Control Cabinet height restrictions

I work for an OEM and we mount 60x38x12 control panels on the side of the machines we produce. We build our panels to NEC,NFPA 79 and sometimes UL508A. What I am looking for are height restrictions....such as NFPA 79 (2007) 5.3.4.1 where it states “The center of the grip of the operating handle of the disconnecting means, when at its highest position, shall be not more than 6 ft 7 inches(79"). I have found where I can get a flange type enclosure from Hoffman and have the hole lowered for the disconnect handle. Then I can use a cable driven disconnect and that problem is solved. What I am concerned with.....does everything need to be reached from the floor in front of the control cabinet. I have VFD's, PLC, Field terminals, fuse blocks, overloads, ect.....After a little more reading in NFPA I found 11.5 that states a lot of vague stuff about the surrounding areas of the control cabinet????????

Tks,
fitzyD

I keep everything 79" or less except wire duct and stuff you don't need to service.
Think about the guy that gets the 2 AM call and has to get out of bed and work on a drive. Would you want to stand on a ladder to troubleshoot a system? Usually when a panel gets good sized you are looking at a decent incidental energy. So think about wearing Arc-Flash gear standing on a ladder? Just a few things to think about.

I totally agree with Jeff
I am a maintenance technician in a food manufacturing plant, and nothing sucks worse than having to run up and down a ladder with a meter to troubleshoot a drive or replace blown fuses. We dont keep ladders on the production floor so i have to run around and find one because they are never were they are suppose to be. It is far better in my world if i can stand in a comfortable position and troubleshoot/replace components.

Keep it on the ground

I fully agree with the previous two posts. I am a maintenance electrician in a steel mill and arc flash protection provides enough of a challenge when troubleshooting. It is both impractical and unsafe to have to be up and down a ladder to reach controls of a machine for service or troubleshooting. Since you are the OEM..a door-switch activated light in the cabinet is also a nice thing to have...

yes!!!! lighted control cabinets are greatly appreciated!!!