Electricity Today T&D Magazine

Cranes, aerials and bucket trucks are common sights in construction zones and among maintenance crews around our cities. What better way to hoist materials to high places or to move workers closer to the task?
When your crew includes an above-ground operator in a bucket or cab, they’re linked to ground activity via a dedicated spotter. A spotter’s job is to free up the operator to focus on what they’re doing, uninterrupted from jobsite distractions. Here are five ways to improve communication between these two.

1. KEEP COMMANDS SIMPLE

The fewer commands being used, the better. Whether it’s OSHA’s standard...

A personal fall protection arrest system (PFAS) is comprised of three vital components: an anchorage, body wear (full-body harnesses), and a connecting device (a shock-absorbing lanyard or self-retracting lifeline). The safety of at-height workers depends on these three components, and each one must be in place and used properly to provide maximum worker protection.
When discussing fall protection, anchorage connectors and full body harnesses receive a lot of attention. We don’t always stop to think about connecting devices like self-retracting lifelines or shock-absorbing lanyards, and yet these are the two components that bear the greatest forces during a fall.
Before...