Partnership Overview

OSHA has joined with representatives from the power transmission and distribution industry, as well as trade and labor representatives, to develop a common vision and commitment to provide employees in the electrical transmission and distribution industry (the "Industry") with a safe and healthful workplace, and to demonstrate leadership, responsibility and accountability in furthering worker health and safety.

Partnership Goals

The primary goal of the Partnership is to reduce the number of fatalities, injuries, and illnesses in the Industry. Additionally, the Partnership will aim to:

• Perform data analysis as a means to establish causes of fatalities, injuries, and illnesses for electrical work in the Industry
   
• Develop recommended Best Practices to reduce the number of fatalities, injuries and illnesses that directly correspond to the identified causes, as well as any other significant hazards identified by the Partnership
   
• Ensure that the Industry Partners' employees are effectively trained to utilize the established Best Practices
   
• Effectively communicate safety and health Best Practices, and other useful safety and health information, within the Industry
   
• Establish an effective evaluation strategy to ensure that the goals of the OSP are met

Partnership Objectives

Partnership goals will be achieved through strategies and objectives that include:

• Analyze accident and incident data to identify common causes for fatalities, injuries, and illnesses suffered by linemen, apprentices, and other appropriate job classifications
   
• Develop recommended Best Practices for each identified cause
   
• Develop implementation strategies for each Best Practice and share these strategies among the partners
   
• Identify training criteria for foremen, general foremen, supervisors, linemen, and apprentices, including training to promote industry culture change to place value on safety and health

Partnership Results

The Partnership made significant progress in 2011, some of which included:

Training

During 2011, the OSP partners continued to conduct the Supervisory Leadership Skills Outreach Training (SLSOT) course. This course is designed to help foremen/general foremen create a safe work culture on the job, and course attendees receive an OSHA training card upon successfully completing the course. A total of 2,429 supervisors and managers completed this training during this evaluation period.

In addition, 30,132 workers successfully completed the ET&D industry-specific OSHA 10-Hour Outreach Training Program course during this evaluation period. This number includes apprentices, journeymen, and foremen/general foremen.

The OSP partners and OSHA worked on the development of a proposal to conduct the ET&D industry-specific OSHA 10-Hour Outreach Training Program (10-Hour course) and ET&D Train the Trainer courses through OSHA's Education Centers. If implemented, this approach would create a nationwide network of training venues for partner and non-partner industry workers.

OSP Injury and Illness Rate Changes 2009-2010

OSP participating employer participants, as a group, achieved a TCIR of 2.58 in 2011. This figure represents an 18.7 percent decrease from the 2010 TCIR of 3.17. OSP participating employer participants, as a group, achieved a DART rate of 1.40 in 2011, a slight decrease when compared to the DART rate of 1.45 in 2010. The injury and illness rates reported by the OSP participating employer participants, as a group, continue on their downward trend when viewed over the course of the OSP.

Partnership Benefits

Communication between the industry partners and OSHA demonstrates commitment to the OSP and raised safety and health awareness for the ET&D industry. The partners' willingness to renew the OSP demonstrates their commitment to safety and health for their industry. The OSP encourages OSHA, industry safety professionals, workers, and labor representatives to participate in the occupational safety and health process. OSHA and the OSP partners continued their work together in 2011 to promote occupational safety and health through a number of various safety and health outreach and promotion activities specifically focusing on the ET&D industry.

The ongoing success of the OSP is due, in part, to its unique management structure. The OSP's Executive Team, made up of CEO-level management, meets approximately three to four times per year to approve OSP activities and products and to manage overall OSP implementation.

The OSP's Steering Team, made up of employer participants' safety and health managers and an OSHA National Office representative, meets approximately every four to six weeks, manages day-to-day operations of the OSP, and serves as the liaison between the Executive Team and the Task Teams. During this evaluation period the Steering Team met nine times: January 24, 2011; February 4, 2011; February 18, 2011; March 28, 2011; April 19, 2011; May 20, 2011; July 27, 2011; September 27, 2011; and November 8, 2011. The four Task Teams comprised of workers, supervisors, and OSHA representatives, meet as needed to focus on specific OSP activities.

The OSP demonstrates benefits for the participants through a continual decrease in injuries and illnesses.
Results from the OSHA 300 data analysis in 2011 revealed that approximately one third of partner fatalities occurred on the ground. This analysis led the partners to focus on developing Best Practices to address and mitigate the on the ground hazards experienced by ET&D workers.

By working on common goals, analyzing accident and injury data for causal factors, and implementing Best Practices, the OSP participating employers' injury and illness rates have been reduced over the seven year history of the OSP and continued to trend downward in 2011.

Partnership Approved Best Practices

• Safety at Heights - Fall Protection
• Safety at Heights: Wood Poles
• Safety at Heights: Lattice Structures
• Job Briefings
• Pre-use Inspection of Rubber Protective Equipment
• Administrative Controls
• Qualified Observer
• Insulate and Isolate Safety Performance Check
• Lock-to-Lock Use of Insulating Rubber Gloves and Sleeves
• Cradle-to-Cradle Use of Insulating Rubber Gloves and Sleeves
• Rubber Insulating PPE for the Live Line Tool Method on Distribution Lines

Additional Resources

The ET&D Partnership maintains a Web site in support of this Partnership. For more information visit Power Line Safety
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution eTool. An OSHA online eTool for the Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution Industry.
Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution Industry. An OSHA Safety and Health Topics Page for the Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution Industry.
OSHA Campaign to Prevent Heat Illness in Outdoor Workers. An OSHA Web page and online resources to prevent heat illness in outdoor workers.

• Weather Related Resources
OSHA online resources for outdoor workers and employers
• Cold Stress
• Heat Illness in Outdoor Workers
• Hurricane Preparedness and Response
• Tornado Preparedness and Response
• Winter Storms