37 Outcome 3: Powerline Hazards and Risk Mitigation
37 Outcome 3: Powerline Hazards and Risk Mitigation
Outcome/Competency: You will be able to identify powerline hazards and risk mitigation.
Time for this outcome: 1h45
Rationale:
Why is it important for you to learn this skill?
The ability to identify and describe powerline hazards ensures that you can properly evaluate your work environment and respond accordingly. Mitigation strategies are particularly important in the powerline trade because you must be able to recognize and respond to hazards quickly.
Objectives:
To be competent in this area, the individual must be able to:
- Identify and describe powerline hazards and procedures to mitigate hazards.
Learning Goals
- Identify and describe hazards and ways to mitigate.
- Identify main principles of bonding, grounding, equi-potential bonds, and types of induced voltages.
Introduction:
This section will cover common example of hazards, mitigation strategies such as tailboard meetings, how to address electrical hazards, bonding, and grounding principles. There will be quizzes throughout to confirm understanding.
Instructions:
- Cover the following content in each topic as a group (either reading out loud or independently), then give an opportunity to answer any questions.
- Have students do the review questions independently, then take up answers.
Topic: Hazards (10m)
The Powerline industry and the work associated with the construction, maintenance, and operation of it contains may inherent dangers. Some dangers include working from heights, electrical, mechanical, and vehicular. As with any trade, these dangers as well as others can be mitigated by good planning, good discussion, and training.
When working from heights, appropriate safety equipment must be utilized to ensure the protection of the worker. When working off the pole, all climbing gear including climbing belt, fall arrest strap, fall restraint strap, and climbers (climbing hooks) must be inspected before each use. It is particularly important to use the secondary pole strap when climbing structures with obstacles in the climbing path.
Electrical hazards in the powerline trade can be mitigated using the Standard Protection Code which is SaskPower’s LOTO (Lockout/Tagout) procedure, along with bonding and grounding. Good planning, good discussion, and training are essential to the success and safety of any job when it relates to electricity.
Topic: Mitigation Procedures (10m)
One of the best ways of mitigating powerline hazards is to have a good job plan. Job plans are communicated formally by using a tailboard or Hazard, Aspect, and Risk Assessment (HARA) meeting. This provides a platform in which the scope of the work and roles of each worker on site are communicated.
A Tail Board is a meeting conducted at the job site by the workers to assess the adequacy of the job plan and to ensure that all hazards are identified and mitigated. Tail boards are used to identify and address conditions that are or can be a safety hazard. Once a haza