Worksite Safety Archive

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 begs the question, are basic first-aid and CPR training enough for a situation like this? Should enhanced first-aid training be considered for remote utility work? Could training some of our lineworkers in advanced first aid help them more effectively respond? Would training them help them to recognize potentially hazardous situations in advance to avoid injuries altogether?  As a utility worker wi…

Bucket trucks are among the most frequently used pieces of equipment in a utility’s fleet. Because of the common use of the trucks, it becomes easy for operators to become complacent in their equipment, inspection, operation and rescue plan – often defaulting to the last job safety analysis with limited consideration for the task at hand and the work environment. In a frequent scenario, one of Colorado’s electric utility contractors was issued an urgent service ticket. The lineman assigned to the job had years of experience and assumed this task would be much like the hundreds of closed service tickets in his past. Due to time constraints, time of day and ease of repair, he set off solo to complete his mission. Upon arriving at the scene…

On October 27, 2021, OSHA published in the Federal Register an advance notice of proposed rulemaking for heat injury and illness prevention in outdoor and indoor work settings. This followed OSHA implementing an enforcement initiative on heat-related hazards and the development of a National Emphasis Program on heat inspections in September. At the same time, the agency formed a Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Work Group of the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health to start collecting information in preparation for the rulemaking.  Past Not many hazards found in the workplace share the same historical prevalence as heat stress. In fact, one could surmise that workers getting sick or injured while working in the…

Consider new testing data before making a final determination. Proper grounding is both a life-and-death matter and an operational imperative. But many questions remain about grounding. Some of the most frequently asked include: Why do some designers, utilities and contractors use one type of grounding conductor while others use a different type? If copper and aluminum carry power through transmission and distribution lines, then why not use them everywhere, including for grounding? What is the best grounding conductor? The grounding conductor selection process should include both of the following steps: Use the recommendation from Section 9 of the National Electrical Safety Code, which states that choosing a conductor to satisfy a g…

Everyone in the utility sector should familiarize themselves with the relationship between these two work groups.

Demonstrating simple strategies for teams to practice can begin to effect behavioral changes that improve safety. When leaders model a specific safety behavior or tactic, we can achieve multiple positive outcomes, including initiating change in our organizations. It is critical, however, that we physically model the behavior with our actions – we must walk the walk, not just talk the talk. When we truly lead by example, we can expect our team leaders to model our behavior as well. With that said, in this article, I’m going to present you with some simple, actionable safety strategies you can model that will begin to change your company’s culture of safety and crew dynamics. The Confidence to Speak Up During incident and accident investi…

A Historical Review of Workplace Safety in the U.S. While OSHA may sometimes make it difficult for businesses to do business, their rules are necessary for the safety of the American workforce. Has OSHA ever made it difficult for businesses to do business? It sure has, and I will be the first to raise my hand in agreement. I started my career in the electrical utility industry as a lineman helper five years before President Richard Nixon signed into law the Williams-Steiger Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. It became enforceable in late April 1971. At that time, I was just beginning my apprenticeship as I was too young to be a lineman in the mid-1960s and Uncle Sam had some other ideas for me. Now the federal government was try…

Austin Energy is the electric utility provider for the rapidly growing city of Austin, Texas. This community-owned, not-for-profit enterprise of the City of Austin employs approximately 1,100 office-based and 600 field-based employees. Employee safety, health and wellness have always been a top priority, and in 2019, Healthworks Ergonomics – the company I co-own – was hired to develop a comprehensive ergonomics program to complement Austin Energy’s existing initiatives.