“CONTROL THE PRESSURE”:
PEER 2 PEER SAFETY CAMPAIGN FOR GAS WORKERS
On May 12, 2011, approximately 60 gas workers and IBEW staff attended the first IBEW gas safety meeting. In attendance were employees from PG&E and NV Energy in various crafts that represent the gas departments within their companies.
From this meeting a gas safety committee was formed and has been tasked to put together a Peer to Peer program specific to the gas industry.
The gas safety committee is working on developing a program similar to the one presented to Lineman. They have chosen “Control the Pressure” as the name of their program and hope to be ready to make a presentation to staff at the September staff meeting.
Peer 2 Peer “Hold the Pull” Safety Campaign
Safety Steward appointments have been sent out for Line departments at various properties and we are working on a date to hold a training conference for that group. Local 396 has pulled out of the HTP program for the time being due to ongoing difficulties dealing with NVE in their area. We still need to schedule presentations for Mt Wheeler, Lassen MUD and Wells, Randy Osborn is working with these employers to gain buy in.
As of May 31st the Hold the Pull committee has completed all presentations at PG&E property as well as presentations to MID & TID.
PG&E, FR Clothing Allowances
PG&E employees should have already received notification that their new clothing allowance are available and ready to use. A new Letter Agreement for the 2011-2012 FR Clothing allowance with PG&E has been completed and out.
The new letter on the surface will address the new annual allowance which will be the same as last year however there will be some additional provisions in the Letter Agreement to address additional monies to the current allowance if an employee finds themselves with not enough clothing for their specific needs. This will start with their individual supervisor and if they are denied at that level it will be addressed by a 2 panel committee (1) from PG&E and (1) from IBEW. The goal here is to help the company control the cost with the ability for our members to have a selection of clothing to choose from however we want to make sure that everyone has the items needed to perform their jobs as required.
There were a large group of employees who were carrying balances over which helped in determining the correct dollar amount.
CalOSHA Article 12 Tree trimming standard revision
As reported in June on May 25th and 26th both myself and Carl Lamers spent 2 full days as part of an Advisory Committee to review and make changes to the General Safety Orders that regulate the tree trimming industry.
This meeting has resulted in a smaller sub-committee to address issues pertaining to the minimum approach distance (MAD) for non-line clearance tree trimming which I was tasked to be a part of.
On July 18th myself with a small group represented by CalOSHA, FedOSHA and 3 tree companies met in Sacramento to discuss the issue of minimum approach distances to electrical wires by non electrical workers as well as non-line clearance tree trimmers. The primary concern was what level of training should be required for employees of companies that trim trees that may encroach closer than the 10’ requirement to secondary house services? This work is being performed everyday and probably so by workers not following the current Fed OSHA requirements of 10’ for voltages up to 50kV by non qualified workers. It is agreed that no worker other than a qualified electrical worker or tree clearance tree trimmer shall violate these distances from high voltage lines (600v or greater) as specified in the High Voltage Electrical Safety Orders.
The new revised CalOSHA standard should address the minimum training requirements and hazard recognition specified in the FedOSHA for this low work with the requirement that even with this training they never violate a 1’ MAD by the worker.
This revision should be out soon.
First Aid CPR Requirements
On August 18th the CalOSHA standards safety board will review new first aid and cpr requirements that should be added to both the low voltage and high voltage electrical safety orders. This change is in response to some general questions on CalOSHA’s position on the way this and the Federal OSHA requirements for the electric industry.
This new language which had not been adequately addressed in the General Safety Orders 3400 if approved will require that:
(a) Cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid training. When employees are performing work on or associated with exposed lines or equipment energized at 50 volts or more, persons trained in first aid including cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) shall be available as follows:
(1) For field work involving two or more employees at a work location, at least two trained persons shall be available. Exception: Only one trained person need be available if all new employees are trained in first aid, including CPR, within 3 months of their hiring dates.
(2) For fixed work locations such as generating stations, the number of trained persons available shall be sufficient to ensure that each employee exposed to electric shock can be reached within 4 minutes by a trained person. Exception: Where the existing number of employees is insufficient to meet this requirement (at a remote substation, for example), all employees at the work location shall be trained.
(b) First aid supplies. First aid supplies required by Section 3400(c) shall be placed in weatherproof containers if the supplies could be exposed to the weather.
(c) First aid kits. Each first aid kit shall be maintained, shall be readily available for use, and shall be inspected frequently enough to ensure that expended items are replaced but at least once per year.
Rubber Glove Requirements
There have been a lot of questions pertaining to the requirements of when to use Rubber Gloves since the latest fatalities. Several years ago it used to be standard practice to use leather gloves when working on secondary voltages; however, in the early 2000s the OSHA regulations addressed this very issue.
CalOSHA standards under 2320.2 Energized Equipment or Systems is the standard in California that address it and CFR 1910.333 addresses these practices in the Fed standard.
§2320.2. Energized Equipment or Systems.
(a) Work shall not be performed on exposed energized parts of equipment or systems until the following conditions are met:
(b) After the required work on an energized system or equipment has been completed, an authorized person shall be responsible for:
| (1) Removing from the work area any temporary personnel protective equipment, and | ||
| (2) Reinstalling all permanent barriers or covers. |
When reviewing this standard the highlighted sections above is where (a) (3) and (a) (4) specifies the requirements for this equipment when working on or around energized low voltage (600 volts or less) equipment. For voltages less than 250 volts it allows the qualified worker to use either rubber gloves or rated insulated tools and for voltages over 250 volts rubber gloves are required.
Recently there have been questions regarding the requirement for Gas Service Representatives when working on residential meters such as installing and removing them. These employees are also required to test voltages and if boots are when they get stuck in the jaws of the meter all without the use of rubber gloves. This issue is currently being discussed with the company to address the requirements and make sure they are being met.
Federal OSHA 1910.269 status
For the last 3 years we have been discussions about this standard which has been on the books for around 15 years and covers the electrical power and generation industry. This standard has been slated for revision and the process has been completed however just prior to releasing this standard issues involving the way the minimum approach distance were calculated specifically phase to phase voltages has put the standard on hold until it gets resolved. There has been movement on this but dealing with the increases in the distances on the higher voltages (345kV above) will impact the way the work is performed using live line methods. There will be ways to mitigate this however will need to see what those distances are when this is finally released which I have been told will before the end of this year. This standard will also address the FR Clothing requirement which most utilities have already prepared for and addressed in some form.
When this revision hits the streets CalOSHA will need to follow suit which we plan to be involved in .
Accident Reporting
Forms and guidelines are on the website. Units should use them as part of their unit meeting and submit them to this committee whether or not there are accidents or concerns. This should be a standard reporting practice at every unit meeting every month. This is our best resource to share the information with the rest of the membership. We are continuing to see an increase in the number of these forms being turned in and want to thank everyone who is doing this.
Jon Christensen Fatality
Jon Christensen (30) fatality which happened on June 30th is still under investigation. Accurate accounts of what took place are still in the hands of the investigation committee. Not much we can report on other than reiterate the need for everyone to wear the required PPE. Will have more details once the investigation has been completed and the findings be made public.
Near Miss
The Safety Committee is encouraging everyone to report all near misses to the committee through our IBEW1245 Safety Matters web page. Anyone with a near miss should sanitize the report to omit names and companies as the intent of reporting a near is to provide others with information about potential hazards that members find in the field in order to provide awareness to others of those hazards.
No near misses to report at this time.
Submitted by,
Ralph Armstrong