern is that the cable will be HIGHLY undersized for the upstream over-current protection device. I throw the flag and put my tools away to confer with the setguy. He ensures me that he will not be running without proper current limiting. He explains some arrangement of switches and boxes and seems to be explaining a distro. This cable goes between distro and motor controller.
Cool, I build cable. I already feel bad because part of "hired crew" is to do as they say, keep mouth shut. Here I was causing trouble and questioning direction.
Hours later I get first glimpse of motor controller arrangement. My cable applied as I feared, not how I had been informed. Red flag. Bigtime NEC violation. If a setpiece cuts the cable...breaker doesn't trip, stage in flames. Schoolchildren, etc. I pull sound (supplier of the cable) aside to voice concern. I am directed to house TM and raise concern in private, paraphrasing my understanding of NEC, legality, etc.
At this point, I feel I've done everything I can do. If an accident happens perhaps I skirt liability for the cable, but I wouldn't be able to sleep. Three shows go fine, show packs up and leaves town. I am not questioning any decision made by the house TM. I told him what I knew and the buck stops there. Right?
Next time I'll ask more questions and make sure to know the application upfront. In this case, I'd have to respond with "I'm sorry, I'm not qualified. Let's call an electrician." Or, "let's call an electrician I trust and ask about this first." I can't blame the traveling setguy. He was clueless and I didn't realize he didn't know what he was talking about.
So I ask: if I was working on your stage or with your equipment, what would you want me to do?
At the time of construction, when I first realized a potential issue, I could have refused to participate. Would you expect a third-party stagehand to move away from a task over a safety concern?
Apparently I was the most up-to-speed electrical guy on hand. Should I have pulled the cable from use at the time I realized it's unsafe use? If so, does that authroity come from my construction of the cable?
What authority or responsibility does a third-party stagehand have for his work? Stop a show? Pull the disconnect?
Furthermore, would you expect a third-party stagehand to raise issues with equipment that he did NOT supply? Does my responsibility end when I tell my superior? What if my superior is ill-informed about the situation at hand...electrical code in this case? What if that superior was the one who asked me to make the cable in the first place? Ignorance vs. negligence on their part?
I'm quick to hide behind the "third-party" role, but perhaps the labor company calls me based on knowledge and quality of work. Does this imply additional responsibility?
Worst case scenario, this show goes everywhere, asking third-party labor to do their unsafe dirty work and never owning up to their own equipment.
Am I too uptight?
Edit: typo.
Edit: add [licensed]