Bill Martin, CUSP, NRP, RN, DIMM

Bill Martin, CUSP, NRP, RN, DIMM, is the president and CEO of Think Tank Project LLC (www.thinkprojectllc.com). He has held previous roles as a lineman, line supervisor, project manager and safety director.

Mental Rehearsals: Responding to Heat Emergencies

October 28, 2024 | Bill Martin, CUSP, NRP, RN, DIMM | Tailgate Topics

While temperatures have begun to cool across the country, heat emergencies can still occur. And because heat is the leading cause of death among all hazardous weather conditions in the U.S., OSHA recently published its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings (see more at www.osha.gov/heat-exposure/rulemaking). […]

Saving Lives with Quality CPR

June 21, 2024 | Bill Martin, CUSP, NRP, RN, DIMM | Tailgate Topics

With the best of intentions, our industry has not been able to change the persistent statistics of serious injuries and fatalities over the past decade. Even the most brilliant ideas seem to be unable to be translated into a change in work. So, while we continue trying to determine how to slow our serious injury […]

Pattern Disruption: Don’t Start with ‘Why’

February 22, 2024 | Bill Martin, CUSP, NRP, RN, DIMM | Safety Management, Leadership Development

In the northern latitudes, Mother Nature is deeply vested in a cycle of pattern disruption. The four seasons change the ecosystems and habitats. As the seasons shift in New York, the lake that I live on moves from a warm thermocline with colder layers on the bottom and warmer water on top to the opposite. […]

Mitigating Predictive Processing Errors

November 22, 2023 | Bill Martin, CUSP, NRP, RN, DIMM | Tailgate Topics

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 […]

Power Restoration Triage and Delta Systems

May 30, 2023 | Bill Martin, CUSP, NRP, RN, DIMM | Tailgate Topics

Triage is a common tool used to prioritize medical treatment based on urgency of need and severity of the injury or condition. For example, in mass-casualty incidents, victims are tagged using a color-coded system that identifies which individuals should get transported to the hospital first. Colors may vary depending on the triage system you use, […]

Overcoming the Illusion of Safety

May 19, 2023 | Bill Martin, CUSP, NRP, RN, DIMM | Leadership Development

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 everything we do in the wake of an incident truly effective in […]

Influencing Crew Safety

December 16, 2022 | Bill Martin, CUSP, NRP, RN, DIMM | Worksite 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 around us in ways […]

The Case for Enhanced First-Aid Training for Lineworkers

August 11, 2022 | Bill Martin, CUSP, NRP, RN, DIMM | Worksite Safety

Imagine you are working in a remote wilderness area on difficult terrain. The job involves setting poles, running wires, trimming trees, operating heavy machinery and working at elevation in track bucket trucks or hooks on a pole. The potential for serious injury is present, and extrication will be difficult if an injury occurs. This scenario […]

Increasing Worker Confidence and Competence

April 11, 2022 | Bill Martin, CUSP, NRP, RN, DIMM | Safety Management

When allowed to be immersed in their desired craft, our workers become proficient, experienced and competent. Adept lineworkers, for example, will interact with thousands of poles and pieces of hardware in their careers. They have a deep understanding of strain, depth, condition and loading after only moments of viewing a pole they are about to […]