Electricity Today T&D Magazine

What powerline technicians must know to stay safe

BY JIM HUTTER, Capital Safety

Most of modern life is powered by electrical energy, which is why transmission tower work continues to be an integral—yet extremely dangerous—part of the power distribution industry. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that fall arrest or work positioning equipment must be used when working at elevated locations more than four feet (1.2 meters) above the ground on poles, towers, or similar structures if other fall protection has not been provided. There is an exception for “a qualified employee” climbing or changing location on poles,...

For many utilities, scheduling each day’s construction and restoration work means manually organizing and keeping tabs on ever-changing crew schedules and resources. Managers meticulously update whiteboards dotted with color-coded magnets representing crews and trucks. Augmenting the whiteboards are often schedules pulled from a PC-based project management tool and a database management product. Adding to this challenge is the fact that different departments concentrate on restoring outages, while other groups manage day-to-day construction.

The process is a daily fight to stay ahead of projects and restore outages for customers. While utility company managers and crews always complete this work, according to...