Jim Vaughn, CUSP

At NASCAR’s Talladega Superspeedway, Daytona International Speedway and Pocono Raceway, there is always talk of “The Big One” – a wreck that often characterizes the three-hour, 200-mph, 40-car races on three-lane-wide ovals. Of course, The Big One doesn’t happen at every race, which could be due to luck or preparation, planning and skill. When it […]

Q: How do consensus standards apply to the employer’s responsibility for safe work practices? A: Consensus standards are part of a system that employers can use to develop their safety programs. The issue here is whether an employer can defend their programs. Compliance with a consensus standard does not necessarily ensure OSHA compliance; the agency […]

During the annual T&D PowerSkills Trainers Conference earlier this year, several of our clients asked about OSHA’s stance on heat illness prevention. Months later, we are still fielding questions about the topic, as are Incident Prevention’s subject matter experts. The bottom line is that employers are legally required to have a plan in place to […]

Q: In the April-May 2024 issue, Incident Prevention responded to a reader’s question about the OSHA digger derrick exemption for licensed operators (see https://incident-prevention.com/blog/april-may-2024-qa/). Have you heard anything since then about exemption enforcement trends? For example, has OSHA indicated that it might more closely assess specific lifting activities? A: OSHA 29 CFR 1926 Subpart CC, […]

I’m not sure how I became an analyst. It wasn’t something I planned for. Various types of analyst roles exist, but I primarily analyze incidents, breaking down and studying the elements of events to identify causes and effects. Incident analysis, done well, ultimately helps prevent undesired future outcomes. Over the last 15 years, I have […]

Q: Why does an EPZ pole connection need to be close to the worker’s feet? A: In an equipotential arrangement, if the bus is inadvertently energized, the length of the bonding cable from the grounded conductors to the structure will affect the voltage across the worker. The worker is only exposed if they contact the […]

I know a lot about buckets, but it wasn’t until after I hung up my tools that I learned much of what I’m going to share with you in this article. Background I was lucky to work as a lineman when I did. The buckets we used at Florida Power & Light through the 1970s […]

Q: We recently did some contract work in a manhole with live primary cables running through it. During an audit, the client’s safety team cited us for failure to have our manhole workers tied off to rescue lines. We had a tripod up and a winch ready for the three workers. What did we miss? […]

Ferroresonance is a complicated issue, one that industry workers must be educated about. That’s because as the number of URD system installations grows and systems age, instances of ferroresonance increase – as do threats to worker and customer safety, equipment and service reliability. I first became acquainted with ferroresonance in the 1980s while troubleshooting a […]

Q: Can I ground through a wave trap? A: General discussion about wave or line traps centers on their function. At operating frequency, they have extremely low impedance to any voltage at 60 Hz. Some would say that for the sake of convenience, it’s OK to ground at a switch even where there is a […]