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iPi Monthly Forum for Utility Professionals
The iPi monthly forum is where you can get answers to questions you have from subject matter experts like David McPeak, Jim Vaughn, Danny Raines and other utility safety and ops professionals like yourself. Forums will include industry specific topics, challenges, trends, and solutions along with best practices in leadership, operations, and safety.
Utility organizations must recognize suicide as a grave personal injury, equipping the workforce with adequate mental health training and tools.
Rethinking Arc Flash Labels for PV Projects
Arc flash labels are a commonplace requirement for photovoltaic (PV) projects. However, arc flash studies and the resulting labels are sometimes treated as check-the-box exercises. In my experience as an engineer, I have found that questions are rarely asked regarding integration of PV arc flash labels into a safe, effective operations and maintenance plan. Engineers who charge by the man-hour ca…
Advancing Safety Through Total Well-Being: Practical Tips and Ideas for Utility Leaders
Over the past 50 years, the electric utility industry has developed and implemented robust engineering controls, detailed work procedures and focused training to reduce injury and fatality rates among workers. However, the total well-being of the worker is another critical safety factor that utility organizations often don’t address.
Well-being encompasses physical health as well as mental, emoti…
Don’t Cross That Line
In this installment of “Voice of Experience,” I am going to share a safety perspective that struck a real chord with me when someone offered it during a recent meeting. My goal in passing it along during this season of reflection is to prompt readers to contemplate and continue refining their safe…
December 2025 Q&A
Q: Can I ground through a wave trap?
A: General discussion about wave or line traps centers on their function. At operating frequency, they have extremely low impedance to any voltage at 60 Hz. Some would say that for the sake of convenience, it’s OK to ground at a switch even where there is a l…
Safety By Design: Evaluation and Effective Action
The previous articles in this series outlined the essential components of a strong safety management system (SMS). To achieve safety success, electric power organizations must ensure those components align with and support one another.
This article – the last in the series – addresses two final…
2025 Update: Ferroresonance Explained
Ferroresonance is a complicated issue, one that industry workers must be educated about. That’s because as the number of URD system installations grows and systems age, instances of ferroresonance increase – as do threats to worker and customer safety, equipment and service reliability.
I first…
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Recent Posts
Safety Management
Inspecting the Fifth Wire: Winning the War on Lineworker Suicide
Lineworkers confront daily risks many can’t imagine – arc flashes, falls, electrocutions and more. Yet there’s a silent, insidious threat currently claiming more lives in the electric utility industry than any physical injury.
We’re talking about suicide.
Safety professionals dedicate their c…
When the System Isn’t Enough: How to Create Personal Motivation That Saves Lives
Author’s Note: In this article – the first in a five-part series – we explore the notion of accepting 100% accountability for our safety at work, just as we do at home. This is an act of self-preservation. The hope is that management’s safety focus will overlap with our own preparation. We want as…
Forecasting the Future of Utility Safety: 10 Predictions for 2026 and Beyond
As we stand on the precipice of a new era in the utility sector, it is clear the future holds transformative potential driven by relentless technological progress.
We are already seeing not just small changes but a complete overhaul. The horizon is replete with innovations aimed at redefining sa…
Safety By Design: Evaluation and Effective Action
The previous articles in this series outlined the essential components of a strong safety management system (SMS). To achieve safety success, electric power organizations must ensure those components align with and support one another.
This article – the last in the series – addresses two final…
When the System Isn’t Enough: How to Create Personal Motivation That Saves Lives
Author’s Note: In this article – the first in a five-part series – we explore the notion of accepting 100% accountability for our safety at work, just as we do at home. This is an act of self-preservation. The hope is that management’s safety focus will overlap with our own preparation. We want as…
Forecasting the Future of Utility Safety: 10 Predictions for 2026 and Beyond
As we stand on the precipice of a new era in the utility sector, it is clear the future holds transformative potential driven by relentless technological progress.
We are already seeing not just small changes but a complete overhaul. The horizon is replete with innovations aimed at redefining sa…
Safety By Design: Evaluation and Effective Action
The previous articles in this series outlined the essential components of a strong safety management system (SMS). To achieve safety success, electric power organizations must ensure those components align with and support one another.
This article – the last in the series – addresses two final…
Utility organizations must recognize suicide as a grave personal injury, equipping the workforce with adequate mental health training and tools.
Inspecting the Fifth Wire: Winning the War on Lineworker Suicide
Lineworkers confront daily risks many can’t imagine – arc flashes, falls, electrocutions and more. Yet there’s a silent, insidious threat currently claiming more lives in the electric utility industry than any physical injury.
We’re talking about suicide.
Safety professionals dedicate their c…
Built In, Not Bolted On: Using Safety to Drive Operational Excellence
Employers in the electric utility industry are currently working on initiatives in various areas of their businesses, including safety, quality, production, leadership, and human and organizational performance (HOP). These are important programs, but it’s unlikely they’ll fully achieve their intend…
Worksite Safety
Forecasting the Future of Utility Safety: 10 Predictions for 2026 and Beyond
As we stand on the precipice of a new era in the utility sector, it is clear the future holds transformative potential driven by relentless technological progress.
We are already seeing not just small changes but a complete overhaul. The horizon is replete with innovations aimed at redefining sa…
The Evolution of Personal Protective Grounding: Part 2
Part 1 of this article began with discussion of the first American power systems, when lineworkers initially encountered the hazards of working on de-energized lines (see https://incident-prevention.com/blog/the-evolution-of-personal-protective-grounding-part-1/). This led to early personal protect…
‘Avoid Contact’: Correctly Understanding the MAD Without a Distance
For decades, air has been used to effectively and inexpensively maintain phase-to-phase and phase-to-ground clearances of overhead distribution and transmission power lines and electrical equipment. Air’s extremely high resistance offers excellent protection against the passage of current. The grea…
Rethinking Arc Flash Labels for PV Projects
Arc flash labels are a commonplace requirement for photovoltaic (PV) projects. However, arc flash studies and the resulting labels are sometimes treated as check-the-box exercises. In my experience as an engineer, I have found that questions are rarely asked regarding integration of PV arc flash la…
The Evolution of Personal Protective Grounding: Part 2
Part 1 of this article began with discussion of the first American power systems, when lineworkers initially encountered the hazards of working on de-energized lines (see https://incident-prevention.com/blog/the-evolution-of-personal-protective-grounding-part-1/). This led to early personal protect…
‘Avoid Contact’: Correctly Understanding the MAD Without a Distance
For decades, air has been used to effectively and inexpensively maintain phase-to-phase and phase-to-ground clearances of overhead distribution and transmission power lines and electrical equipment. Air’s extremely high resistance offers excellent protection against the passage of current. The grea…
Rethinking Arc Flash Labels for PV Projects
Arc flash labels are a commonplace requirement for photovoltaic (PV) projects. However, arc flash studies and the resulting labels are sometimes treated as check-the-box exercises. In my experience as an engineer, I have found that questions are rarely asked regarding integration of PV arc flash la…
6 Seasonal Strategies for Worker Well-Being
The holiday season is a time for family and celebration, but it is also one of the busiest times of year. Stress can easily creep in, creating safety hazards at work and at home. Staying mentally alert and focused during this period is key to preventing incidents.
Personal finances are among the most common seasonal stressors that can distract us during critical moments that demand our full attention. Time management, too, often becomes an issue in December as we push to meet year-end deadlines while juggling an assortment of social obligations. Disrupted schedules have the power to wreak…
Redefining Accountability in Utility Operations
If you spend enough time in the safety world, you’ll notice something about the word “accountability”: everyone uses it and claims to value it. If you listen closely to safety-related conversations, you’ll also discover that accountability means different things to different people.
For some, it…
Peer Pressure, Trust and the Stewardship of Safety
In the demanding and often hazardous world of utility work, trust is not just a virtue – it’s a necessity. Crews rely on one another for productivity and survival.
Yet peer pressure is one of the most underestimated threats to both trust and a strong safety culture. When it creeps into safety de…
