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 2009 by reducing the number of fatalities, injuries and illnesses, and conducting training courses as follows:

Fatalities

By working on the partnership goals, partnership employer participants during calendar year 2009 succeeded in reducing the number of fatal accidents they experienced. The partnership reported two fatalities in 2009; which is a reduction of six partner fatalities in 2008. The fatalities in 2009 were as a result of electrocution by contact. As part of the Partnership Agreement, only those partner fatalities resulting from electrical transmission and distribution (ET&D) line work are tracked for the purposes of the partnership.

Partnership Injury and Illness Rate Changes 2005-2009

Partnership participants, as a group, have also reduced their average injury and illness rates when comparing rates from 2005 to 2009. In 2009, the partnership participants’ average TCIR of 2.95 was 57 percent below that of the partnership average TCIR of 5.18 in 2005. Similarly, in 2009, the partnership participants’ average DART rate of 1.42 was 56 percent below that of the partnership average DART rate of 3.21 in 2005. Compared to the TCIR and DART rates calculated for this industry by the BLS for 2008, the partnership rates were almost equivalent to the BLS averages.

Partnership Injury and Illness Rate Changes Comparing 2008 to 2009

Partnership participating employer participants, as a group, achieved a TCIR of 2.95 in 2009. This figure represents a 27 percent decrease from its 2008 TCIR of 4.04. Partnership participating employer participants, as a group, achieved a DART rate of 1.42 in 2009. This figure represents a 22 percent decrease from its 2008 DART rate of 1.81.

Training

The Training Task Team coordinates the training efforts for the partnership. Some of the duties of this Task Team include: developing training courses as needed to address the identified causal factors of accidents; tracking the training courses and promoting the partnership’s training efforts throughout the industry. The partnership developed and delivered training curriculum to ensure that workers, who frequently move among companies, receive consistent, quality training. Also the training identifies and shares best practices and information to prevent the occurrence of fatalities and injuries and establishes relationships that foster information sharing within the industry.

During 2009, the partnership partners continued to conduct the Supervisory Leadership Skills Outreach Training Course (SLSOT). 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 1,173 supervisors and managers completed this training during this evaluation period.

In addition, 4,393 workers successfully completed the ET&D industry-specific OSHA 10-Hour Outreach Training Program course during this evaluation period. This number includes apprentices, journeymen, foremen and general foremen.

Also, the partnership participant employers collaborated with OSHA to begin work on developing a proposal to utilize OSHA’s twenty-five Training and Education Centers as venues in which to conduct the ET&D industry-specific OSHA 10-Hour Outreach Training Program and ET&D Train the Trainer courses nationwide for partner and non-partner workers.

Partnership Benefits

Through the OSHA and ET&D partnership, OSHA staff and the participants continued to build on the excellent working relationship since the initial partnership was signed in 2004. Communication between the industry partners and OSHA demonstrates commitment to the partnership and raised safety and health awareness for the ET&D industry.

The partnership encourages OSHA, industry safety professionals, workers and labor representatives to participate in the occupational safety and health process. For example, an MYR representative reported that the company’s workers are becoming more aware of the OSHA and ET&D partnership and its efforts to improve worker safety and health established by implementing the agreement.

In addition, one of the successes of the partnership is due, in part, to its unique management structure. The partnership’s Executive Team, made up of CEO-level management, meets approximately three to four times per year to approve partnership activities and products and to manage overall partnership implementation. During this evaluation period the Executive Team met three times; on January 20, 2009; May 21, 2009; and September 15, 2009.

The partnership’s Steering Team, made up of employer participants’ safety and health managers, meets approximately every four to six weeks, manages day-to-day operations of the partnership and serves as the liaison between the Executive Team and the Task Teams. During this evaluation period, the Steering Team met nine times; on January 19, 2009; March 16, 2009; April 13, 2009; May 20, 2009; June 18, 2009; August 4, 2009; September 14, 2009; October 27, 2009 and December 12, 2009.

Task Teams are groups of workers and supervisors who meet as needed to focus on specific partnership activities.

The partnership demonstrates benefits for the participants through a continual decrease in fatalities. By working on common goals, analyzing accident and injury data for causal factors and implementing best practices, the partnership participating employers’ injury and illness rates also have been reduced.

Partnership Approved Best Practices

• Safety at Heights - Fall Protection
• Safety at Heights: Wood Poles
• 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.