Preventing Worker Injury and Damage to Vehicle and Equipment Doors in High Wind Conditions
It will soon be that time of year when wind speeds increase all across the U.S. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, wind speeds typically increase in January, peak throughout March and April, and decrease during the summer months. The increase in wind speeds creates high wind conditions that, if not properly planned […]
Train the Trainer 101: Practical Underground Safety: Handling Neutrals and Rescue
Over the years I spent as a lineman, I did my share of underground installation and maintenance work. During my years in safety, I have seen the expansion of safety processes associated with underground, especially in response to the most recent OSHA changes. Not all of the changes have been effective, and that’s why we’re […]
Voice of Experience: PPE Regulatory and Consensus Standard Requirements
OSHA 29 CFR 1910 Subpart I and 1926 Subpart E cover the requirements of personal protective and lifesaving equipment. With the publication of OSHA’s final rule in April 2014, the general industry and construction standards are now essentially the same for electric utilities, and there are few if any differences in the PPE required by […]
December 2015 Q&A
Q: I’ve been reading ASTM 855, IEEE 1048 and the National Electrical Code, and I’m a little confused by the practice of grounding through a switch. Can you help me better understand this? A: In transmission/distribution applications, there is no issue with grounding through a switch. To explain, we always have to ask whether the […]
The 911 Dilemma
It’s happened to most of us. We’re at a job site and someone gets hurt. We’re not sure how badly the employee is hurt or if we should call 911. Sometimes when an incident occurs, we think it might be better to take the injured employee to a care facility rather than call 911 for […]