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Voice of Experience: Working On or Near Exposed Energized Parts
OSHA 29 CFR 1910.269(l), “Working on or near exposed energized parts,” requires employees to adhere to very specific rules concerning the exposure of unprotected body parts to energized conductors and...
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Train the Trainer 101: Why You Need More than 1910 and 1926
OSHA, like MSHA, publishes regulations for the employer to follow to promote safety in the workplace. The methodology of the regulations is to establish performance goals. Regulations do not establish...
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Transitioning to FR Clothing
Since Tacoma Power’s creation in the 1890s, its employees have worked on or around energized conductors and have been exposed to the hazards of electrical arcs and flames. For most of that time,...
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Leadership Skill Set 5: Social Persuasion
Social persuasion is the final skill set needed to understand the science of emotional intelligence. The concept behind emotional intelligence is that everyone can learn its five skill sets. Some...
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Safety Management During Change
Safety champions Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities companies have created a culture of safety excellence with consistently low injury rates and hundreds of national and international...
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Spice It Up!
Would you go to a fine restaurant that only served bland food? Of course you wouldn’t. One of the main reasons we enjoy going to restaurants is because the food is seasoned and tasty. The same applies...
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The Singing Lineman
Brandon Wylie grew up with line work in his blood from his father and music in his soul from his grandfather, so it was just a matter of time before the two parts collided. And when you cross line work...
View ArticleEmergency Action Plans for Remote Locations
According to OSHA 29 CFR 1926.35, employers are required to have an emergency action plan (EAP). For the transmission and distribution (T&D) industry, developing an EAP that enables emergency...
View ArticleTrenching and Excavations: Considerations for the Competent Person
There is no blanket requirement that a competent person must be present at a construction job site at all times. The competent person can periodically leave the site. It is the responsibility of the...
View ArticleTraffic Safety for Lineworkers
One of the most dangerous tasks lineworkers perform has nothing to do with heights or electricity. Thousands of people die in the United States each year due to traffic accidents that occur in street...
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Using Best Practices to Drive Safety Culture
During the years that I have worked with power companies as a safety and training consultant, I have seen a lot of missed opportunities to create a strong safety culture. Most of us have a keen eye for...
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Voice of Experience: The Globally Harmonized System is Here
Creating one global standard to classify and label hazardous chemicals has been a topic of international negotiations since the process began in Brazil in 1992. Now, the long-awaited and much-discussed...
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Train the Trainer 101: Grounding Trucks and Mobile Equipment
A few years ago at a company I worked for, an experienced, highly trained professional lineman, thinking he was lifting a truck ground, inadvertently lifted the ground rod connection for a transmission...
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The Power of an Effective Field Observation Program
Electric utilities are among the most hazardous industries in which to work. This was recognized in the early days of electric power distribution when extremely high fatality rates occurred. Since...
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What OSHA’s Proposed Silica Rule Means to You
Airborne crystalline silica has long been discussed as a health hazard in the workplace. When inhaled, very small crystalline silica particles referred to as “respirable” particles are known to cause...
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2013 USOLN Safety Award Winners Announced
During the iP Utility Safety Conference & Expo held earlier this year in Louisville, Ky., representatives from the Utility Safety & Ops Leadership Network presented the 2013 John McRae Safety...
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Learning Leadership: Personal Protective Emotional Armor: Part 1
Prior to the 1990s, thoughts and emotions typically were not topics of discussion. That was a time when children were to be seen and not heard, and employees were not to think, but rather just do as...
View ArticleElectrical Capacitors in AC Circuits
In this month’s Tailgate, we will discuss the functions of a capacitor in an alternating current (AC) circuit, including charge and discharge, applications and connections in power circuits, and...
View ArticleImproving Safety Through Communication
Recently we have heard about serious accidents and fatalities in our industry that have had a significant impact on the injured employees, their fellow workers, their family and friends, and virtually...
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Voice of Experience: Why Did I Do That?
I have often wondered why people – myself included – do the things they do. If you have ever investigated an accident or been the first one on the scene, you know it does not take much more than a...
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