Deliverables on Safety

Summary of past deliverables related to public and worker safety

Recent deliverables on distribution safety are highlighted below. View historic deliverables here.

2023

For meeting results, utility presentations, and other updates from 2023, see here.

Serious Injuries and Fatalities (SIFs)

  • SIFs database — This includes summaries of SIF events or near misses presented by utilities. Documentation also includes a set of review questions and improvement ideas. These events are meant for utilities to be able to review their current practices and equipment for the scenario involved. This compilation is the result of brainstorming sessions held at two workshops on SIFs.

Personnel Protection Equipment and Technologies

  • Arc flash tests on arc-rated FR clothing (3002026862) — This update includes surprising results of tests on FR shirts. Mainstream shirts commonly used in North America and those bought online performed worse than their advertised rating. See also this DRC link for results of mainstream shirts and this link for results of internet shirts.
  • Rubber glove analysis (3002026863) — This update covers evaluation of used glove samples provided by utilities. Mechanical integrity is a key focus.
  • Hard-cover aging tests — This update covers progress on long-term aging of plastic conductor cover samples to assess degradation from UV light.

Live, Downed Conductors

Practices and Tech Transfer

New Approaches

2022

For meeting results, utility presentations, and other updates from 2022, see here.

Tech Transfer

  • Flyers—These are flyers for break rooms that give links to videos aimed at important safety topics for end users. No username/password needed. Please post these and provide feedback! Arc flash, vehicle grounding, burndowns, and patterns of downed wires. 🆕

Personnel Protection Equipment and Technologies

Live, Downed Conductors

  • Industry update on detection and mitigation options—This covers the current state of the art for detecting live, downed conductors. Approaches reviewed included SCADA and metering, OMS outage patterns, and different options using AMI. This also includes tests in 2022 of vegetation contacts and detection using relays and recloser controllers.  
  • Single-phase reclosers and burndowns—After changing to single-phase reclosers, some utilities have reported having more live, downed conductors on such taps. This update covers ways to avoid burndowns. It also includes tests from 2022 on burndowns of small bare conductors. A recording of a discussion on this topic is also published here.

Arc Flash

  • Proper vs. improper wear of FR shirts—Includes videos and descriptions of proper vs. improper wear of arc-rated shirts during an arc flash. Tucking your shirt in can make a big difference!
  • Utility vs. industry practices—This tech brief compares utility (NESC-style) and industry (NFPA-style) approaches to analysis and protection for arc flash..

Practices

2021

For meeting results, utility presentations, and other updates from 2021, see here.

Arc-Flash Analysis Guide

This deliverable is an online, multimedia reference. Safety personnel, work-methods personnel, and protection engineers can use this information to evaluate and update their arc-flash hazard analyses. Additions and updates in 2021 include:

Grounding and Personnel Protection Practices

This deliverable covers grounding and personnel protection for scenarios involving overhead work, underground work, and work around vehicles. Safety personnel and standards engineers can use this information to design better approaches to grounding and personnel protection. Additions and updates in 2021 include:

Personnel Protection Equipment and Technologies

This deliverable covers evaluations of technologies and equipment for personnel protection. This includes performance of personal protective equipment (PPE). For 2021, the additions includes tests of:

2020

For meeting results, utility presentations, and other updates from 2020, see here.

Arc-Flash Analysis Guide

This deliverable is an online, multimedia reference. Safety personnel, work-methods personnel, and protection engineers can use this information to evaluate and update their arc-flash hazard analyses. Information may also inform practices and help line workers to understand risks. The site includes reference material and videos. An online app and spreadsheets are included to aid in the analysis of hazards.

Grounding and Personnel Protection Practices

This deliverable covers grounding and personnel protection for scenarios involving overhead work, underground work, and work around vehicles. Safety personnel and standards engineers can use this information to design better approaches to grounding and personnel protection. The information can also be shared with line workers to reinforce the hazards and how to avoid them. The site includes reference material, videos, and online apps to calculate hazards.

Detecting and Preventing Live, Downed Conductors

Several resources are provided based on research on detecting and preventing live, downed conductors. The site includes reference material, videos, and online apps. Protection engineers, operations groups, standards engineers, and safety personnel can use this information to implement approaches to detect and prevent downed conductors.

Application to Verify Live-Line Coverup: Feasibility Analysis

This report considers the feasibility of developing an application that could verify and reinforce proper use of coverups. Several approaches to developing this concept into an application are reviewed. Scenarios were staged with good and bad uses of coverups to evaluate ways to create training data for machine-learning models. Utilities can use these results to evaluate their plans for deploying digital-worker technologies.

Personal Voltage Detectors: Tests in Utility Distribution Scenarios

Results from staged tests are used to quantify the performance of voltage detectors. Detectors were tested near energized downed conductors, an energized vehicle, and an overhead line (from the ground and from the air). This report can be used to help utilities select appropriate personal voltage detectors. Results can help identify where these detectors work best, as well as to understand their limitations.

Electrical Performance of Plastic Guards: Distribution Safety

This report documents tests on the electrical performance of used plastic guards. These tests allowed comparison of physical condition to electrical performance. Utilities can use the results to help determine inspection and replacement strategies.

Impacts of 5G Equipment on Distribution Practices

This report documents industry-wide requirements for telecom attachments. These requirements include allowable structures, clearance requirements, and other attachment limits. Issues related to worker safety are covered—including radio frequency exposures. Finally, safety-related industry needs for workers are identified.

Other Resources

For a list of past deliverables by topic, see here.


Last modified January 9, 2023