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Incident Prevention Magazine
Incident Prevention is on a mission to be a major player in the reduction of job related accidents within utilities and telecommunications. The publication, our Hands-On Safety Conferences and this site are dedicated to providing utility safety and operations professionals the resources to build safety programs and implement processes that lead to reduced work-related incidents.January-February 2008
Jump to section: Safety Management Section
Worksite Safety Section
Safety Management Section
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Comcast Cable and CUSA
by Ken Flechler, CUSA
How Comcast Cable strongly encourages its employees with
responsibility for safety to obtain Certified Utility Safety Administrator (CUSA) certification. Should your utility do the same? -
Managing Safety Rule Violations
by Tyrone S. Tonkinson, PhD., P.E.
This is the question I am asked most frequently at conferences and when delivering training. The short, direct answer is "Yes." So, if an individual violates a safety rule, should he or she be punished? It depends.
I know that sounds like a consultant's answer, so let's discuss what I mean. We can start by considering human nature. We all choose our behaviors based on expected consequences. What are the consequences of taking shortcuts on the job? While there are possible negative consequences, like rework or an injury, these problems are few and far between. One definite result is that the job takes less time. Getting done faster is usually considered a good thing. But what if the shortcut involves violating a safety rule? If there are no consequences for violating safety rules, can they be ignored? Will this affect your safety record?
For the most part, people do not deliberately violate policies and safety rules. Our workers, however, are responding to many influences on their actions, including company goals, a sense of urgency to restore customer service, personal issues at home, and so on. When shortcuts get results and they are not corrected, the decision becomes a bad habit. And while bad habits will not lead to an injury every time, they will eventually catch up to the worker.
Worksite Safety Section
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NESC 2007 FLAME RESISTANT CLOTHING
by Hugh Hoagland
The NESC 2007 standard sets forth quite a challenge to electric and communication utilities in the area of clothing. The new standard, which becomes law in several states, says, "The employer shall require employees to wear clothing or a clothing system that has an effective arc rating not less than the anticipated level of arc energy." This compliance is required by January 1, 2009.
The following challenges will require strategies and decisions by utilities to comply with the NESC standard.
