UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

At 9:00 a.m. on January 1, 2018, Employee #1 and a coworker were working for an electrical contractor. The employees were tasked with relocating three conductor s from an old utility pole, measuring about 90 feet tall, to a new tubular steel pole, measuring approximately 130 feet tall. After two of the conductors had b een relocated, Employee #1 and the coworker, while working from an elevated bask et, began attaching the rigging lines to the third conductor in preparation for separating it from the old pole. The elevated basket, which was attached to a 40 Ton mobile truck crane, was being controlled by a foreman that was located on t he ground. As the elevated basket was repositioned, Employee #1 came into contac t with the third conductor that was energized at 115 kV. The coworker observed s moke coming from Employee #1s body and signaled for the foreman to lower the ba sket. Emergency services were contacted and CPR performed. Employee #1 was taken to a nearby community hospital and soon transferred to another medical center f or treatment where he died. The incident investigation identified that Employee #1 and the coworker had bonded the basket and rigged a conductor grip (attached to a line to a block then running to the ground) to the bottom phase; however, removed the bond just before repositioning the basket before attempting to trans fer the third conductor.