OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) has a new set of updates that will be coming in this year. This seems to be a big one and you should be checking these out. These updates cover the final ruling on Electric Power Transmission and Distribution as well as Electrical Protective Equipment.
In case you haven’t been following this (which is understandable, since life does tend to get in the way), this round of revisions was started way back in 2003 with the issuance of a SBREFA (Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act) Report. This has finally reached the final phase of ratification.
Electricity Regulations and You
Now let’s get down to the nitty-gritty of things. Why is this being done and what effect does this have on you? Well, to get started here are a two interesting tidbits from the OSHA ruling:
- The annual fatality rate for power line workers is about 50 deaths per 100,000 employees
- The construction industry standard, which addresses worker safety during electric power transmission and distribution line construction, is almost 40 years old
The new rules will address outdated guidelines and are aimed at lowering fatalities. These new regulations also include the updating of sections that need changing, to bring it up to date. Of course, this may mean that you will need to implement certain changes – from procedural adjustments to providing new equipment that your people might need to new guidelines for safety compliance.
Upgrading Health and Safety Requirements
As far as procedural changes go, expect more stringent safety rules. These include having requirements similar to those used in construction for maintenance of power transmission lines and distribution installations. Also, you can expect a change in the fall protection equipment required for linemen who have to use aerial lifts to do their work.
For changes in equipment requirements, expect new provisions that will require workers to use specific electrical protective equipment and foot protection for increased safety. An increase in the number of PPE to be used by these same workers may be seen in this regulation update. The same increase in PPE requirements may also extend to those using aerial lifts as well, so it might be a good idea to get ready for that too.
Limitless Returns on Both Occupational And Health
After reading all these, you’re probably worried about how much these will all cost you. We wish we could give you a straight answer about costs, but sadly, we can’t. Regardless, the one thing we can assure you is that the additional protection will save lives in the long run (not to mention save you money on hospital bills and possible lawsuits for non-compliance).
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