Call us: 877-860-5666

Overcoming the Illusion of Safety

Sometimes safety isn’t all that it seems

There are striking similarities in how we respond to incidents, injuries and fatalities in our industry. Safety stand-downs are held. Utilities and contractors conduct incident investigations that are typically wrapped up with action items that need to be handled.

But consider this: Is everything we do in the wake of an incident truly effective in preventing future incidents? Let’s take it one step further. Are all the things we’re doing on a daily basis helping to ensure employee safety, or do we sometimes simply check a box, satisfy a requirement and tell ourselves we’re making the job safer for our workers?

My objective in writing this article is to take a hard look at some of the tactics we are currently using in the name of safety. I will occasionally use or allude to the phrase “imagined reality”; this is not intended to be flippant or sarcastic. The truth of our human existence is that we create our own reality and then build systems around it. Take religion, for example. There are different religions whose followers have different beliefs and worship in different buildings – yet we can put a rover on Mars when we all work together regardless of our differences.

In the utility industry, we sometimes create an imagined reality of safety by doing certain things that we believe will make our workforce safer – but do they actually work? And if they’re not working, what can we do as an industry to improve? Think about this: The continued occurrences of serious injuries and fatalities tell us something. Even with the best training and the latest new safety initiatives, we have been unable to outsmart human fallibility. The smartest people in safety with the highest degrees in the land have been unable to save the last lineworker who was killed on the job. So, if we want to continue progressing in terms of safety in our workplaces, we may need to try some new tactics.

In the remainder of this article, we’re going to look at four different items – the safety stand-down, the safety moment, the job briefing and leadership style – to gauge their effectiveness and discuss what we can do to make them more impactful for the workforce.

1. The Safety Stand-Down
I have been involved with many safety stand-downs as a lineman, manager and safety director. In my experience, the safety stand-down has become a standard action item when an incident or near-miss is serious enough to warrant a temporary job shutdown. During a stand-down, there are often speakers and a document that is presented to workers, with the event typically taking place in a classroom, at a show-up site or on the job site.

The information provided at the stand-down is usually relevant, timely and accurate. But what impact does it have on the workforce? If we model a narrative of talking to or at a group of workers and there is little to no interaction, it is unlikely that the information will be impactful or lasting for the workers. Of course, there’s no doubt that during some safety stand-downs, there is a skilled presenter who engages and involves the audience, prompting deep thought and contemplation of what could have been done to avoid the incident altogether. The reality is that a stand-down is only as good as its presenter.

When assessing the effectiveness of a safety stand-down, ask yourself, what will change tomorrow because of the stand-down today? When a stand-down is put together by management for their workers, the result is often a stand-down about what management thinks is necessary to present in order to prevent recurrence. But a stand-down should be negotiated with the crew that experienced the event, and their input – along with the input of other crews – is critically necessary if we want an impact to be made. Otherwise, the stand-down is a check-the-box event so that crews can eventually get back to work; it is a means to satisfy a requirement.

A stand-down presented only by management is also the kind of event that can potentially erode trust between workers and management. Education is supposed to be focused on students. Similarly, medicine should be patient centered. So, why does much of safety seem to be generated more by management than workers? When an initiative originates in management with no worker input, the worker is not a partner in the process. And if you are currently managing safety without partnering with your workforce on initiatives, there’s a good chance that what you are doing isn’t going to resonate with your workforce.

2. The Safety Moment
At one point in my career, I ran a small satellite garage for an electric utility. The company broadcasted a safety message at the same time every workday. Sometimes I would be in the middle of a task, such as establishing a clearance for an outage over the radio, and everything would have to stop so we could listen to the safety message.

One year, I did a small anecdotal study….

CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE HERE

Equipotential Grounding Zones Are Essential for Job Site Safety

It is a given that linework, whether transmission or distribution, is hazardous work. Safety is of the utmost priority in an industry where lethal voltages are regularly involved. In 2018, 8.5% of all construction-related fatalities were electrocution-related....

THE UTILITY EXPO 2023: A PREVIEW

This year’s Utility Expo – produced by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers – is expected to be the biggest show yet for utility industry professionals, exceeding the size and scope of the last expo held in 2021. The event, which runs September 26-28 at the...

The Quail Effect: An Indicator of Safety Culture

The Quail Effect: An Indicator of Safety Culture It is not uncommon for a flock of birds, such as quail, to scatter when people get too close to them. This sometimes happens on work sites, too, but instead of birds, it’s workers who scatter when they see safety...

Words of Wisdom from a Longtime Safety Man

Words of Wisdom from a Longtime Safety Man I first got into the electric utility industry in 1965 when I was hired to work as a lineman’s helper. Lineman’s helpers were also called by another name: grunt. At that time, you were not considered a grown adult until you...

Lower Risk Of Wildfires Along T&D Systems Long Term

To achieve the lowest level of risk, some utilities like Sacramento Municipal Utility District are embracing the practice of managing vegetation to tree height.

How Utilities Can Dramatically Reduce Wildfire Risk

Rising temperatures, drought conditions, and dry vegetation are all major contributors to wildfires with possible ignition sources including lightning strikes, unattended campfires, and other man-made causes.

Interview with Ryan Lucas of The Powerline Podcast

It doesn’t hurt to have a little bit of a Gypsy Soul Born and raised in a small town in British Columbia, Ryan never dreamed of becoming a lineman even though his father owned a small power line company. It wasn't until a foreman who worked for his father pulled him...

Interview with David Mendonca of The Show Up Dad Podcast

Being a Great Dad, Husband, and Lineman is all about "Be Where Your Feet Are." If you're a lineman – or in the trades – and a father working hard to provide for your family, David Mendonca wants you to know you're not alone. And if you're struggling to be the best...

THE AMERICAN LINEMAN– a book review

“Linemen are American heroes.” That’s the central thesis of Alan Drew’s ode to the men and women who energized America. The American Lineman looks like a history book meets a science book, but ultimately, it’s the author's love letter to those who keep the lights on....

Lineman Safety during a Wildfire

If you wanted to create a recipe for disaster, the beginning of the 2021 wildfire season would be a good place to start. Nearly 90% of the western U.S. is suffering through extreme drought. The snowpack set new low levels there as well. A record-breaking heatwave...