Inspection Detail

Inspection: 586058.015 - J.R. Wyles, Incorporated

Inspection Information - Office: Harrisburg Area Office

Investigation Summary

At 7:32 a.m. on August 21, 2012, an employee was working at a construction site as a power line worker. His employer was an subcontractor that performed electrical utility work. The employee had set up his bucket truck and had attached a tool tray and tool bag to the bucket of the truck. The employee then boomed the bucket up to the location of the work activity approximately 9.8 meters (32 feet) high. The employee was disconnecting a guy approximately 380 to 458 millimeters (15 to 18 inches) below an overhead power line energized at 7,200 volts single phase and a lower overhead power line, which was neutral with respect to ground. Using an adjustable wrench, like a Crescent wrench, the employee took off the nut to the eye bolt that was holding the guy wire in place. The eye bolt went through a utility pole. The guy stretched approximately 6.7 meters (22 feet) through the top of another pole. It acting as a support, and it was anchored into the ground. The employee grabbed the guy in his right hand and began to remove it from the eye bolt. The weight of the guy caused him to shift his position. He unconsciously reached up and grabbed the overhead power line energized at 7,200 volts. Initial reports indicate that an electric current entered his left hand at the web between his thumb and index finger and exited his right hand at the wrist. He was electrocuted. From an initial investigation, it appeared that the employee was not wearing the necessary PPE to engage in the work that he was performing.

Keywords: Boom Truck, Construction, E PTD (power generation), Elec Utility Work, Electric Shock, Electrocuted, Overhead Power Line, PPE, Power Line Worker