Tag: Leadership Development

Information technology has profoundly transformed the electric distribution dispatching center. Historically, a dispatching center’s primary responsibility was to receive outage calls, assign daily work and communicate to field crews via the company radio. The days of receiving outage calls and searching for sectionalizing devices on a paper mapping system, however, have been replaced by computer based technology. Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), Outage Management Systems (OMS), Integrated Voice Response (IVR) and other systems have improved reliability, outage response...

The second point of contact is common terminology that is utilized industry wide when discussing energized work methods, such as rubber gloving or hot sticking. Ignoring the hazards of the second point of contact is the primary contributor to electrical contacts while working with rubber gloves or hot sticks. A study conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety from 1982 to 1994 indicated that many occupational electrocutions during that time frame occurred due to lack of protection against the second point of contact. Yet, if one types “second point of contact” on...

The Generic Error Modeling System (GEMS) has developed a framework for understanding error types and designing error prevention strategies. During just about every conference at which I speak at least one person asks, “Okay, what is this human performance stuff?” I typically answer by making an analogy to behavior-based safety programs that are directed at observing and changing the behaviors of workers to produce a safer work environment and to reduce injuries. I like to say that Human Performance is behavior-based safety on steroids, because it looks not only at the individual’s behaviors...

Designing an integrated safety information system creates a platform for safety predictive modeling Picture this—an electronic employee self-service compliance system, a web-based field safety observation system and a completely integrated management access self-service electronic incident reporting system all linked together, giving your company the tools to discover trends in knowledge, behavior and accident specifics. If that sounds like next-generation technology to you, think again. NSTAR Electric & Gas, based in Boston, Massachusetts is currently in the final phases of...

Utilities, like other industries, are facing a new training challenge. Businesses that require a hands-on approach to training their employees are soon to feel the effects of an anticipated “knowledge transfer” due to the pending retirement of large numbers of baby boomers. This demographic shift means that a step-by-step, building-block approach for providing instructors with proven, methodical processes is increasingly essential. To ensure that high-quality training and education skill sets are offered to employees, businesses must simplify the learning process without sacrificing the...

If knowledge of concepts that would prevent all accidents, events, injuries or fatalities caused by a person were available, would you accept that information? Clearly, the answer is you should want to do all you can to prevent bad things from happening to your fellow employees and the company you serve, especially if you hold a leadership position. I first learned about Human Performance (HP) in 1997 when I was the Mechanical Maintenance Supervisor at the Duane Arnold Energy Center and had the pleasure of serving 30 of the finest mechanics in the business. I cared about each person on my...

A wide variety of on-site and online training programs from the industry’s suppliers are available to utility safety professionals. In addition, trainers and educators are prepared to offer a range of courses. ONLINE TRAINING Altec Industries www.altec.com The new national consensus standard, outlined in ANSI A10.31 2006 Safety Requirements, Definitions and Specifications for Digger Derricks, incorporates new requirements for training of operators, and for employers and owners of digger derricks. To help digger derrick operators in the utility industry meet new training...

Tips for Improving Incident Investigation Interviews, Part 2: Contact Time Assuming you have adequately prepared for conducting incident investigation interviews (see “The Art of Interviewing, Part 1: Preparation” in the January/ February 2007 issue of Incident Prevention), a primary objective for live interviews is to help interviewees reveal the deeper reasons why the incident occurred. The evidence you collect will tell you what happened. In other words, you don’t just ask what happened, you interview the people involved to find out why things happened. The following...

Part 1 of a 2-part article. Tips for Improving Incident Investigation Interviews – Part 1: Preparation What is the natural temptation for you, a safety professional assigned to be the lead incident investigator, as soon as the assignment is made? “Who was involved? I want to talk with them.” Many inexperienced safety professionals jump right into interviews. I suggest that the effectiveness of your interviews will be proportional to your preparation. To improve your chances of revealing the deeper causes of events, you must prepare. There are times when urgency dictates...

The OSHA Code of Federal Regulations (29 CFR 1910.269 Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution) requires employers to ensure that qualified personnel who perform work on equipment 50 volts or greater verify their knowledge of the regulations on an ongoing basis. To meet this important requirement, NSTAR Electric and Gas Corporation has implemented a highly successful self-service, computer-based learning program. In the past, NSTAR used a five-person field safety department to provide instructor-led sessions for craft workers who service overhead, underground and substation...

This feature’s title is not a rhetorical question. There really should be an answer-a definitive, widely accepted answer we could all give quickly and consistently. There isn’t and we can’t, though we try with great confidence. When one of us comes up with something that sounds pretty good, another one of us disagrees. The lack of standards in our industry about who a lineman is and what he does plagues us in hiring, training, work assignments, and especially when we try to manage contract workers or other utility personnel who have been borrowed to help restore power...

Experiencing high turnover?  Too many incidents?  The answer to these problems could lie in a new, innovative training program. Electric utilities of all business models, whether investor owned, municipal or cooperative, are undergoing a transition. This transition is partly driven by evolving business strategies toward better cost controls that result in efficiency. With the possibility of electric utilities forced through deregulation to enter the competitive market, utilities must seriously evaluate the traditional business model. One attractive resource for cost effective...