Safety Bullet: Eyes on the line save lives.

Never energize a line section until the whole line has been visually inspected.

Eyes on the line save lives. Two linemen were seriously injured in Florida when another crew energized the line they were working on.

What happened

Two linemen were injured when another contractor group energized the line they were working on. Both were airlifted to a hospital. Preliminary reports indicate the line was not inspected through to the end before it was energized, and the crew at the far end may not have had protective grounds in place. Either gap alone is dangerous. Together, they put two people in the hospital.

These are early reports and details may change. This bulletin does not assign fault.

1

Verify

Confirm with your own eyes that no one is working on the line you are about to energize. Drive or walk the whole line section out.

2

Isolate

Open taps and cut open every possible source of feed to the line you are working.

3

Ground

Apply protective grounds at your work location. Make them visible with pole wraps and red tags.

4

Communicate

Make sure every crew on the circuit knows you are getting ready to energize, all crews are in the clear, and tags and grounds have been released.

Patrol the whole line section. A line that has not been fully inspected does not get energized.

One name goes on the clearance tag. Only that person can release the tag. Adding your cell phone number as contact information is a great practice.

Working near other crews? Do not count on their procedures to protect you. Take your own measures. Leave tags and grounds in place. Only the person in charge can order them removed.

How do we know we have created a safe work zone to protect us from accidental reenergization?

Does everyone understand how a clearance gets released on your system? Nothing gets re-energized without following a procedure.

The person whose name is on the tag releases the tag. That is the crew leader, crew chief, foreman, or other person in charge, per OSHA.

Does your switching and clearance procedure cover outside crews on the same circuit?

Are visiting crews briefed on how your system is tagged and grounded?

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The same bulletin as a printable page for your next tailgate.

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