Inspection Detail

Inspection: 123300279 - Ducci Electrical Constractors, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Bridgeport Area Office

Investigation Summary

A power line crew was assigned to work on a punch list for the overhead power lines for some rail tracks and to finish installing the switches on the catenary in a rail yard. A power line worker on the crew was working with a summer-help ground apprentice. When the crew started, tracks one and two were energized. At approximately 9:26 a.m., track two was deenergized. At approximately 12:21 p.m., track one was deenergized. Tracks four and six had been deenergized though a long-term outage, and tracks one and two were to be deenergized until approximately 3:30 p.m. Before tracks one and two were deenergized, the power line worker and his apprentice worked on tracks four and six. After tracks one and two were deenergized, he climbed the north side of the catenary and installed a switch for tracks one and two. He then connected a switch from track two to track four, completing this task at approximately 2:30 p.m. He next attached a 5.4-metric-ton hoist to the crossover between tracks two and four, and released the wings on the low-speed section insulator assembly between the contact wire and messenger wire. (The hoist was on the messenger line to release the load on the messenger cable so that the pin direction on the insulator could be changed. The pins were facing up with their bottoms, where the cotter pins were located, on top. The pins were to be inverted so that the cotter pins were at the bottom.) The employee had the grips and hoist in place on the messenger line. He installed a ground on the load side of the switch from track two to track four and tagged and tied it in the open position. The foreman notified the power line worker that power was being restored to tracks one and two. The foreman left and then returned and confirmed that tracks one and two were energized and that tracks four and six were still deenergized. Working from an aerial lift, the power line worker grabbed the handle for the hoist. The hoist was energized, and the employee received an electric shock and suffered electrical burns. He was hospitalized for his injuries.

Keywords: BURN, RAILWAY CIRCUIT, OVERHEAD POWER LINE, ELECTRICAL, POWER LINE WORKER, HOIST, LOCKOUT, E PTD, ELECTRIC SHOCK, AERIAL LIFT