Inspection Detail

Inspection: 300780228 - Pouk & Steinle Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

A crew consisting of two power line workers, their supervisor, and a ground worker was assigned to repair a pin on 4-volt overhead power line. The crew held a job briefing, discussing the conditions of the job, and then started to work. In the process of performing their assigned task, they discovered more damaged equipment, including a splintered arm supporting a 16-kilovolt power line, which they also replaced. After the crew completed the repairs, they removed all the rubber insulating line hose and blankets. Right before leaving the area for the next job, the supervisor noticed an infraction of the State's public safety regulations involving the ground molding. The crew supervisor decided that this also needed correcting through replacement of the wood molding. He also decided that one power line worker could perform the task since the supervisor anticipated that the task would not involve the primary area or minimum approach distances. He assigned the task to a journeyman power line worker with 5 to 6 years of experience. The first section of the molding from the bottom was new, so the power line worker started the repair about 1.5 meters above the ground. The repair extended to a point below the primary crossarm. Working from an aerial lift, the employee was in this area, pulling staples with a metal pry bar, when he contacted the 4000-volt power line and sustained an electric shock and burns. He fell into the aerial lift bucket. A power line worker on the ground moved the aerial lift away from the power line using the lower controls. The injured employee was then able to lower the bucket and exit on his own. He was hospitalized in a burn center for burns to the thumb and index finger on his left hand; the thumb, palm, and ring and little finger on his right hand; and, on his right shoulder, from his triceps to his elbow. (He was in intensive care for 1 week and remained hospitalized for an additional 2 weeks.) He later returned to the hospital for more surgery, resulting in additional hospitalization.

Keywords: BURN, ELEC PROTECT EQUIP, OVERHEAD POWER LINE, ELECTRICAL, POWER LINE WORKER, E PTD, ELEC UTILITY WORK, ELECTRIC SHOCK, AERIAL LIFT