Hold the Pull- The HTP committee completed their fourth annual peer safety stewards summit on June 11, with 40 members in attendance. Business manager Tom Dalzell opened the meeting with a brief overview of the peer program from beginning to present. Brady Hansen was the featured speaker on the Suriname project and reaching out to brother linemen in other countries.
On June 26, peer consultant John Kent, along with HTP committee member Stephen “Spike” Roberts and business representative Rich Lane, gave a presentation to 30 Silicon Valley Power employees from the line substation and meter shop. Business representatives Hunter Stern and Charley Souders were among the group to lend their support. Newly recruited safety steward Jesse Murill was recognized as the group’s safety steward to the peer program. Several questions were asked as to how the program worked and examples were given on how the peer initiative has effected changes at other companies. It was stressed that HTP seeks a collaborative position when employees and the company work to address issues.
Control the Pressure– CTP committee chairman Ernie Pena has been attending PG&E Gas Safety Council meetings while working on issues related to the employee emergency notification program and a bar probe incident that took place when a gas service representative hit a live 208 volt service while probing for a gas leak. The emergency notification program is moving along toward full implementation by most PG&E LOBs who have people in the field that have the potential to be harmed by customers or the public. There have been recorded instances where employees report to supervision about being accosted or dangerous situations and then other employees are sent to the same areas without warning of the potential hazard.
The Control the Pressure summit is being planned for Wednesday August 12 at the Local 1245 hall. A planning sub-committee will be meeting to work out the details of the training for this year. All safety stewards are asked to confirm attendance by August 5.
Keep the Clearance-The Keep the Clearance committee will be reviewing the possibility of applying for a federal grant that provides free training on safety for tree trimmers. The grant is called Arborist Safety Training Institute (ASTI) Susan Howard Grant. It provides $2000 toward classroom and field training for tree trimmers in aerial lift and general tree safety. This program is promoted through the Tree Care Industry Magazine, a national publication for the tree industry. Any grant money will be for use in the Fall of 2015 and or the year 2016. The committee will work with the Tree Supervision Roundtable to gauge general interest and feasibility of training up to 60-90 tree trimmers in the Local 1245 area. The application is in its initial stages.
—Rich Lane, IBEW 1245 Safety Rep