Utility Worksite Safety Articles

Ground grids provide a fundamental safety feature in substations and should be tested periodically. Unfortunately, some are approaching 100 years old and haven’t been tested in many years.

Use of arc suppression blankets can help reduce arc flash/blast injuries. When properly installed, arc suppression blankets absorb or deflect heat and blast energy emitted from an arc event, reducing the event's impact on workers.

We all know the data. Typically, one third to one half of our field injuries are musculoskeletal disorders such as strains and sprains, rotator cuff syndrome, lower back disorders and tendonitis. Workers’ compensation costs for these injuries far exceed those for acute incidents such as burns, cuts and even fractures.

To be absolutely clear – there is an arc hazard in the utility workplace. There is also a need for protecting employees with arc protective clothing. If you are responsible for hazard mediation, you should have an arc protection program or at least a plan to begin a program. Regularly, people call me and ask what they should do about NFPA 70E: Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace; and therein lies the problem. NFPA 70E is not the solution to utility arc flash hazards.

With the summer upon us, one concern that always seems to sneak up on workers during high heat periods are heat-related illnesses. Working in a hot, humid environment can be difficult or even fatal if you ignore the signs and symptoms of heat-related disorders.

Storms and heavy rains can produce significant flooding in some areas. These conditions can pose several unique hazards for injury and disease. This Tailgate Topic is intended to help you recognize and avoid these potential dangers to protect your health and safety.

Choosing the correct fall protection equipment for climbing transmission structures

The small generator is a godsend to those who need electric power where no electricity is found and the popularity of generator use by homeowners is growing by leaps and bound. Unfortunately, not everyone who owns a generator uses it in the safest manner. As a result, they create hazards for utility workers who may be working in close proximity to homes and equipment that may be fed or – even worse – backfed from a personal generator.

Despite the economic downturn, the wind energy industry is growing rapidly and establishing itself as a prominent, sustainable solution that will help generate enough power to help meet current and future demands for renewable energy. Global leaders recognize that wind power can and will be one of the largest sources of new electricity generation. The United States is taking a strong position in this industry; the Obama administration is supporting wind power with an aggressive renewable energy stimulus to back it financially and foster continued growth within the industry.

The Department of Labor, Bureau of Statistics, says tower climbers have “the most dangerous job in America.” Steve Fleming, Director of Antenna & Tower Training at Safety One International (www.SafetyOneInc.com), says that on average accidents on towers and cranes lead to 25 deaths per year. Fleming further suggested that close to 80 percent of the deaths at communication towers over the period of 1992-2001 were attributed to falls.

With the winter thaw occurring in many parts of the country, this TailGate Topic focuses on changing field conditions. Many times our tasks require us to work off the beaten path, placing us in muddy locations. Getting stuck becomes a reality when heavy vehicles are driven over muddy ground.

Two standards are needed to specify clothing for high visibility and flame resistance. Most companies in the U.S. choose ANSI 107 (for high visibility) and ASTM F1506 (for flame-resistance clothing complying with NFPA 70E or OSHA 1910.269). Citing both means you will have clothing (shirts and vests primarily) that are highly visible and arc- and flash-fire resistant. However, the flame-resistance side is often a weakness because of manufacturers or marketers who push “flame-resistant” standards that are misleading or outright deceptive.

Beyond information peculiar to technical crafts, every person who enters a substation has a common need to understand substation grounding. This includes things to look for that might indicate problems in the station’s grounding system.

Substation grounding plays the primary role in several key aspects of fault clearing, equipment preservation and, most importantly, personnel protection as well as protection of the passing public. In fact, if the ground grid in a station were not in place, anyone standing next to a breaker that operates stands a good chance of being shocked, if not killed.

Progress Energy is a Fortune 250 investor-owned electric utility company that comprises generation, transmission and distribution businesses and a general services company. Progress Energy’s 11,000 employees serve 2.9 million customers over a 50,000-square-mile retail service area in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida.

For the wind power industry, practicing safety has always been more than a mission—it’s required. After all, a wind technician may be working in a space the size of a bathroom located on a tower 80 meters tall, surrounded by massive mechanical and high voltage electrical equipment, in a harsh climate, far from medical services.

Some utility personnel have resisted arc-flash compliance with the presumption that arc flashes and blasts are not a major issue for the utility industry. Organizations and standards committees such as IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), NFPA70E (National Fire Protection Association), EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute), CRN (Cooperative Research Network) and others confirm this as a false statement. An IEEE study concluded, “To decrease the number and severity of non-fatal electrical burn injuries, direct worker exposure to electrical arc energy must be reduced.”

Although insulated tools are designed and tested to protect the electrical worker, dirt and other contaminants can greatly reduce the protection of live-line tools. Following is an overview of care to keep your equipment in good working condition.

Accidents happen when we least expect them. “Why?” is usually the first question. The common follow-up analysis is, “How could I have let this happen?”

If you consider personal safety equipment inconvenient and uncomfortable to wear, you may want to consider the alternatives.

As we are in the midst of summer storm season, many hazards are encountered during storm restoration. One hazard that randomly reveals itself is a fall due to a wooden pole breaking under the lineman’s weight. Of course, “good” wooden poles don’t break; the area of concern is the wooden pole that has reached the end of its life cycle due to decay. But how do you know if a pole is safe to climb?