While many of us are working from home, social distancing ourselves and our families to slow and hopefully prevent the spread of COVID-19, we are realizing how reliant we are on energy services, which keep our lights on, our homes warm and the fridges and ovens on so we can feed our families.
We are going to look at what can be done to protect our energy workers, those who are working behind the scenes in energy services so that we can maintain some sort of normalcy within our homes and in other essential services like healthcare while the pandemic battle continues on.
Essential Services: Energy Workers
These energy workers help maintain, ensure, or restore, or are involved in the development, transportation, fuel procurement, expansion, or operation of the generation, transmission, and distribution of electric power, including call centers, utility workers, reliability engineers, and fleet maintenance technicians.
Why Their Lives Are at Risk
There are four main types of injuries in this industry are electrocution (fatal), electric shock, burns, and falls. These injuries can happen in various ways:
When they have direct contact with exposed conductors or circuit parts. When this happens, an electrical current travels through our bodies, interfering with the electrical signals between the brain and our muscles, causing our heart to stop beating properly, our lungs to stop breathing, or our muscles to spasm.
When the electricity jumps or arcs from an exposed energized conductor or circuit part, like overhead power lines, to a worker who is grounded.
Painful and deadly electric shock burns can occur, including burns from heat generated by an electric arc, and flame burns from materials that catch on fire from heating or ignition by electrical currents or an electric arc flash. Astonishingly, burns from being shocked can burn internal tissues while leaving only very small injuries on the outside of the skin.
In addition to thermal burns, ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) light from arc flashes can also cause damage to the eyes.
Little is known about this injury, but an arc blast can create a pressure wave released from an arc flash. This wave can cause physical injuries, collapse your lungs, or create noise that can damage hearing.
The muscle contractions we mentioned earlier, can cause a person to fall from a ladder, scaffold, or aerial bucket. The fall can cause serious injuries and even death.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration estimates there are roughly 350 electrical-related fatalities a year, equating to about one fatality per day.
Make Sure They Go Home to Their Families
Here are some useful and simple tips:
Take accountability for noticing, reporting, and correcting electrical hazards.
Spend some time inspecting your equipment and keep your working area clean and dry to avoid shock and fire hazards.
When you clean electrical equipment, make sure it’s unplugged and strictly follow the manufacturer’s cleaning instructions.
Always use and maintain wiring, tools, and equipment properly. If you are confused or unfamiliar with the equipment, ask your manager.
If outside or near a wet location, make sure your tools and extension cords are suitable for outdoor use, and circuits are equipped with GFCIs.
Never ever carry a tool by its cord. And cords should be kept loosely coiled and stored in a dry environment.
Uncoil an extension cord completely before using it and ensure that the amperage marked on it is appropriate.
Always be aware of energized areas when reaching your hand into equipment.
If you’re not sure, always verify if there is voltage present and use the proper insulating gloves and tools.
Never use faulty equipment. Discontinue using the equipment immediately if it gives off unusual heat or an odd smell or a small shock. If in doubt, always have it checked, repaired, or replaced.
Consider using a safety monitoring service. If a worker is down because of electrocution or a fall, the service can notify someone to call for help. Or if the worker does not check back into the service because they’re injured, help will be sent.
Additionally, safety monitoring services are compatible with satellite devices so workers can check-in and you can determine their location without cellular coverage.
Petroleum, and Natural and Propane Gas workers
These energy workers include workers in petroleum product storage, pipeline, marine transport, terminals, rail transport, road transport. They also include those working in natural gas transmission and distribution pipelines, including compressor stations.
Why Their Lives Are at Risk
The most common injuries in this industry include:
Concussions and brain injuries
Lacerations
Paralysis
Spinal cord injuries
Fractures and broken bones
Burns
Internal or external chemical burns
Whiplash or other neck injuries
How to Help Save Their Lives While On the Job
As the electricity industry, there are a number of steps companies can take to protect their workers.
Developing A Strong Safety Culture
The first step is to establish a strong safety culture that is led by operational and corporate leadership. Company executives and managers should regularly engage and visit workers on the ground to talk about safety issues, looking at what can and should be done to protect them.
Safety Program Development
The second step is to create programs, which will identify all potential hazards, assess risks, and then develop, implement, and monitor controls that will support the safety of the workers. Ideally, these programs will eliminate any hazards and risks the workers face. Part of these programs can include worker safety monitoring which can help petroleum workers by alerting a man-down emergency if they fall and experience a brain injury or broken bones. If the worker is unconscious and does not check back into the tool, help will be sent.
Emergency Response Plans
The third step is to create emergency response plans should anything happen. These proactive plans will help ensure the safety of the workers as well as the safety of the public while minimizing damage to equipment and facilities. Through the plan, procedures are put in place to reduce or eliminate identified risks, training workers to recognize and respond to potential emergencies. This training ensures that workers and managers take the right action and make the right decisions in an emergency.
Other Energy Sectors: Solar, Wind, Hydro, and Geothermal
While we addressed the most common sectors, we can’t forget about the safety of energy workers in the solar, wind, and geothermal energy sectors as well. Each of these areas faces their own unique challenges and the solutions to these challenges will develop as these industries continue to grow. If you work in these industries and would like to speak to someone about protecting your workers, contact us.
Read More from this COVID-19: Essential Services Series
Are You An Essential Services Provider? Here’s How You Can Protect Your Team
Essential Services: Heroes on the Front line - Protecting Our Home Healthcare Workers
Essential Services: Protecting Our Water Workers and Keeping Our Communities Hydrated and Clean
Essential Services: Food and Agriculture Workers, Protecting Those Who Feed Our Communities
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