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iPi Monthly Forum for Utility Professionals
The iPi monthly forum is where you can get answers to questions you have from subject matter experts like David McPeak, Jim Vaughn, Danny Raines and other utility safety and ops professionals like yourself. Forums will include industry specific topics, challenges, trends, and solutions along with best practices in leadership, operations, and safety.
For excellence to become a reality, these capacities must be developed, monitored and synergized.
FR/AR Apparel Use: Are Your Workers Properly Trained?
Many workers in the utilities space bravely put their personal safety at risk every day on the job. Facing potential hazards such as arc flashes, flash fires and unpredictable elements of nature, these workers’ personal protective equipment – particularly their garments – is their last line of defense. However, proper apparel use can sometimes be overlooked or deprioritized, putting workers at …
ESG: Health and Safety Obstacle or Opportunity?
Over the past few years, much has been written and discussed about the role of environmental, social and governance, commonly referred to as ESG. Investors and customers are increasingly applying these nonfinancial factors as part of their analysis process to identify material risks and growth opportunities in the companies they decide to invest in. According to research from the Weinreb Group,…
Ruling Spans and Proper Conductor Sag
The cold winter weather of recent months has prompted many conversations about proper sagging and tension on transmission and distribution conductors. Improper sagging and excessively high tension on conductors – past their rated breaking strength – have caused unscheduled system outages, but suc…
Switching and Tagging
Discipline is one of the many things that have served our industry well. Decades before OSHA was established by the Williams-Steiger Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, our industry already had disciplined procedures for switching, controlling and tagging circuits. When OSHA began to esta…
Receiving Feedback
Most leadership development programs talk about the vital skill of giving feedback, as they should. I hope you’ve been trained on coaching and feedback and that you practice and enhance those skills frequently.
But what about receiving feedback? That is another skill that can be learned, pract…
April – May 2024 Q&A
Q: We recently participated in a safety seminar during which OSHA’s digger derrick/crane exemption was discussed. We have used the exemption with digger derricks to raise baskets of travelers to pole-tops for wire-pulling installation. Are we in compliance if we are not using a certified crane op…
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Safety Management
Five Core Capacities for Sustainable Safety Excellence
Does your organization have the capacity to achieve sustainable excellence in safety performance and culture?
For excellence to become a reality in any important area of operations, especially safety, there are five vital capacities that organizations must develop, monitor and synergize to ada…
An Experiment in Crew Member Engagement
I don’t talk about myself a lot – I listen. I developed this skill after taking on a leadership position with a utility contractor in an industry I knew nothing about.
My work history prior to this role included management in pretty much every industry except utilities. In each of my previous …
Getting to the Heart of At-Risk Behaviors with Facilitative Learning
In a recent workshop with a client in southeast Louisiana, a breakout session reached a tipping point. The rhythmic flow of dialogue among the seven supervisors in the group found an unscripted but purposeful path of its own. The task given to the group involved identifying at-risk behaviors or s…
ESG: Health and Safety Obstacle or Opportunity?
Over the past few years, much has been written and discussed about the role of environmental, social and governance, commonly referred to as ESG. Investors and customers are increasingly applying these nonfinancial factors as part of their analysis process to identify material risks and growth op…
An Experiment in Crew Member Engagement
I don’t talk about myself a lot – I listen. I developed this skill after taking on a leadership position with a utility contractor in an industry I knew nothing about.
My work history prior to this role included management in pretty much every industry except utilities. In each of my previous …
Getting to the Heart of At-Risk Behaviors with Facilitative Learning
In a recent workshop with a client in southeast Louisiana, a breakout session reached a tipping point. The rhythmic flow of dialogue among the seven supervisors in the group found an unscripted but purposeful path of its own. The task given to the group involved identifying at-risk behaviors or s…
ESG: Health and Safety Obstacle or Opportunity?
Over the past few years, much has been written and discussed about the role of environmental, social and governance, commonly referred to as ESG. Investors and customers are increasingly applying these nonfinancial factors as part of their analysis process to identify material risks and growth op…
This educational technique is ideally suited as a resource for those wanting to improve the effectiveness of safety training.
Getting to the Heart of At-Risk Behaviors with Facilitative Learning
In a recent workshop with a client in southeast Louisiana, a breakout session reached a tipping point. The rhythmic flow of dialogue among the seven supervisors in the group found an unscripted but purposeful path of its own. The task given to the group involved identifying at-risk behaviors or s…
Nurturing Strong Leadership: An Approach to Professional Development in Skilled Trades
Strong leadership is essential for the success and well-being of a company. Effective leaders play a vital role in setting the course, motivating employees, fostering a positive work culture and making critical decisions that steer the organization toward its goals.
In our industry, leaders fa…
Worksite Safety
Solar Backfeed Safety on Distribution and Secondary Circuits
Editor’s Note: This timely article specifically addresses the contemporary issue of green-energy backfeed endangering power-line workers. Unlike engine-powered backup generators, green energy makes no telltale noise to alert workers to its presence and possible hazards. Incident Prevention encour…
An Experiment in Crew Member Engagement
I don’t talk about myself a lot – I listen. I developed this skill after taking on a leadership position with a utility contractor in an industry I knew nothing about.
My work history prior to this role included management in pretty much every industry except utilities. In each of my previous …
Skid-Steer Loaders: Hazard Awareness and Recommended Safety Practices
In 2009, OSHA published a safety and health information bulletin in part because of the seriousness of injuries that have occurred with skid-steer loaders (see www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/publications/shib011209.pdf). Similarly, NIOSH published an alert in December 2010 in response to the ha…
FR/AR Apparel Use: Are Your Workers Properly Trained?
Many workers in the utilities space bravely put their personal safety at risk every day on the job. Facing potential hazards such as arc flashes, flash fires and unpredictable elements of nature, these workers’ personal protective equipment – particularly their garments – is their last line of de…
An Experiment in Crew Member Engagement
I don’t talk about myself a lot – I listen. I developed this skill after taking on a leadership position with a utility contractor in an industry I knew nothing about.
My work history prior to this role included management in pretty much every industry except utilities. In each of my previous …
Skid-Steer Loaders: Hazard Awareness and Recommended Safety Practices
In 2009, OSHA published a safety and health information bulletin in part because of the seriousness of injuries that have occurred with skid-steer loaders (see www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/publications/shib011209.pdf). Similarly, NIOSH published an alert in December 2010 in response to the ha…
FR/AR Apparel Use: Are Your Workers Properly Trained?
Many workers in the utilities space bravely put their personal safety at risk every day on the job. Facing potential hazards such as arc flashes, flash fires and unpredictable elements of nature, these workers’ personal protective equipment – particularly their garments – is their last line of de…
Do You Really Care?
As EHS professionals, we may scoff at first when a worker asks us, “Seriously, do you really care about what I’m doing?” But this question has a much deeper meaning than you may think.
In our day-to-day activities, much of the relationship building and many of the general discussions fall to skill-of-the-craft concepts. This means there is tremendous variability between individuals regarding how they approach and connect with people at a personal level. Many companies have abandoned engagement-based or team-based training due to budget restraints or a perceived lack of value, so there is…
Fighting PPE Complacency
In the fast-paced world of utility work, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking, “This is just a quick job” or “I’ve done this a thousand times.” These thoughts can lead to complacency and poor decision-making around proper personal protective equipment use, including flame-resistant and arc…
Am I My Brother’s Keeper – Or Not?
I am sure that the safety leaders reading this Tailgate Topic have heard some or all of the following phases: “I’m my brother’s keeper,” “Don’t get hurt,” “Work in a manner that prevents injury,” and “Keep your head in the game.” These phrases are well-intended; they serve as a reminder to keep s…
Receiving Feedback
Most leadership development programs talk about the vital skill of giving feedback, as they should. I hope you’ve been trained on coaching and feedback and that you practice and enhance those skills frequently.
But what about receiving feedback? That is another skill that can be learned, pract…
Game-Planning for Safety
Given a relatively equal amount of talent on both sides, the sports TEAM (Together Everyone Accomplishes More) with the best game plan will likely win. Examining what champions – especially those that create dynasties – do well provides us with insight into achieving excellence in safety.
…
The Art of Safety – Unnormalizing Deviation
Given the predictable nature of hazards, how and why do incidents occur? Think about this: If I know the winning numbers ahead of a lottery drawing, it’s simple for me to be 100% successful at winning the lottery money. So, if we know how hazards are going to act and how they cause harm, why aren…