Harness Safety By Art Torres Falls are the number one cause of fatalities in the construction industry. Of the 1224 deaths in construction in 2004, 441 (36%) were from falls. Many thousands more are injured each year in falls. These are serious statistics for the American worker. Federal OSHA and Cal-OSHA have implemented statutes to… [Read More]

What You Don’t Know Can Definitely Hurt You On the job, ignorance isn’t bliss. In fact, it can get you killed. The world of work is changing, and there’s something new to be learned every day about safety on the job: new hazards, better protective gear, smarter work practices. The trouble is: how can you… [Read More]

AB 515 beefs up safety protections Each year, 23,000 Californians are diagnosed with a chronic, deadly disease attributed to chemical exposure at work. And about 6,500 workers die each year due to chronic diseases associated with  workplace exposures. A bill now under consideration in the California Legislature would provide workers with better protection against chemicals that… [Read More]

An Old Idea that Works Like New The other day, a lineman brought up an issue with me about Ceylon poles. In Santa Clara, we have transmission poles, many of which are Ceylon that cannot be reached with the aerial trucks in our yard. So, there were two issues that were of importance to this… [Read More]

Hanging Out in Cell Phone Land As we all know, technology advances at an alarming rate. What we purchase today is antiquated tomorrow. What concerns me is the misuse of technology, or said in a different way, the use of technology at an inappropriate time. I am referring to the use of cell phones. Cell… [Read More]

Take Time to Test the Air Those of us who have worked in vaults and manholes know that sometimes the odors in those environments are not very savory. Leaves, mud, stagnant water, and other indescribable matter can make for an unappetizing experience. There are other things we should be careful about prior to entering these… [Read More]

Time to be Safe Ashton Kutcher stars in a great movie called “The Butterfly Effect.” In this story, the main character, played by Kutcher, discovers he has a talent evidently passed onto him by his father that allows him to go back in time. He repeatedly attempts to go back and alter the outcome of… [Read More]

Induction: The Other Invisible Killer Those of us who work with electricity know the dangers of this unseen, invisible force. Some of us have seen electricity when something goes wrong, such as uncontrolled voltages due to phase-to-phase and phase-to-ground faults. We have been trained to “treat it hot until it’s grounded.” Another invisible killer, a… [Read More]

Ladder Safety With the arrival of spring many of us will be pulling out our ladders to work on the house and around the yard. Here are some quick notes on ladder safety: Select the right ladder for the job you want to do. Remember: do not use aluminum ladders working around electric wires. Inspect… [Read More]

“IN THE BITE” “In the bite” is a term difficult to explain to someone who has never stood there, yet for those of us who have had the experience of being there, we will never forget it. No, it does not mean that some ferocious beast that is set on inflicting great bodily harm is… [Read More]