Inspection, training, and safety support from the factory floor
BY BILL PUTNAM, Yale Cordage
Among the many tools on an electrical utility vehicle, the most widely and heavily used is the winch line. Offering the versatility of pulling, lifting, and setting equipment, the winch is found at the center of numerous critical tasks in the field. However, in the context of what the winch line is attached to—a truck often costing upwards of a quarter-million...
Utility workers and linemen work in one of the most mobile industries in the country. Think about it: utility workers are always moving from one project to the next as efficiently as possible. Since utility workers rely so heavily on their work vehicles, it is critical that they drive a vehicle...
Utility workers are often subjected to challenging working conditions for hours at a time, yet are responsible for many mission-critical tasks. These workers must communicate with the entire organization while also representing the customer-facing side of their company. Equipping workers with...
Plugging workers into data analytics and information technologies BY JOHN SIMMINS, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Collectively, North American electric utilities operate in a unique environment. They need to serve all willing customers; they are in one of the most capital-intensive...
Moving mobile technology to the job site BY SCOTT BALL, Motion Computing The world looks very different from the top of a utility pole, or from a manhole on an underground power junction. As electric utilities expand the deployment of technology to their field workers, it is becoming more...
Remote field operations present the safety organization with a myriad of challenges when it comes to ensuring the safety of the people that you send out to work in the field every day. Without a doubt, this includes the line workers, but it also includes nearly every member of the staff whose...
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...
In June 2012, the Ontario Legislature unanimously passed Bill 8, the Ontario Underground Infrastructure Notification System Act, which, among other things, requires owners of buried infrastructure in the public right of way – including municipalities, universities, hospitals and private...
Utility workers are often subjected to challenging working conditions for hours at a time, yet are responsible for many mission-critical tasks. These workers must communicate with the entire organization while also representing the customer-facing side of their company. Equipping workers with...
Utility workers and linemen work in one of the most mobile industries in the country. Think about it: utility workers are always moving from one project to the next as efficiently as possible. Since utility workers rely so heavily on their work vehicles, it is critical that they drive a vehicle...
Since global positioning system (GPS) tracking was first introduced to the fleet industry, users have debated whether this technology is beneficial for their fleets. Some of the most common objections include the fear of employee pushback, budget concerns, and usage apprehensions regarding Big...
