Safety Leadership at Every Level is Key to SIF Prevention

The electric utility industry experienced some catastrophic events during the first quarter of this year, including the deaths of multiple employees. I always feel incredibly sad when I hear about another serious injury or fatality (SIF). My heart goes out to everyone who has been impacted by these incidents.

I know I am not alone in asking why catastrophic industry events continue to occur, especially since most were preventable. It is also curious that while lineworkers are often trained in leadership and human performance early in their career, they rarely receive any refresher training. These are not one-and-done subjects. Continued training, I believe, will help to meaningfully lower SIFs rates among frontline workers. Employees must also be willing to speak up if they have any doubts about worksite or worker safety.

However, refresher training can be viewed as little more than an employer obligation. Complete the bare minimum and all is well for another year, right? Yet here is what I have learned: In all my years of investigating SIFs, far too many stemmed from inadequate cover-up and/or improper grounding – not because crews were not technically proficient but because of leadership and human performance issues.

I will tell you a brief story to explain what I mean. In June 1973, I experienced a serious flash that remains seared into my memory. There were various contributing factors, including a human performance failure on my part. After successfully installing a set of 1200-amp gang switches in an energized 12-kV circuit without issue, I lost focus and became a bit complacent. So, when our crew moved on to the next task (taking a little slack out of an improperly sagged primary), it seemed easy in comparison – until I failed to properly install a split blanket on a dead-end and nearly burned up myself and my pole buddy. Other crew members who had watched me working never said anything about the blanket. Were they paying attention?

People sometimes say that industry accidents occur because line work is a dangerous occupation. Forbes consistently points to construction work and electrical power-line installation/repair as two of the 10 most dangerous jobs in America (see www.forbes.com/advisor/legal/workers-comp/most-dangerous-jobs-america for one example). What I can tell you from decades of experience is that the tasks lineworkers perform are almost always hazardous, yes, but most employees who have been hurt or killed on the job also deviated from accepted safe work practices. Noncompliance with OSHA 29 CFR 1910.269(l), (m) and (n) – particularly regarding minimum approach distances and cover-up – continues to be a major contributing factor to SIF events. Other factors include switching and tagging errors and failing to test and verify whether equipment is de-energized.

What Comes Next?
Several years ago on a Thursday, four industry workers were killed on four different jobsites in four different states. Each death was the result of deviating from one or more of the regulations I just mentioned. Employee noncompliance with industry regulations reflects failed leadership at nearly every level.

Here is a question to think about: Once an employer has provided employees with the training required by 1910.269(a)(2), what should come next? What more can we do to reinforce training and help crews level up? The next time you investigate an incident or near miss, consider how many employees were present when it happened. Was a dedicated observer in place? Who and where was the person in charge when the event happened? Was a job briefing conducted prior to the start of work? Briefings are an OSHA requirement and a critical tool, providing time for crews to clarify the who, what, where, when, why and how of the job.

Crew leadership skills are essential as well because the foreman or person in charge is not always the one who spots a problem – it is often the individual performing the work or a nearby crew member. A lineworker’s technical skills and field experience are enormous assets provided they have been trained in the safest work methods and consistently comply with regulatory standards, which are minimum safe work practices. It is up to foremen and other members of management to encourage employee use of stop-work authority when they notice an issue. This is key to preventing incidents and near misses.

Model the Way
If you are an experienced journeyman, you are an instructor and a trainer whether you like it or not. Junior lineworkers and apprentices observe you regularly. Ask yourself, do you consistently demonstrate the safest approach to your work? If an apprentice witnessed you engage in an unsafe practice but nothing bad happened, is it possible they might try that approach in the future? By using the safest method every time, you will never have to worry about who is watching.

Here is one last piece of advice I would like to share: Rubber gloves are a lineworker’s best friend. I say that because I have never investigated the death of a lineworker who was wearing their gloves. Remember to always test and verify that equipment is de-energized before beginning work. As you may have noticed, OSHA never uses the word “dead” in their regulations; only “energized” or “de-energized.” Keep that fact in mind and wear your gloves whenever necessary.

About the Author: Danny Raines, CUSP, is an author, an OSHA-authorized trainer, and a transmission and distribution safety consultant who retired from Georgia Power after 40 years of service and now operates Raines Utility Safety Solutions LLC.

Learn more from Danny Raines on the Utility Safety Podcast series. Listen now at https://utilitysafety.podbean.com!