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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.
A comprehensive PPE system that incorporates layered FR/AR garments provides insulation, hazard protection and flexibility.
The Art of Safety – Unnormalizing Deviation
Given the predictable nature of hazards, how and why do incidents occur? Think about this: If I know the winning numbers ahead of a lottery drawing, it’s simple for me to be 100% successful at winning the lottery money. So, if we know how hazards are going to act and how they cause harm, why aren’t we 100% successful at safety? It’s because we don’t fully grasp and utilize the Art of Safety, or…
Harnessing AI: Crafting the Future of Safety Professionals
In an ever-evolving world, technological advancements have the potential to transform industries and revolutionize the way we approach safety. Among the many emerging applications of artificial intelligence (AI), one particular use case stands out: the ability to listen to and analyze tens of thousands of daily tailboard conversations to determine their effectiveness in achieving desired outcom…
Be Prepared for the ‘Big One’
At NASCAR’s Talladega, Pocono and Daytona superspeedways, there is always talk of the “Big One.” The Big One is a wreck that frequently characterizes those three-hour, 200-mph, 42-car races on a three-lane-wide oval. Of course, there have been superspeedway races where the Big One didn’t happen. …
Understanding Task-Specific Training
If an employer must defend their company in the event of an incident or accident, training records are a critical tool. There is nothing better to present during an OSHA investigation or a civil tort liability case than documented training records and annual reviews of the proficiency demonstrati…
October-November 2023 Q&A
Q: With distribution URD cable and other circuits in the same duct bank, should there be any concern about inductive current/voltage on the conductor if there is a fault on the opposing circuit? Most of our circuits are in plastic conduit and encased in concrete. We have a neutral running through…
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Harnessing AI: Crafting the Future of Safety Professionals
In an ever-evolving world, technological advancements have the potential to transform industries and revolutionize the way we approach safety. Among the many emerging applications of artificial intelligence (AI), one particular use case stands out: the ability to listen to and analyze tens of tho…
Nurturing Strong Leadership: An Approach to Professional Development in Skilled Trades
Strong leadership is essential for the success and well-being of a company. Effective leaders play a vital role in setting the course, motivating employees, fostering a positive work culture and making critical decisions that steer the organization toward its goals.
In our industry, leaders fa…
Using Flame-Resistant and Arc-Rated Clothing to Mitigate Cold Stress
Workers in the electric utility industry face various hazards, and in cooler climates, this includes potential cold stress. Cold stress occurs when the skin’s temperature drops, lowering internal body temperature and inhibiting the body’s ability to warm itself. If unchecked, exposure to cold can…
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Safety Management
Employee-in-Charge Requirements
When was the last time your organization discussed or highlighted the importance of the employee in charge (EIC)? The EIC has the responsibility to ensure job site success, so it is one of the most important job functions within your company. And because electric power workers perform jobs with e…
Direct Current Hazards and Protection Strategies
Protection from direct current (DC) arcs is the latest trend in electrical safety. The growth of commercial and personal electric vehicles (EVs), photovoltaics (PVs), battery backups and grid storage systems makes refreshers necessary. This article introduces some of the DC fundamentals so that e…
Harnessing AI: Crafting the Future of Safety Professionals
In an ever-evolving world, technological advancements have the potential to transform industries and revolutionize the way we approach safety. Among the many emerging applications of artificial intelligence (AI), one particular use case stands out: the ability to listen to and analyze tens of tho…
Planning for Emergencies: How to Increase Survivability When Someone Gets Hurt
Most of us never plan for an accident to occur on the job site, and there is no way we can know how an individual or crew will respond to the trauma of seeing a teammate injured or killed.
That’s something I learned when my crew watched me take the combined induction from two energized 500,000…
Direct Current Hazards and Protection Strategies
Protection from direct current (DC) arcs is the latest trend in electrical safety. The growth of commercial and personal electric vehicles (EVs), photovoltaics (PVs), battery backups and grid storage systems makes refreshers necessary. This article introduces some of the DC fundamentals so that e…
Harnessing AI: Crafting the Future of Safety Professionals
In an ever-evolving world, technological advancements have the potential to transform industries and revolutionize the way we approach safety. Among the many emerging applications of artificial intelligence (AI), one particular use case stands out: the ability to listen to and analyze tens of tho…
Planning for Emergencies: How to Increase Survivability When Someone Gets Hurt
Most of us never plan for an accident to occur on the job site, and there is no way we can know how an individual or crew will respond to the trauma of seeing a teammate injured or killed.
That’s something I learned when my crew watched me take the combined induction from two energized 500,000…
The need for professional development is crucial for workers who will assume leadership roles.
Nurturing Strong Leadership: An Approach to Professional Development in Skilled Trades
Strong leadership is essential for the success and well-being of a company. Effective leaders play a vital role in setting the course, motivating employees, fostering a positive work culture and making critical decisions that steer the organization toward its goals.
In our industry, leaders fa…
Nurturing Strong Leadership: An Approach to Professional Development in Skilled Trades
Strong leadership is essential for the success and well-being of a company. Effective leaders play a vital role in setting the course, motivating employees, fostering a positive work culture and making critical decisions that steer the organization toward its goals.
In our industry, leaders face significant c…
Tip of the Spear: A Tactical Approach to Safety Leadership
Leadership is defined as the action of leading a group or organization; it’s a verb. It’s also a skill that is extremely fluid. Leadership style can change depending on the person and the situation, but all effective leaders have some common qualities. When I developed the list below, I initially…
Overcoming the Illusion of Safety
There are striking similarities in how we respond to incidents, injuries and fatalities in our industry. Safety stand-downs are held. Utilities and contractors conduct incident investigations that are typically wrapped up with action items that need to be handled.
But consider this: Is everyth…
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.
Worksite Safety
Using Flame-Resistant and Arc-Rated Clothing to Mitigate Cold Stress
Workers in the electric utility industry face various hazards, and in cooler climates, this includes potential cold stress. Cold stress occurs when the skin’s temperature drops, lowering internal body temperature and inhibiting the body’s ability to warm itself. If unchecked, exposure to cold can…
Planning for Emergencies: How to Increase Survivability When Someone Gets Hurt
Most of us never plan for an accident to occur on the job site, and there is no way we can know how an individual or crew will respond to the trauma of seeing a teammate injured or killed.
That’s something I learned when my crew watched me take the combined induction from two energized 500,000…
Strengthening the Substation Fence
People have finally discovered one of the best unkept secrets in America: Our utility systems can be attacked, and it doesn’t take military tacticians to pull it off.
Activists have recently renewed calls for more attacks that disrupt essential utility services and create chaos. Previously, te…
Preventing Struck-By Incidents in Utility Construction
Anatomically modern humans emerged over 100,000 years ago. For the bulk of that time, the environment in which we lived didn’t change much or very quickly. Now, think about how much the world has changed in just the last 100 years. One interesting thing to consider is how modern human innovation …
Planning for Emergencies: How to Increase Survivability When Someone Gets Hurt
Most of us never plan for an accident to occur on the job site, and there is no way we can know how an individual or crew will respond to the trauma of seeing a teammate injured or killed.
That’s something I learned when my crew watched me take the combined induction from two energized 500,000…
Strengthening the Substation Fence
People have finally discovered one of the best unkept secrets in America: Our utility systems can be attacked, and it doesn’t take military tacticians to pull it off.
Activists have recently renewed calls for more attacks that disrupt essential utility services and create chaos. Previously, te…
Preventing Struck-By Incidents in Utility Construction
Anatomically modern humans emerged over 100,000 years ago. For the bulk of that time, the environment in which we lived didn’t change much or very quickly. Now, think about how much the world has changed in just the last 100 years. One interesting thing to consider is how modern human innovation …
Mitigating Predictive Processing Errors
Andy Clark’s book “The Experience Machine: How Our Minds Predict and Shape Reality” was just published in May. The science he discusses in the book is not new, but the methods used to understand our brain are relatively new. This begs the question: Are we basing our safety training on an older model of the human brain?
That older model is an orderly cause-and-effect/stimulus-and-response system. Essentially, if we train to respond appropriately to stimuli, we think we are all set. We imagine our brain patiently awaiting stimuli and sensory information so it can send out the appropriate r…
Bill Martin, CUSP, NRP, RN, DIMM
Cable Safety Considerations for Electric Utility Workers
Properly identifying energized cables is critical to worker safety. Over the course of my 30-year career, I’ve become aware of more than one cable splicer who suffered serious burns after attempting to cut into a live cable that was not properly identified or de-energized. Proper cable identifica…
John M. Perez
Stay in the Yellow: Understanding Conditions of Awareness
I recently read a great blog post titled “If You’re in the Line of Fire, It Has the Right of Way” (see https://fridaysareforthemen.com/fr4tm-blog/f/if-youre-in-the-line-of-fire-it-has-the-right-of-way). The post provides an account of a line-of-fire incident and covers the importance of situation…
Kevin K. Gribbon, CUSP
The Fly in the Ointment
Steve Martin
What We Leave Behind: A Cautionary Tale
Dale West
Recognizing and Combating the Half-Attention Mindset
Jeffrey Sullivan
Power Restoration Triage and Delta Systems
Bill Martin, CUSP, NRP, RN, DIMM
Words of Wisdom from a Longtime Safety Man
Rayford “RL” Grubbs, CUSP
The Art of Safety – Unnormalizing Deviation
Given the predictable nature of hazards, how and why do incidents occur? Think about this: If I know the winning numbers ahead of a lottery drawing, it’s simple for me to be 100% successful at winning the lottery money. So, if we know how hazards are going to act and how they cause harm, why aren…
The Art of Safety: Self-Reliance
Given the predictable nature of hazards, how and why do incidents occur? Think about this: If I know the winning numbers ahead of a lottery drawing, it’s simple for me to be 100% successful at winning the lottery money. So, if we know how hazards are going to act and how they cause harm, why …
The Art of Safety: Protect the Worker
Given the predictable nature of hazards, how and why do incidents occur? Think about this: If I know the winning numbers ahead of a lottery drawing, it’s simple for me to be 100% successful at winning the lottery money. So, if we know how hazards are going to act and how they cause harm, why aren…
The Art of Safety: Lead People, Not Robots
Comparing robots and people provides insight into the significance of human performance and human factors – and leads us to some important conclusions.