Southeast Electrical Safety Stand Down Set for Jan. 11
This one is focused on slips, trips, and falls and is sponsored by OSHA, the Southeastern Line Constructors Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association, Southeastern Line Constructors Apprenticeship and Training, and districts 5 and 10 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
OSHA is supporting a Jan. 11 Electrical Safety Stand Down in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee that involves the electrical transmission and distribution industry. Employers are being asked to use the first hour of the morning shift at each of their locations to provide training to electrical work crews on preventing slips, trips, and falls.
Sponsors include OSHA, the Southeastern Line Constructors Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association, Southeastern Line Constructors Apprenticeship and Training, and districts 5 and 10 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The Southeastern Line Constructors Chapter will provide a safety presentation for use in the training, as well as suggestions for other training tools that will increase awareness of the hazards and create a safer working environment, OSHA announced.
This is the second safety stand down these groups have sponsored; the first occurred in July 2010 and focused on preventing accidents resulting from common misconceptions about tools used to work on outside overhead electrical lines and high-voltage electrical components. "The collaboration of government, business and labor makes this a truly cooperative event," said Cindy Coe, OSHA's regional administrator in Atlanta. "We are once again encouraged to see that this segment of the electrical industry is committed to making a cultural shift in its attitude toward safety, as demonstrated by this second safety stand down."
Participating employers are asked to register with the stand down alliance to receive the training materials. To register for the event or to learn more about it, employers should contact Steve Gaines of SLCC/NECA at 770-969-9209. Members of the public interested in more information from OSHA should contact Christi Griffin, OSHA's assistant regional administrator for cooperative and state programs, at 61 Forsyth St. SW, Room 6T50, Atlanta, GA 30303; telephone 404-562-2300.