Lee Marchessault, CUSP

Electrical utilities are among the most hazardous industries in which to work. And since the early days of power distribution, utilities have investigated and analyzed fatalities and other incidents in an effort to prevent recurrences. One proven way to help verify and measure the effectiveness of an organization’s safety efforts is to conduct field personnel […]

Electrical power is a critical service that profoundly affects our daily lives. Without it, we would lose cellphone service, safety on city streets would be compromised because lights would not work, and the quality of life as we know it would diminish significantly. We would have to close schools and hospitals, and most jobs would […]

Electric utility workers face complex, high-risk electrical hazards nearly every day. Information about shock hazards – which may come from impressed voltage, residual energy, induction, objectionable current flow in a grounding system or stored energy – has been taught to many of us for quite some time, as have the methods of assessing them. On […]

Electric utilities are among the most hazardous industries in which to work. This was recognized in the early days of electric power distribution when extremely high fatality rates occurred. Since those days, utilities have examined injuries and fatalities to learn how to prevent others. The examination process has included analyzing possible hazards, mitigating the identified […]

Workplace safety is not an exact science. We can determine hazards, measure risks, provide protective equipment, implement policies and procedures – and then inject corrective actions when needed – but may still fall short of stellar performance. An uncontrollable variable that hinders our best efforts are the work practices of employees. Everyone acts and reacts […]