Improving safety and methodology techniques to protect utility workers

BY LARRY LAWRENCE, Lineman’s Testing Laboratories of Canada

In 1990, many workplace safety hazards were consistently ignored as if they were “acceptable risk” and an expected part of a worker’s daily routine. Not surprisingly, many workers who performed routine testing and maintenance procedures in high-voltage substations experienced serious and, in some instances, fatal injuries.

Additionally, electric utilities were faced with high costs associated from unfinished materials waste, downtime to the process, and increasing insurance premiums. Safety maintenance procedures in electrical substations needed to become a main consideration in order to reduce needless suffering and sustain a consistent workforce.