
Beyond the ABCs: Fall Protection for Unique Tasks
The electric transmission and distribution (T&D) industry often requires work in challenging environments. Whether crew members access tall structures by helicopter, use rope-access methods to climb lattice towers, or ride wire carts to install and maintain spacers along energized lines, their approach goes beyond standard ground-based operations. These specialized techniques can speed up projects, minimize […]

Using the Prediction Model to Prevent Incidents and Near-Misses
As someone employed in the electric utility industry, would you be willing to consider that there may be incident prevention strategies yet to be discovered and tested? Are you open to the idea that a better model could exist to create change in our industry – change that could reduce or even eliminate significant injuries […]

Making the Safety Connection: The Impact of Total Well-Being in the Workplace
Utility workers perform essential tasks that touch millions of lives every day. The critical nature of the services they provide coupled with the perilous nature of their tasks exposes these workers to life-threatening hazards. This is why the industry highly values and prioritizes safety. Many utility companies operating today have made significant strides in improving […]
Safety By Design: Leadership and Employee Involvement
In the first part of this six-part series, I discussed the reasons why it’s important for utility organizations to develop safety systems that align their safety initiatives. This article will address employee involvement, an often overlooked yet fundamental component of any effective safety system. According to ANSI/ASSP Z10, “Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems,” the […]
Equipotential Grounding is the Law
I’ve written about equipotential grounding for Incident Prevention magazine dozens of times over the past 15 years, both in this column and in the Q&A. Those articles have had thousands of views on Incident Prevention’s website, which suggests that their messaging should be getting through to industry employers and lineworkers – but my experience says […]
A Checkup from the Neck Up
The pastor of the church I attend recently delivered a sermon that deeply resonated with me and inspired the title of this article. Around that time, I’d been ruminating on some incidents I was investigating as part of my consulting work. I’d read the accident reports and conducted employee interviews, all the while wondering why […]
April-May 2025 Q&A
Q: I’m a municipal utility substation engineer, and I’m hoping you can help me with this question: Does an engineer taking photos in a substation fall under the OSHA 29 CFR 1910.269 work rules? A: The simple answer is yes. No matter your training or education, if you must be inside the fence to take […]
The Good Shepherd
If you’re like me, you’ve only encountered sheep at a petting zoo, so here’s a fun fact about them: sheep have rectangular pupils. I included that to make sure you learn something today and to challenge us to explore other sheep characteristics and what we can learn from sheep-shepherd relationships. In doing so, we’ll use […]