Protecting utility workers with documented reporting

BY MIKE DOHERTY, PowerTel Utilities Contractors Limited

Within the lineman trade, accountabilities for the documentation of various inspections, job safety analyses (JSAs), audits, safe work practices (SPGs), qualifications, safety meetings, supervisor’s crew visits, safety manager and senior management inspections, and compliance reporting are some examples of the significant differences between decades ago and expectations for high-end crews in today’s due-diligent workplaces.

There are significant challenges within the lineman trade based on human performance, culture of the work environment, nature of the specific work, and the basic fact that most tasks are carried out in the field—sometimes in remote locations.

Managers and supervisors or foremen are accountable to ensure that all safety reports for utility workers are completed legibly, correctly, in a timely manner. These reports can be performed internally (within the company itself), by a third party or from contractors’ clients.

Many contractors have sub-contractors working for them at various stages of jobs that must also complete safety reports in a professional manner within the structures as designed by the managed system in that organization.