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Safety Technologies


FERC Rejects PJM Transmission Planning Change

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has rejected a proposal from PJM Interconnection, one of the United States' largest regional transmission organizations, to alter its transmission planning protocol. The decision represents a significant victory for state regulators who had expressed...

Electrical Safety in the Field

Protecting utility workers using mobile technologies BY TOM OCONNOR, Panasonic Solutions for Business Nearly every lineman has heard of a colleague who has been injured—or worse—while on the job. Because of the dangers inherent to their job (that is, electrical safety in the field), these brave...

Utility Safety Standards


Benefiting from OHSMS Systems

How to protect workers with an occupational health and safety management  system BY IVANA STRGACIC, Strategies for the Environment Inc. Reliability (that is, keeping the lights on) is at the forefront of electric utility business plans. Another important item that takes priority in these...

How to Prevent Struck-By and Backover Incidents

Struck-by, struck-against and back-over incidents are far too common: 421 Hudson St., Manhattan, NYC: Construction worker killed by scaffolding plank. Woods Hole Golf Club, Falmouth, MA: Construction worker injured in back-over accident. Interstate 440-East, Raleigh, NC: DOT workers seriously...

Safety Best Practices


Insulation Resistance Test

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...

Tower Climbing Safety Equipment

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...

Lineman Safety

High Visibility safety apparel

Why Moisture-Wicking FR Layering Systems Offer Superior Protection and Comfort

Every layer of apparel you wear on the job, matters. A layering system is designed specifically to work together, layer by layer, to keep you dry, warm, and protected.
But the layers you wear on the job are only as effective as the materials they are manufactured with and their inherent design properties. The inclusion of moisture-wicking fibers, in particular, is a design quality that oil, gas, and utility workers should seek out in all...

Lineman Safety Articles