Safety on the Line

One thing that United Cooperative Services has in common with Johnson County Special Utility District (JCSUD) is a commitment to safety.

On a blustery January morning, crews and employees from JCSUD gathered at United’s Cleburne office to watch as United’s Safety Department  performed an arcing demonstration.

“Safety isn’t just a priority at United; it’s a core value,” said Brody Weems, a safety and loss control coordinator for United. “We use the arcing demonstration as a tool to help educate our members and our communities on some of the fundamentals of electric safety.”

The arcing demonstrations use two transformers wired into high-voltage, creating an impressive 5,000-volt arc of electricity that  showcases the power and danger of electric lines. United has performed this demonstration for more than 10 years to school groups, businesses, youth clubs and other interested parties.

Joining Weems to head up the demonstration was fellow Safety and Loss Control Coordinator Pat Griffith.

“As impressive as the arc is, it’s still only an example of the power of electricity,” he said. “Actual power lines carry a much heavier load of electricity than the demonstration. The arcing demonstration shows the real-life effects of what could happen when something touches high-voltage lines. It is also great for first responders and other people who might work  around high voltage to see what electricity does firsthand, while we’re also discussing electrical safety. We can tailor our program for any audience, whether it’s curious adults, working professionals or even put it into terms that children can understand.”

For those unfamiliar with JCSUD, its mission is to provide safe, reliable water to the residents of Johnson County and surrounding areas.

Among the JCSUD cohort was HR Manager Sarah Birchmeier.

Birchmeier, a new employee of JCSUD, said she is tasked with heading up a new safety initiative. Part of that initiative involved joining United for the safety and arcing demonstration.

“JCSUD and United crews often work within the same vicinity of one another, so the partnership on the demonstration makes sense,” she said. “Seeing the arc presentation really helped a lot for me to understand what goes on in the field,” she said. “Because I’m in the office, I don’t always know what’s going on. It was a real-world example. At JCSUD there’s a culture of safety already, but we’re doing everything we can to really make sure that we’re doing everything the right way so that everyone goes home the way they came in.”

Birchmeier emphasized the importance of calling 811 before JCSUD crews dig and was impressed with the PPE (personal protective equipment) that Weems and Griffith donned during the event.
To perform the demonstration, United crews don safety glasses, dielectric hard hat, class 3 rubber gloves rated at 26,500 volts (AC), rubber insulating blankets to stand on, steel toe boots, fire-resistant pants, shirt and hoodie, a bucket stick, and a shotgun  stick, which is an insulated fiberglass tool for moving or adjusting live electrical equipment. The bucket stick is used to close in line fuses that energize the conductor.

Even with all the PPE that linemen wear, dangers still exist. During the safety demonstration, Weems described a scenario where electric lines have fallen and created a hazard.

“The best course of action around downed power lines is to stay away from them,” Weems said. “If you are in an auto accident and a line has fallen on or near your vehicle, stay in your car. In this scenario, call 911 and wait for help.”

Tyler Lyles, water operations manager at JCSUD, agrees with Birchmeier’s assessment of JCSUD’s commitment to safety and their current drive to make safety an even higher priority than it has been in the past.  

“We’ve always had safety protocols, but we’re working to revamp and improve our safety program right now just to be sure that we’re making safety a top priority,” Lyles said. “We went to United just because I feel like you guys are the pinnacle of safety. I want to be able to look at you guys and see ‘what did they do that works?’ And is there any way we can emulate that.”

Lyles said he hoped the day’s experience would help his employees have a greater understanding of the power of electricity, whether in the field or at home.

“A lot of the reasons why I set that up was to be a little bit more of an eye opener for some of the younger guys, and a reminder for the older ones, just about the dangers associated with being around electric lines,” he said.

United’s arcing demonstration is a public service. To request a demonstration for a group or organization, visit www.ucs.net.