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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.
Effective worker protection demands precise equipment selection, thorough worker training and well-rehearsed rescue procedures.
‘The Worst Day of My Life’
This story is about a devastating accident that took the life of one of my best friends many years ago. I have always been somewhat reluctant to speak or write about it because dealing with my friend’s family in the aftermath of his death was extremely painful. As time has marched on, however, I’ve found myself thinking it’s time to share the details of the accident with other lineworkers in hope…
Equipment Stabilization Considerations for Utility Operations
Utility workers face numerous challenges in their quest to build, maintain and improve infrastructure. One significant yet sometimes overlooked challenge is the risk associated with equipment instability. Crucial aspects of equipment setup include stabilization of the machine and selection of appropriate supporting materials – such as outrigger pads and cribbing blocks – to enhance work-site safe…
A Checkup from the Neck Up
The pastor of the church I attend recently delivered a sermon that deeply resonated with me and inspired the title of this article. Around that time, I’d been ruminating on some incidents I was investigating as part of my consulting work. I’d read the accident reports and conducted employee intervi…
April-May 2025 Q&A
Q: I’m a municipal utility substation engineer, and I’m hoping you can help me with this question: Does an engineer taking photos in a substation fall under the OSHA 29 CFR 1910.269 work rules?
A: The simple answer is yes. No matter your training or education, if you must be inside the fence to…
Safety By Design: Leadership and Employee Involvement
In the first part of this six-part series, I discussed the reasons why it’s important for utility organizations to develop safety systems that align their safety initiatives. This article will address employee involvement, an often overlooked yet fundamental component of any effective safety system…
Equipotential Grounding is the Law
I’ve written about equipotential grounding for Incident Prevention magazine dozens of times over the past 15 years, both in this column and in the Q&A. Those articles have had thousands of views on Incident Prevention’s website, which suggests that their messaging should be getting through to i…
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Safety Management
Beyond the ABCs: Fall Protection for Unique Tasks
The electric transmission and distribution (T&D) industry often requires work in challenging environments. Whether crew members access tall structures by helicopter, use rope-access methods to climb lattice towers, or ride wire carts to install and maintain spacers along energized lines, their…
Making the Safety Connection: The Impact of Total Well-Being in the Workplace
Utility workers perform essential tasks that touch millions of lives every day. The critical nature of the services they provide coupled with the perilous nature of their tasks exposes these workers to life-threatening hazards. This is why the industry highly values and prioritizes safety.
Many…
Safety By Design: Leadership and Employee Involvement
In the first part of this six-part series, I discussed the reasons why it’s important for utility organizations to develop safety systems that align their safety initiatives. This article will address employee involvement, an often overlooked yet fundamental component of any effective safety system…
Safety By Design: A System Approach to Organizational Safety Initiatives
Let’s kick off this new series by considering a simple question: Why do we need safety?
Here’s my answer: Safety is a must because hazards and threats exist in our work environments that could cause harm to both our employees and our organizations.
Any initiative designed to protect workers f…
Making the Safety Connection: The Impact of Total Well-Being in the Workplace
Utility workers perform essential tasks that touch millions of lives every day. The critical nature of the services they provide coupled with the perilous nature of their tasks exposes these workers to life-threatening hazards. This is why the industry highly values and prioritizes safety.
Many…
Safety By Design: Leadership and Employee Involvement
In the first part of this six-part series, I discussed the reasons why it’s important for utility organizations to develop safety systems that align their safety initiatives. This article will address employee involvement, an often overlooked yet fundamental component of any effective safety system…
Safety By Design: A System Approach to Organizational Safety Initiatives
Let’s kick off this new series by considering a simple question: Why do we need safety?
Here’s my answer: Safety is a must because hazards and threats exist in our work environments that could cause harm to both our employees and our organizations.
Any initiative designed to protect workers f…
Holistic worker wellness isn’t a passing trend – it’s a critical component of workplace safety and strong organizational performance.
Making the Safety Connection: The Impact of Total Well-Being in the Workplace
Utility workers perform essential tasks that touch millions of lives every day. The critical nature of the services they provide coupled with the perilous nature of their tasks exposes these workers to life-threatening hazards. This is why the industry highly values and prioritizes safety.
Many…
The Transformative Impact of Training for Frontline Managers
Frontline managers are crucial because they bridge organizational goals and frontline employees. They significantly influence workplace dynamics and performance outcomes. In this context, my company surveyed 110 safety professionals and interviewed 10 safety professionals across various industries…
Worksite Safety
Beyond the ABCs: Fall Protection for Unique Tasks
The electric transmission and distribution (T&D) industry often requires work in challenging environments. Whether crew members access tall structures by helicopter, use rope-access methods to climb lattice towers, or ride wire carts to install and maintain spacers along energized lines, their…
Using the Prediction Model to Prevent Incidents and Near-Misses
As someone employed in the electric utility industry, would you be willing to consider that there may be incident prevention strategies yet to be discovered and tested? Are you open to the idea that a better model could exist to create change in our industry – change that could reduce or even elimi…
Optimizing Arc Flash Protection: The Crucial Role of Layered Clothing
Given the arc flash hazards and other risks that exist in electric utility work environments, an employer’s commitment to employee safety must never falter. It is essential for workers to wear personal protective equipment in these environments; in particular, prior to exposure, workers must don fl…
‘The Worst Day of My Life’
This story is about a devastating accident that took the life of one of my best friends many years ago. I have always been somewhat reluctant to speak or write about it because dealing with my friend’s family in the aftermath of his death was extremely painful. As time has marched on, however, I’ve…
Using the Prediction Model to Prevent Incidents and Near-Misses
As someone employed in the electric utility industry, would you be willing to consider that there may be incident prevention strategies yet to be discovered and tested? Are you open to the idea that a better model could exist to create change in our industry – change that could reduce or even elimi…
Optimizing Arc Flash Protection: The Crucial Role of Layered Clothing
Given the arc flash hazards and other risks that exist in electric utility work environments, an employer’s commitment to employee safety must never falter. It is essential for workers to wear personal protective equipment in these environments; in particular, prior to exposure, workers must don fl…
‘The Worst Day of My Life’
This story is about a devastating accident that took the life of one of my best friends many years ago. I have always been somewhat reluctant to speak or write about it because dealing with my friend’s family in the aftermath of his death was extremely painful. As time has marched on, however, I’ve…
Recording and Analyzing Job Briefings Can Save Lives
Planning saves lives. Whether you call it a job briefing or a tailboard, taking time before work begins to identify potential hazards, discuss elimination and mitigation strategies, and align the crew reduces the risk of incidents – and it’s an OSHA requirement per 29 CFR 1910.269(c). Studies consistently show that effective planning can prevent up to 70% of workplace accidents.
But not all job briefings are created equal. Research based on 850,000 recorded safety conversations has revealed that many of these conversations fall short of their potential. The average score of these recorded…
4 Strategies to Facilitate Effective Knowledge Transfer
Effectively transferring knowledge from tenured employees to new hires and those climbing the ranks is one of the most significant challenges utility organizations must reckon with. The workforce is continuously evolving, so it is essential to ensure that valuable insights and expertise are not los…
Rediscover Your Inner Superhero
Several years ago, a good friend of mine who worked in the utility industry drove his truck headlong into a tractor-trailer parked along a highway shoulder. In the blink of an eye, he was gone, leaving his wife a widow and their children without a father.
Fast-forward one year later. After condu…
