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SAFETY MOMENT, JANUARY 22

Look up for overhead lines

See today's safety momentHow to give a safety moment

Safety moment, January 22

Look up for overhead lines

A live wire looks exactly like a dead one, and your body can become part of the circuit. Electrical contact can cause shock, burns and electrocution, and even a small shock can make you fall from a ladder. How badly you are hurt depends on how much current flows, the path it takes through your body and how long the contact lasts.

SAFETY MOMENT

January 22

The hazard

A live wire looks exactly like a dead one, and your body can become part of the circuit. Electrical contact can cause shock, burns and electrocution, and even a small shock can make you fall from a ladder. How badly you are hurt depends on how much current flows, the path it takes through your body and how long the contact lasts.

The action

Look up before you raise a ladder, pole, scaffold section or long tool. If you are not qualified, the general industry rule says you and any conductive object you handle must stay at least 10 feet from unguarded, energized overhead lines of 50kV or below to ground. Higher-voltage lines need even more room. Treat every overhead line as live. (29 CFR 1910.333(c)(3)(i)(A))

ASK THE CREW

Where are we using temporary power on this job, and is every outlet we use GFCI protected?

From the talk: Electrical safety. Read it in full, free, with the questions and the sign-in sheet.

HOW TO USE IT

How to give a safety moment

  1. Gather the crew where they work, before the shift or the meeting starts. Read the hazard out loud.
  2. Ask the question and let two or three people answer. What they say about their own work counts for more than what you read.
  3. Name the action and point to one place on today's job where it applies, so everyone knows what to do differently.
  4. Write the date and the names on a sign-in sheet.

A safety moment is short and does not replace the full talk. When you want to go through a topic with the crew, pick a free toolbox talk.

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