Power restoration work has become more and more common over the last 20 years. Storms have increased in strength and frequency creating more of a demand for qualified personnel to respond. The aging infrastructure stands little chance against winds exceeding 60 miles per hour and it's not just the powerlines knocked down. Some storms leave what looks like a war zone in its wake and the hazards are vast. The Electric industry has an encyclopedia of safety programs and policies surpassing any other industry in the world. Every job a lineworker goes on has a health and safety plan, usually specific to the tasks performed for that project. These HASPS are implemented as a mitigation tactic to prevent injury and accidents from happening, every step measured and calculated, all the hazards accessed before the work begins. The safety tailboards associated with these projects are again specific to the HASP and the work to be performed, creating a tailboard for each new phase in the process to complete the project. These are filled out daily, often multiple times a day with a thorough safety discussion before the work begins. This helps minimize complacency as it refreshes and reminds the workers of the hazards associated with each task. Although the functions of a lineworker on a storm call are essentially the same as a normal project the hazards are extremely different. Everything from inclement weather to working conditions, the dangers are heightened yet the safety remains the same. The primary goal of safety is to prevent incidents and accidents from happening, giving the tools of awareness and communication to fight against unnecessary tragedy. Our intention with this booklet is to do just that, to better equip and prepare all the lineworkers responding to a storm event.
Above is the intro to our Storm Hazards Mitigations Booklet and it's the first of its kind in the industry. What struck me the hardest is that this did not exist before us, other than parts and pieces from general safety programs, a storm safety program just didn't exist. I am sure there are programs out there from some companies that address storm safety and I have even seen some material that is oriented for managers in the field. The real issue is that storm safety has not been standardized across the board and specifically tailored for those actually doing the restoration work, the ones facing the real dangers.Â
It wasn't until I started putting together material for our own storm safety program that I realized how much danger is really involved with power restoration. I had worked in the field for over 15 years as a Lineman and never really knew what kind of potential was around me. Sure I made it out ok, no injuries, no accidents, but we don't run our safety programs with that kind of thinking. OSHA has its standards and addresses some of the titled chapters associated with storm work but its short, not very specific, and general. The more I discussed ideas and brainstormed with my team, the more chapters there were and they kept on coming. From your basic topics like adverse road conditions to your less common themes of waterway logistics, what unfolded was truly humbling and eye-opening. What started off as an idea of creating something that could be beneficial to Line workers responding to a storm has now turned into something imperative and vital.Â
Safety in any industry is tailored for specific tasks and covers all of the various associated risks with the intention of minimizing incidents. So why wouldn't emergency power restoration work have the same stringent standards? Instead the industry relies on the general blanket safety that covers these workers for their normal everyday work.Â
I encourage other companies to develop their own storm safety programs or to adopt one that has already been created. There should be a demand for this type of safety and it should be a conversation all of you have with each other. Our common denominator should always be safety, bringing us together in the fight against incidents and accidents.
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