Inspection Detail

Inspection: 108917436 - Flowers Construction Company Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Fort Worth Area Office

Investigation Summary

A contractor was building and replacing overhead and underground power lines for an electric utility. One of the contractor's crews was working on an overhead power line. The seven-person crew (six crew members and a foreman) was replacing (upgrading) a power line in a residential area. The new overhead line had been strung, and the crew was to remove an old line and replace the dollies temporarily holding the new line with insulators. One of the crew members climbed the pole and covered a secondary line and a riser on the pole. He then climbed above the secondary line. A second power line worker climbed the pole, and the two employees placed a hand line over the crossarm supporting the primary line at the top of the pole. When the hand line was in place, they called for the ground workers to send up insulating covers so that the primary line could be covered. The second employee was on the south side of the pole, and the first employee moved to the north side. The employees were positioned just below the 7200-volt primary line. As he was waiting for the covers to be sent up, the first power line worker removed a rubber insulating glove, and his hand contacted a bolt on the dolly. He was electrocuted. Just before the accident, the second power line worker noticed that his coworker's foot was in contact with a neutral conductor. Evidence gathered after the accident indicated that either the victim had pulled his glove off and had placed it on the crossarm next to the dolly or he was in the process of pulling off the glove when his hand contacted the bolt. (The company had failed to provide adequate training and supervision.)

Keywords: ELEC PROTECT EQUIP, OVERHEAD POWER LINE, ELECTRICAL, POWER LINE WORKER, ELECTROCUTED, E PTD, ELEC UTILITY WORK, UTILITY POLE