Work Smart; Work Safe! Message Came Through Loud and Clear at NEPPA S & O Conference

NEPPA’s annual Safety & Operations Conference and Expo was held in early June and was attended by lineworkers and operations personnel from around New England. During the Expo, attendees had the opportunity to visit more than 45 different vendors representing a wide variety of utility tools, equipment, clothing, trucks and other services. Demonstrations were also held thoughout the day on fall protection equipment, FR clothing, tools and truck operations. The first day of the conference ended with a dinner in the hotel and a lively debate about the New England sports scene by radio personalities Larry Johnson and Craig Mustard of the WEEI Sports Radio Network.

The 2011 Expo was held in Fitchburg, Mass on June 8-9. Keynote speaker was Ricky Tobey who spoke on insulating. Evluma, Hydron and DC Bates were just a few of the exhibitors at this unique event. Linda Calderiso (bottom) sold tickets to the Benevolent Fund Lottery and $1,185 was raised.

On the second day of the conference, NEPPA held its traditional "Safety Forum" for utility lineworkers and managers. This year’s program featured four excellent presentations on safe working procedures and policies for public power utilities, focusing on the theme of "Work Smart and Work Safe!". Nancy Pearce from the Massachusetts Department of Labor Standards discussed her department’s role in overseeing workplace safety in the public sector and pointed out that it is the policy of her office, under Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 149, that public sector employees, including municipal light departments, must follow OSHA standards as a minimum. She also emphasized the need for written safety policies in all municipal light departments and described the ongoing collaboration between her department and NEPPA to develop model safety procedures for all Massachusetts public power systems.

Following Nancy’s presentation, NEPPA trainers Bob Henriksen, Linda Calderiso and Dave Fabrizius each addressed a different topic related to workplace safety. Bob Henriksen highlighted the critical importance of job briefings in utility work and strongly recommended that utilities consider having their job briefings put into writing for future use and review. Linda Calderiso provided a refresher on first aid and covered the steps that should be taken in the event of an accident or other health incident on the job. She reminded everyone of her teaching acronym: SETUP, which provides a quick checklist of things to be considered when stepping into an emergency situation: Stop, Environment, Traffic, Unknowns and Protection. Finally, Dave Fabrizius, NEPPA’s Safety Director, reviewed a checklist of things to do in the event of a job-related accident, including notification procedures, communications with family and fellow employees and crew and management responsibilities. He noted that NEPPA has recently developed a checklist of suggested post-accident procedures, which will be made available to all members in the near future following a legal review.

In summary, the 2011 Safety Forum was an excellent few hours of information and professional guidance from individuals who spend all their time trying to improve workplace safety. The message "Work Smart and Work Safe" came through loud and clear.