250 Years of Safety
Let’s celebrate our progress while acknowledging that there is still work to be done.
Since we celebrate America’s 250th anniversary this summer, I thought it would be interesting to examine a brief overview of the last 250 years of safety. Let’s see where we started, assess how far we’ve come and renew our commitment to continuous improvement.
To assist with this project, I asked Google Gemini to provide U.S. utility construction and maintenance safety data for the full historical period. Here are a handful of highlights:
- Incident reporting was completely voluntary prior to 1910. At that time, employers typically did not pay anything toward work-related injuries or fatalities and thus did not track them.
- Unionization and workers’ compensation laws prompted employers to begin tracking injuries in the 1910s and ’20s.
- In 1926, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) introduced its annual survey tracking the frequency and severity of employee injuries. Employer reporting was voluntary.
- The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 established OSHA and mandated employer reporting of any work-related injury requiring more than first aid.
- The BLS restructured its survey in 1992, adding detailed tracking of days away from work and days away, restricted or transferred.
Deadly Era
The 40-year span from the 1890s to the 1930s is widely considered the deadliest era for any utility trade in human history. In fact, it is well-documented that during the 1890s, nearly half of all electrical lineworkers died on the job. The table below provides additional fatality statistics plus hazard drivers from the industry’s early days to the modern era.
| Time Period | Estimated Fatality Rate Per 100,000 Workers | Primary Hazard Drivers |
| 1890s | 2,000 to 5,000+ (historical estimate) | Uninsulated high-voltage contact, falls from poles |
| 1913 | 61.0 (all-industrial baseline) | Trench cave-ins, structural collapses, electrocution |
| 2011-2015 | 19.2 to 23.9 (power-line specific) | Electrocution, falls from towers, bucket truck failures |
| Modern Era | 3.3 to 3.5 (all-industries average) | Transportation, overexertion, machinery |
Nonfatal Injuries
Losing a finger or sustaining a severe electrical burn was once considered part of the job, an inevitable rite of passage. Old-timers in the 1920s judged a lineman’s experience by how many fingers he had left.
More recently, BLS historical data shows that in 1992, the national private-industry total recordable incident rate (TRIR) peaked at 8.9 cases per 100 full-time workers (see www.bls.gov/opub/ted/1999/dec/wk2/art05.htm). By 2024, that number had fallen to 2.3, a 74% decline over three decades (see www.bls.gov/news.release/osh.nr0.htm).
Analysis and Commentary
I am no big fan of statistics because they ultimately reflect results, not behavior, and I prefer to focus on people. In 250 years, our industry has come a long way – and there is still work to be done. Keeping in mind that we are doomed to repeat the past if we do not learn from it, let’s briefly discuss the knowledge we have acquired over time and the foreseeable challenges that lie ahead.
First, we know we must care about each other enough to prevent harm and encourage growth. This is critical at every organizational level, and especially at the peer-to-peer level. Our goal is to ensure that every employee thrives.
We have also learned that management cannot dictate safety. Frontline workers must be involved in the process and feel comfortable sharing their successes and errors. Leaders are obligated to respond equally well to failures and victories so that lessons can be learned and shared.
The good news is that we have already begun this work. Employers are intently building the capacity to fail safely to prevent further serious injuries and fatalities. Organizational leaders are deepening their understanding of human performance and enhancing safety culture. Our safety focus is expanding from the physical body to the whole person – mind, body and spirit.
I would be remiss if I did not mention how technology continues to help the industry achieve our safety goals. Modern fall protection devices, trench boxes, tool safeguards and personal protective equipment offer workers unprecedented hazard protection. Sophisticated computer software aids in tracking training, incidents, good catches and near misses, helping us to better understand root causes and conditions and proactively respond to them. Speaking of which, I am encouraged to see the industry seeking metrics like high-energy control assessments to supplement or replace lagging indicators (e.g., OSHA rates).
Conclusion
Certain things have not changed in the last 250 years. Safety still boils down to our ability to identify and eliminate or mitigate hazards. Human factors like complacency, stress and distractions aren’t going anywhere.
So, while the workforce is more protected than ever, we will continue to encounter challenges. Electrical systems are more heavily loaded than in the past. Underground systems are increasingly congested. Mental health concerns pose significant risk. Organizations struggle to hire and retain talent. Workforce demographics continue to shift.
Understanding these realities, let’s celebrate how far we’ve come while acknowledging the work yet to be done. Let’s also remember that it matters – a lot – how organizations and safety leaders respond. What will we do to address today’s challenges and protect workers in the future?
For further discussion on this topic, join me for the free Frontline webinar on September 9. I look forward to seeing you there.
About the Author: David McPeak, CUSP, CIT, CHST, CSP, CSSM, is the director of professional development for Utility Business Media’s Incident Prevention Institute (https://ip-institute.com) and the author of “Frontline Leadership – The Hurdle” and “Frontline Incident Prevention – The Hurdle.” He has extensive experience and expertise in leadership, human performance, safety and operations. McPeak is passionate about personal and professional development and believes that intrapersonal and interpersonal skills are key to success. He also is an advanced certified practitioner in DISC, emotional intelligence, the Hartman Value Profile, learning styles and motivators.
About Frontline Fundamentals: Frontline Fundamentals topics are derived from the Incident Prevention Institute’s popular Frontline training program (https://ip-institute.com/frontline-online/). Frontline covers critical knowledge, skills and abilities for utility leaders and aligns with the Certified Utility Safety Professional exam blueprint.
Webinar: 250 Years of Safety
September 9, 2026, at 11 a.m. Eastern
Visit https://ip-institute.com/frontline-webinars/ for more information.