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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.

1-HR FORUM | EARN 0.5 CUSP POINTS | FEE: COMPLIMENTARY

KNOWLEDGE, INSIGHT AND STRATEGY FOR UTILITY SAFETY & OPS PROFESSIONALS

Matting presents a variety of hazards that must be identified and mitigated.
It’s a busy time in our industry. We have challenges associated with normal operations and maintenance of the grid. We’re also faced with new and increasing work involving distributed generation, vehicle charging infrastructure and major transmission projects. Both existing and emerging work require access to the respective work areas, and with this comes the associated […]

More News…


Industry trends to improve worker readiness feburary23
Companies that want to improve their safety culture and performance must consider their current approach to employee health and well-being.

Industry Trends and Solutions to Improve Worker Readiness

Sustainability Considerations When Evaluating FR/AR Apparel February 23
What are manufacturers doing to lessen the environmental impact of this type of clothing?

3 Sustainability Considerations When Evaluating FR/AR Apparel


Lower SIF rates and fewer unexpected outages are among the outcomes possible with a strong underground integrity management program.

Increasing Safety Through Underground Integrity Management

The utility sector is at a higher risk of serious injuries and fatalities (SIFs) when compared to construction, manufacturing and mining, according to a 2018 study by DEKRA Organizational Safety & Reliability (see www.dekra.us/en/higher-serious-injuries-and-fatalities-sif-exposure-rate-in-uti…

These inspections aren’t an inconvenience or a formality – they’re a literal matter of life and death.

6-Step Method for Safety Harness Inspections

Your PPE can protect you if it’s in good working order and used properly, and this is especially true of fall protection gear. All gear should be inspected before use because a deficiency can be dangerous. Damaged or defective equipment should be immediately removed from service, as should equipment that’s been used in a fall. Anything that compromises the ability of the gear to protect someone…
Gap analysis is an effective tool that can help improve the reliability of an organization’s safety system.

A Targeted Approach to Safety Gap Analysis

Does a gap exist between lagging indicator performance and the reliability of industry companies’ safety systems? The bad news is that our work in the industry has led us to believe the short answer to that question is yes. The good news is that our work in the industry has led us to develop an approach that makes gap analysis an effective tool to improve safety system reliability for companies…

Arc Flash Precautions: A Review

David McPeak hosts the Incident Prevention Institute Forum (https://ip-institute.com/ipi-forum/) once a month. I often take part as a panelist, helping to answer questions posed by forum attendees. During a recent forum, topics ranged from fleet mechanics to arc flash exposures and required perso…
Employers must establish and enforce safe work practices for employee protection from electrical testing hazards.

Testing and Test Facilities

Electrical testing hazards arise when specialty testing is performed on electric power lines and equipment to determine maintenance needs and fitness for service. OSHA requirements for testing and test facilities are found at 29 CFR 1910.269(o) and 1926.963. Specialty testing refers to cable f…
C5 safety leaders care about their teams and focus on what they can do to prevent harm and encourage growth.

The Art of Safety: C5 Leadership

C5 safety leaders care about their teams and focus on what they can do to prevent harm and encourage growth. The Art of Safety is understanding, leading, developing and protecting people, including yourself. It’s how to lead safety and work safely. We excel at the science of safety, things lik…

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BECOME A BETTER LEADER

Frontline Leadership – The Hurdle

Utility Business Media, Inc. publisher of Incident Prevention Magazine is excited to announce the publication of Frontline Leadership – The Hurdle and Frontline Incident Prevention – The Hurdle both written by David McPeak, Director of Professional Development for Incident Prevention InstitutE (iPi).

These books are based on iPi’s popular Frontline leadership training program and are a must read for utility industry leaders. Learn More

Frontline Incident Prevention – The Hurdle

This book is your essential how-to guide on recognizing hurdles and developing effective run-ups to soar over them. You’ll learn how to lead and protect people rather than manage robots. You’ll also learn critical lessons about self-reliance and risk tolerance that culminate in proper application of the hierarchy of controls. Reading and applying the insights from this book will make you, your team, and your organization safer.

iPi have taken it a step further.  You can add The Art of Safety course and downloadable workbook to your experience.  Find out more more about this course – The Art of Safety

Learn to understand, lead, develop, and protect people.

That is the Art of Safety!

Lower SIF rates and fewer unexpected outages are among the outcomes possible with a strong underground integrity management program.

Increasing Safety Through Underground Integrity Management

The utility sector is at a higher risk of serious injuries and fatalities (SIFs) when compared to construction, manufacturing and mining, according to a 2018 study by DEKRA Organizational Safety & Reliability (see www.dekra.us/en/higher-serious-injuries-and-fatalities-sif-exposure-rate-in-uti…
Carefully assessing job titles, human error margins and overall performance can help to strengthen utility safety cultures and programs.

Gauges: How Do You Measure Safety?

The small utility had just lost two journeymen linemen to contractors, and they needed replacements who could hit the ground running. So, the company held some interviews and hired two seasoned journeymen.
Matting presents a variety of hazards that must be identified and mitigated.

Matted Surfaces: Safety Considerations and Controls

It’s a busy time in our industry. We have challenges associated with normal operations and maintenance of the grid. We’re also faced with new and increasing work involving distributed generation, vehicle charging infrastructure and major transmission projects. Both existing and emerging work r…
Featured Products

Women’s FR/AR Hoodie

DragonWear has launched its first flame-resistant and arc-rated hoodie designed specifically for women by women. The Cyclone Hoodie provides comfort and protection for workers who demand gear that can stand up to tough environments and has been tailored specifically to fit and support women in ut…

Safety Management


Gauges How to Measure Safety February 23

Gauges: How Do You Measure Safety?

The small utility had just lost two journeymen linemen to contractors, and they needed replacements who could hit the ground running. So, the company held some interviews and hired two seasoned journeymen.
Industry trends to improve worker readiness feburary23

Industry Trends and Solutions to Improve Worker Readiness

The moral and legal obligations to provide workers with a safe workplace are just two of the reasons companies should want to keep their employees safe. However, another big motivator for businesses is how extraordinarily disruptive and costly workplace accidents, injuries and illnesses are for t…

Increasing Safety Through Underground Integrity Management

The utility sector is at a higher risk of serious injuries and fatalities (SIFs) when compared to construction, manufacturing and mining, according to a 2018 study by DEKRA Organizational Safety & Reliability (see www.dekra.us/en/higher-serious-injuries-and-fatalities-sif-exposure-rate-in-uti…

A Targeted Approach to Safety Gap Analysis

Does a gap exist between lagging indicator performance and the reliability of industry companies’ safety systems? The bad news is that our work in the industry has led us to believe the short answer to that question is yes. The good news is that our work in the industry has led us to develop an a…
Industry trends to improve worker readiness feburary23
Companies that want to improve their safety culture and performance must consider their current approach to employee health and well-being.

Industry Trends and Solutions to Improve Worker Readiness

The moral and legal obligations to provide workers with a safe workplace are just two of the reasons companies should want to keep their employees safe. However, another big motivator for businesses is how extraordinarily disruptive and costly workplace accidents, injuries and illnesses are for t…
Lower SIF rates and fewer unexpected outages are among the outcomes possible with a strong underground integrity management program.

Increasing Safety Through Underground Integrity Management

The utility sector is at a higher risk of serious injuries and fatalities (SIFs) when compared to construction, manufacturing and mining, according to a 2018 study by DEKRA Organizational Safety & Reliability (see www.dekra.us/en/higher-serious-injuries-and-fatalities-sif-exposure-rate-in-uti…
Gap analysis is an effective tool that can help improve the reliability of an organization’s safety system.

A Targeted Approach to Safety Gap Analysis

Does a gap exist between lagging indicator performance and the reliability of industry companies’ safety systems? The bad news is that our work in the industry has led us to believe the short answer to that question is yes. The good news is that our work in the industry has led us to develop an a…
Carefully assessing job titles, human error margins and overall performance can help to strengthen utility safety cultures and programs.

Gauges: How Do You Measure Safety?

The small utility had just lost two journeymen linemen to contractors, and they needed replacements who could hit the ground running. So, the company held some interviews and hired two seasoned journeymen.
Carefully assessing job titles, human error margins and overall performance can help to strengthen utility safety cultures and programs.

Gauges: How Do You Measure Safety?

The small utility had just lost two journeymen linemen to contractors, and they needed replacements who could hit the ground running. So, the company held some interviews and hired two seasoned journeymen.
To achieve the next step change in safety, we must ultimately change how employees feel about at-risk behaviors.

Beyond Behavior-Based Safety: Why Traditional Safety Practices are No Longer Enough

Traditional safety management practices are built on the assumption that human behavior is rational and occurs primarily through conscious decision-making. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are, in fact, irrational by nature, creatures of habit and deeply influenced by past experiences….
When combined with a field skills training program, online training can speed skill development. 

Using a Learning Management System to Augment Lineworker Training

“You can’t learn how to climb a pole by looking at a computer screen.”  That’s a sentence that has been repeatedly used in our industry to discredit web-based learning. And it’s true; in any skilled trade, neither distance learning nor classroom work alone can replace the skills and confidence g…
Data from one utility company’s recent training initiative indicates that positive feedback helped to improve safety, collaboration and productivity.

Does Positive Feedback Improve Safety?

Our client is an international utility company with more than 10,000 employees that provides electric and natural gas to 20 million U.S. customers. Their vision is to achieve a generative safety culture in which both employees and leaders are actively engaged. Characteristics of a generative safe…

Worksite Safety


Matted Surfaces Feb 23 article

Matted Surfaces: Safety Considerations and Controls

It’s a busy time in our industry. We have challenges associated with normal operations and maintenance of the grid. We’re also faced with new and increasing work involving distributed generation, vehicle charging infrastructure and major transmission projects. Both existing and emerging work r…
Sustainability Considerations When Evaluating FR/AR Apparel February 23

3 Sustainability Considerations When Evaluating FR/AR Apparel

Flame-resistant (FR) and arc-rated (AR) apparel are garments specifically designed to protect the wearer from the hazards of flame and heat, including arc flash and flash fire. This type of personal protective equipment (PPE) is most commonly worn by workers in high-risk industries such as electr…

6-Step Method for Safety Harness Inspections

Your PPE can protect you if it’s in good working order and used properly, and this is especially true of fall protection gear. All gear should be inspected before use because a deficiency can be dangerous. Damaged or defective equipment should be immediately removed from service, as should equipm…

Influencing Crew Safety

Influence sways our beliefs and our direction in life. We are swayed by the news, public opinion, social media, our family and friends, and by some things we don’t even know are influencing us. In the utility industry, this begs the question: How do we as leaders go about influencing those aro…
Sustainability Considerations When Evaluating FR/AR Apparel February 23
What are manufacturers doing to lessen the environmental impact of this type of clothing?

3 Sustainability Considerations When Evaluating FR/AR Apparel

Flame-resistant (FR) and arc-rated (AR) apparel are garments specifically designed to protect the wearer from the hazards of flame and heat, including arc flash and flash fire. This type of personal protective equipment (PPE) is most commonly worn by workers in high-risk industries such as electr…
These inspections aren’t an inconvenience or a formality – they’re a literal matter of life and death.

6-Step Method for Safety Harness Inspections

Your PPE can protect you if it’s in good working order and used properly, and this is especially true of fall protection gear. All gear should be inspected before use because a deficiency can be dangerous. Damaged or defective equipment should be immediately removed from service, as should equipm…
Creating an environment of trust and open communication helps workers connect to one another to improve safety on the crew. 

Influencing Crew Safety

Influence sways our beliefs and our direction in life. We are swayed by the news, public opinion, social media, our family and friends, and by some things we don’t even know are influencing us. In the utility industry, this begs the question: How do we as leaders go about influencing those aro…

Training a New Generation

My personal journey in line work started October 2, 1978, on a two-man line crew. It was just my foreman and me. He was an old, seasoned power lineman, gruff and to the point. When we met, he looked at me and asked, “Can you climb 30 poles a day?” Heck, it was all I could do to not turn around and walk out! But I didn’t walk out, and he and I spent the next few years together setting poles and installing facilities in backyards and rights-of-way.
R. Neal Gracey
R. Neal Gracey

3 Reasons to Think Twice

Loretta was excited but very nervous about her upcoming 20-week ultrasound; she and her husband, Vic, were told there may be complications with her pregnancy. Their son Levi was now 5 years old, and all three had been hoping for a little brother or sister for Levi for two long years. This ultr…
Dale West
Dale West

The Significance of Critical Steps at the Work Site

A “critical step” is an action that can trigger immediate, irreversible harm to people and assets if it is improperly performed. Such a step occurs in our industry whenever an action involves a substantial transfer of energy, movement of weight, or transference of something else that could cause …
R. Neal Gracey
R. Neal Gracey

Safety Considerations for Matted Surfaces

Nathan Boutwell, M.Eng., CSP, SMS, CIT, CUSP; Nick Powers; and Bill Hinrichs, CUSP
Nathan Boutwell, M.Eng., CSP, SMS, CIT, CUSP; Nick Powers; and Bill Hinrichs, CUSP

Working Safely from Elevated Heights

Charles Keeling, CUSP
Charles Keeling, CUSP

Getting Safety Communications Right with SBAR

Nathan Boutwell, M.Eng., CSP, SMS, CIT, CUSP; Robert J. Cornet, Ph.D.; and Michelle Mannering, Ph.D.
Nathan Boutwell, M.Eng., CSP, SMS, CIT, CUSP; Robert J. Cornet, Ph.D.; and Michelle Mannering, Ph.D.
C5 safety leaders care about their teams and focus on what they can do to prevent harm and encourage growth.

The Art of Safety: C5 Leadership

C5 safety leaders care about their teams and focus on what they can do to prevent harm and encourage growth. The Art of Safety is understanding, leading, developing and protecting people, including yourself. It’s how to lead safety and work safely. We excel at the science of safety, things lik…
Change is the only constant. How will you respond to it?

From My Bookshelf to Yours: ‘Who Moved My Cheese?’

Not long ago, Utility Business Media Inc. published a book I wrote: “Frontline Leadership – The Hurdle.” During the research and writing process, I read a lot of books and want to share highlights from some of my favorites. This article will focus on the bestselling book “Who Moved My Cheese?: An…

Author Ken Sheridan explains what an organization needs to do to get safety right – including the how and the why.

From My Bookshelf to Yours: ‘No Compromise’ 

Dang you, Ken Sheridan. I had a life and a job that I enjoyed, and I thought I had safety figured out. Then you wrote “No Compromise: The Truth About Workplace Safety & Business Success.” I couldn’t put it down, and worse yet, chapter four is so good I read it three times before I ever got to…
The book offers significant insight into what a successful safety program looks like.

From My Bookshelf to Yours: ‘The 8 Habits of a Highly Effective Safety Culture’

Not long ago, Utility Business Media Inc. published my book, “Frontline Leadership: The Hurdle.” Researching and writing the book helped me learn to appreciate and apply knowledge and wisdom from other writers. In this article, I want to share some highlights from “The 8 Habits of a Highly Effect…

Arc Flash Precautions: A Review

David McPeak hosts the Incident Prevention Institute Forum (https://ip-institute.com/ipi-forum/) once a month. I often take part as a panelist, helping to answer questions posed by forum attendees. During a recent forum, topics ranged from fleet mechanics to arc flash exposures and required perso…

Ground Gradient Step Potential and PPE

For various reasons, ground gradient step potential hazards are not always considered or thought to be important. I recently received a call from a large investor-owned utility whose employees had differing opinions about using super dielectric overshoes or work boots when setting a pole in an en…

The Importance of Proper Coverup: Two Real-Life Tales

Very early on in my career as a lineman, I was involved in two events that taught me some important lessons about proper coverup and how critical it is to worker safety. Both events occurred between 1972 and 1973. I was working on a big line crew, and while there were different crew foremen, ther…

The End of a Career

I have been working in the electric utility business as a lineman, supervisor and safety training consultant for a very long time. I am at the point where I am ready to fade away like a light fog on an early summer morning. I dearly love the work, and I have the greatest respect for the utility e…

Q&A

August – September 2022 Q&A

Q: Is it ever OK to put a man basket on a crane? My understanding is that OSHA 1926.1400, “Cranes and Derricks in Construction,” states doing so is prohibited.   A: For our readers, the rule you are referring to is 29 CFR 1926.1431(a), which begins, “The use of equipment to hoist employees is prohibited …” The rule goes on to list the basis for exceptions. For line construction, an exception c…

June – July 2022 Q&A

Q: Why does grounding alone not prevent static discharges, and why don’t we have to ground all flammable dispensing drums and stations? A: “Flammable” is a relative term, and some of the written standards are detailed to the point that they can be confusing. The best thing any facility can do is to consult a chemist, chemical engineer or fire science specialist to survey and equip your flamm…

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