Bill Martin, CUSP, NRP, RN, DIMM

President and CEO of Think Tank Project LLC https://www.thinkprojectllc.com/ 30+ Years Electric Utility, 10 years with an Electrical Contractor. Includes Tree Trimmer, Lineman, Line Foreman, Line Supervisor, Project Manager for Cable Make-Ready and Bare Hand/ Live Line, Safety Director, Safety Consultant. Simultaneous Medical Career: Paramedic, Nationally Registered Paramedic, Paramedic Course Instructor Coordinator, Critical Care Paramedic, 21 years Flying on a Critical Care Helicopter, Registered Nurse, Cardiology Nurse, Advanced Wilderness Life Support, Diploma in Mountain Medicine.

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 […]

Actionable Safety: Modeling Change for Line Crews

December 13, 2021 | Bill Martin, CUSP, NRP, RN, DIMM | Worksite Safety

Demonstrating simple strategies for teams to practice can begin to effect behavioral changes that improve safety.

Are Your Lessons Learned Making Your Workers Safer?

August 11, 2021 | Bill Martin, CUSP, NRP, RN, DIMM | Safety Management

Reports of the incident travel like lightning through the company. There are no real details yet, just a statement that at 10 a.m. today, an employee of The Big City Project was seriously injured on the job. The event soon becomes the subject of coffee break conversations. “We’ve had a lot of serious incidents lately” […]

A Lineworker’s Three Safety Superpowers

December 11, 2020 | Bill Martin, CUSP, NRP, RN, DIMM | Leadership Development

Workplace safety requires each of us to do our part to keep ourselves and our co-workers free from injury and illness. To meet this goal, we must understand the tools we have and know how to use them. Let’s look at a lineman’s life, for example. He can climb poles, float through the air in […]