Open the trench, vault or manhole. Strip back the jacket. Expose the neutrals. Remove the semicon and insulation. Crimp the connector. Rebuild the conductor shield, insulation and semicon. Seal the outside. This splicing routine eventually becomes second nature for medium-voltage cable splicers, which can make some workdays feel like a rote checklist to slog through. […]
Utilities are investing millions of dollars in drones, automated monitoring systems and artificial intelligence applications. These tools offer unprecedented safety and operational advantages as grid complexities evolve – assuming crews willingly use them as intended. New technology should make it safer and easier for frontline workers to execute their tasks, particularly when stressed or fatigued. […]
The previous articles in this series examined two factors that strongly influence personal safety. Accountability is the idea that meaningful improvement begins when workers accept responsibility for their own safety decisions. Through mental preparation, workers gain an understanding of the ways in which temperament, emotional triggers and habits affect their judgment under pressure. This article […]
In safety management, data is often treated as objective truth. Leaders use incident rates, near-miss reports, injury trends and predictive models to guide them as they prioritize risk and allocate organizational resources. Yet data can quietly mislead us, particularly when bias is embedded in what we collect and our measurement and interpretation methods. Effective, ethical […]
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 […]
Our industry’s frontline workers are commonly promoted to supervisory positions in rapid fashion. Some struggle with the transition as they discover that their new role involves far more than increased compensation, a fancier title and the keys to a company pickup truck. This installment of “Voice of Experience” addresses important points about lineworker leadership transitions […]
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 […]
Discipline equals freedom. That’s a leadership dichotomy that Jocko Willink and Leif Babin address in Chapter 12 of their book “Extreme Ownership.” Similarly, in the Bible, just before instructing the Ephesians to don their spiritual armor, Paul urges Christians to live disciplined lives according to the Ten Commandments “so … that you may enjoy long […]
