How to reduce dangers while providing preventive maintenance data
BY FINLEY LEDBETTER, Group CBS, Inc.
While most discussions about avoiding electrical hazards focus on personal protective equipment (PPE), utility workers have a number of ways to protect themselves and their gear, including specialized equipment and remote actuation and racking systems that eliminate—rather than reduce—electrical hazard dangers, while providing preventive maintenance data that can help avoid future catastrophes.
Insulation Resistance (IR) test, often called Megger test, is more than 100 years old and assumed to be a very straightforward test. During my inspection and testing work in the past 15 years in Canada, US, and internationally, I have seen different practices of performing and interpretation of IR...
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A variety of factors influence the safety of those who work on utility lines. Many of the items are standard and likely on everyone’s line worker safety checklist. But there’s one that may not be top-of-mind when considering how to keep linemen and linewomen safe — the influence...
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New York State's transition to a clean, zero-emissions energy grid could include up to 8.5 gigawatts (GW) of grid flexibility by 2040, according to a new report from the Brattle Group. This projection, while contingent on achieving ambitious decarbonization goals, illustrates how the state could...
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Many occupations pose risks to workers, but few match the dangers that linemen face daily. Linemen play a critical role in maintaining and restoring the power grid, often working in extreme weather conditions, at significant heights, and around high-voltage electrical systems. Their work is...
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