Reader Profiles

The Accredited Standard Committee (ASC) A92.2 Subcommittee for Vehicle Mounted Rotating and Elevating Aerial Devices of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has issued the long-awaited 2009 edition of the American National Standard for Vehicle Mounted Rotating and Elevated Aerial Devices.

Design and construction requirements of the original 1969 edition of A92.2 and its appendix were made a part of OSHA in 1970. Since then, the standard has been reissued in four editions in 1979, 1990 and 2001, and most recently in 2009. The 2009 Draft of the Standard was balloted twice by the committee and by ANSI rules was opened for public comment prior to final approval.

A new offering for the utility industry that helps ensure worker safety cost effectively is now available from the new Fiberglass Restoration Division at Huskie Tools.

“Companies often store damaged fiberglass tools in a warehouse since they aren’t allowed to throw away assets,” said Fiberglass Division Manager Bob Welsch. “Those tools are just gathering dust, when in fact they can be repaired to like-new condition. Fiberglass restoration not only saves companies money but also keeps worn fiberglass tools out of landfills. Restoring your used fiberglass tools saves thousands of dollars versus buying new tools.”

Joe Murphy, Manager, Safety & Training-South, explains how striving for excellence is a daily affair for the safety team at Dominion Delivery

One of the nation's largest producers of energy, Dominion's asset portfolio consists of about 28,000 megawatts of power generation, 6,000 miles of electric transmission, about 6.3 trillion cubic feet equivalent of natural gas reserves, 7,800 miles of natural gas pipeline and the country's largest natural gas storage system with about 950 billion cubic feet of storage capacity.
While headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, through a number of operating companies in its Dominion Delivery operation, the company provides energy for 20 million people in 20 states. Included are electric customers in Virginia and northeastern North Carolina who are served through more than 54,000 miles of distribution lines, as well as natural gas customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia who are serviced by approximately 27,000 miles of distribution pipes. The company also provides competitive energy and related services to residential and commercial accounts in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest.

An interview with Gordon Baldwin, Director, Safety & Security for West Division of Charter Communications 

Founded in 1993, Charter Communications has grown considerably. Today, the Fortune 500 company is the third-largest publicly traded cable operator in the U.S. The company provides a full range of digital video entertainment programming, high-speed Internet and telephone services for residences, as well as broadband communications solutions to businesses, such as Internet access, telephone, data networking, and video and music entertainment.

Have you ever heard "This is how we've always done it" or "We've never had a problem before" to describe events that have led up to personnel injuries or even death? While this is a common reaction when people are being questioned during an accident investigation, complacency in the workplace is one of the most dangerous states of mind for you or your employees.

An interview with Jack D. Sahl, Director - Corporate Environment, Health & Safety, Southern California Edison

One of the largest electric utilities in the U.S., and the largest subsidiary of Edison International, Southern California Edison (SCE) has provided electric service for more than a century to some of the most dynamic and growing areas of central, coastal and southern California. On an average day, SCE provides power to13 million people in a 50,000 square mile area encompassing 11 counties with 430 cities and communities.

An interview with ken Flechler, Vice President of Safety and Compliance, Comcast Corporation

"Safety has always been my focus," says Ken Flechler, whose career began in Louisville, Kentucky as a Water Safety Instructor and Lifeguard Instructor for the American Red Cross. Other roles related to safety that he has held over the years include serving as the Safety Administrator for a local cable television market in Louisville, and positions as the State Safety Manager for TCI of Kentucky, and Divisional Director of Safety and Security for TCI – Atlantic Division. In early 1999, he joined Comcast as Director of Safety and now serves as Vice President of Safety and Compliance for Comcast Corporation.

By employing an advanced project monitoring and analysis solution, Oregon Electric Group is achieving significant safety improvement success.

"At SM Electric Co., Inc.," says Bill Hering, Corporate Safety Director, "our whole philosophy is that safety is the right thing to do for everyone. Safety issues are a top priority on every job. By the direction of our president, if there is an issue between safety and productivity, safety will win, period. No contest."

Advanced products offer utility safety professionals a more effective method for treating burn injuries with less suffering and help reduce injury-related costs.

Utility safety professionals charged with lowering the risk of serious injury are undoubtedly focused on prevention. Not only does preventing workplace accidents eliminate pain and suffering, it also pays dividends in lower exposure to liability and in reduced Workers' Compensation and related costs.
It is also common practice among leading utility safety experts to provide products in the workplace that will make immediate treatment of injuries as effective as possible. This is especially true when it comes to treating burns, an injury that is perhaps more common than we realize.