PG&E Safety Culture Project Update- Senior staff members of Local 1245 have been invited to attend a meeting with PG&E safety culture project staff to discuss a safety program set to be released throughout the year 2015. The first meeting took place on December 3 in Walnut Creek. Follow-up meetings will be scheduled in early 2015, with the first to take place on February 10.
Suriname American Brotherhood Initiative- On January 14, 2015 Brady Hansen did a presentation at SMUD for their linecrew which focused around safety, our history and the work he has done in Suriname to build a training facility for linemen. In attendance were managers from SMUD, PG&E and NV Energy. We coordinated this session with hopes of being able to obtain support for Hansen’s effort as well as obtain legacy tools these companies no longer use so we can send them down to Suriname. This presentation will be done for NV Energy linecrews the first week of February. These presentations have sparked a lot of interest in the work Brady is doing in Suriname.
HVESO and LVESO Comments on standard provided- Changes to the HVESO and LVESO are coming due to the changes in the Federal regulation. Stakeholders such as Local 1245 had until February 2, 2015 to provide comments to the 150-page document, which includes changes to fall protection requirements, QP and QEW language and several other requirements that will have an impact on the way our members and employers perform their jobs in the future. More on this will be coming.
Accident Reports- A Building Maintenance mechanic received a severe injury to his hand while working on a drain line. A motorized snake device got caught on the employee’s glove, damaging his hand enough to require surgery.
Combined Peer Initiatives Communications Class- On October 9, 2014, 16 members of the Hold the Pull, Keep the Clearance and Control the Pressure peer initiatives attended a communications class designed to train safety stewards to present their own safety message. The training was in response to an increased demand for peer speakers at safety kick-offs, training schools and other events hosted by Local 1245 employers. This year it became apparent that utilizing peer committee members alone would not meet the demand for speakers, so the class was offered to volunteers who were interested in spreading their own safety message among their peers. If the 2015 schedule is anything like 2014, there will be 40-50 presentations to Local 1245 affiliated members. There is another class being offered in the future, date to be determined. Class size will be limited to 10 safety stewards and 6 committee members.
–Rich Lane, IBEW 1245 Safety Rep