Fatality.

[wtdoor67]

City Employee Electrocuted

September 13, FAIRVIEW, OK - 25 year old Matthew Meister a lineman for the municipal electric services, died while installing an electric meter at the Mennonite Brethren Church. The cause of the accident remains under investigation but authorities think Meister slipped while working and fell onto a set of wires, Fairview City Manager Dale Sides said.

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One horse muni. Don't have any details. Maybe hear later.

[Trbl639]

Another sad deal!!

Prayers for the family, friends and co-workers!!

[climbsomemore]

I know some people who know some people who shared the rough draft of the report on this accident.

3 man crew ... add some CT's and metering to a 3 phase, 480 volt pad mount.

The kid had not finished training and there were 2 "journeymen" on site at the time of the contact.

For whatever reason... they had elected to leave the Riser closed and bayonet fuses in. The property is a church... mid week... so everyone is wondering why they didnt dump the pot.

The kid managed to hang the CT's and was making up the wires. NO HARDHAT, NO RUBBER GLOVES, NO BARRIERS OR COVER ON THE 480V.

The other 2 present say they did not " see" the contact... but noticed the victim on the ground after the contact. He appears to have stumbled or leaned into the enclosure and made contact across the head to 2 of the exposed, energised 480v secondary terminals.
http://www.powerlineman.com/lforum/s...ead.php?t=6260

[wtdoor67]

Probably your version is very close. I hesitate to bad mouth people but after all I am familiar with this state and area.

When you say Muni and Journeyman to me regarding electrical linework I usually am skeptical. If it's true, why would any hand with common sense do anything hot if he has a choice?

Some Munis are large and just as professional as you can get. However I've been on storms and observed the most elementary violations of common sense safety rules you can imagine.

I knew of a few ex Muni hands that attempted to gain employment at the co. I worked for. One professed to be the "lead lineman" at his Muni, but when it came to the practical test it was plain to see he knew very little about the trade. He was hired as a 1st year apprentice after attempting to hire on as a Journeyman.

A local safety man laughingly told me that one Muni with a small crew refused to do pole top rescue. When asked why, they said we'll get a bucket to it somehow.

One hand bragged about his expertise on URD, running locators and such. Put in a bucket and sent up to cut a dead end on a simulated hot line it was plain he was an amateur. This after applying for a Journeyman job. He went else where.

The sad thing about Okla., is that Muni's operate with impunity. I think it's still so, but there used to be a lid on liability claims here in Okla. I recall one toddler who managed to get inside an enclosure that had overhead pots hooked Wye/Delta. He lost an arm on the "floater". Yet the settlement was only about 300,000 dollars. Sad. Whereas an IOU would we sued for millions this was the maximum the child's parents received.

Maybe it's only in Okla. but another I knew refused to supply a large business with water unless they took the Muni's electricity. There was another electrical supplier available, but they were forced to buy from the city.

I know of many similar to this but until state laws are changed it will continue.

No all these little Munis should be forced to properly train their hands just as they would be anywhere.

Ah well. Just another overlooked area of the trade. If you pay half a normal wage you get things like this.

Muni hands are not alone. I've seen some pretty good faux pas by other types also.

[Trbl639]

Sad deal anyway you look at it Danny!! Like you, middle of the week......why not kill it out?

As far as Muni's getting away with a lot of stuff...the Public Service commission here kinda keeps their finger on everybody!!

About 10 years ago, a hanger at the airport we served burned...they were gonna rebuild a bigger one......in an area where we were on one side of the road, co-op on the other......Co-op manger decided he was was gonna serve it, where we had been, after we relocated a pot pole, upgraded the old bank etc........Boss called me one afternoon to go out and see if the electrician had stubbed out yet, so he might send the UG crew up........well, when I pulled up, there was a 3 phase padmount and a fresh ditch running right down the middle of our ROW.......

It was turned over to legal dept and they hashed it out with the PSC....all that area North of the river was supposed to be co-op territory, but back in the late 30's co-op couldn't afford to serve it, so the power company did.......

Long story short, co-op got the territory back...we lost maybe 70 customers and 10-12 miles of line, which didn't hurt my feelings, cause the first 5+ miles of it was 3 phase in the river bottoms and a pain in the ass, especially when the river was up, and........

It cost the co-op several million bucks and the manager his job!!!!

[BigClive]

And the voltage involved would again suggest that had a defibrillator been on site then there's a chance it could have been of use, particularly if they found him soon after his contact.

[Trbl639]

Clive, I have seen some of the G.O. (transmission crews) around here with with an AED Decal on the bin of the truck...but not on any of the distribution crew/trouble trucks.........
Don't make sense......

[mscheuerer]

And the voltage involved would again suggest that had a defibrillator been on site then there's a chance it could have been of use, particularly if they found him soon after his contact.

Nice to see you still shouting and endorsing the De-Fibs old man! LOL! How are things across the pond?

Supervisors started carrying these devices in their cars, now one in three line trucks are equipped with one almost guaranteeing one to be onsite (3 man+ crew minimum) on all overhead jobs. Everyone is trained in its use regardless.

Be safe!

[CPOPE]

As far as Muni's getting away with a lot of stuff...the Public Service commission here kinda keeps their finger on everybody!!
!

Don't want to Monday morning quarterback or take away anything from this tragedy. My prayers go out to the family. Learn what we can from these accidents and strive to prevent re-occurrence.

Trbl693 has a point, I do believe Muni's fall into an "EXEMPT" classification in most jurisdictions. You will by that very nature see municipal line-workers sometimes take short cuts that investor owned utility workers would not.

Are You "Exempt" from OSHA?
OSHA has jurisdiction over workplace safety in the United States and its territories. However, when Congress passed the OSH Act of 1970 and created OSHA, a few groups were given an exemption from OSHA coverage. Here is a short list (not totally exhaustive) of those who are exempt:

1) Employees of the Federal Government – this includes people working in high hazard jobs, such as a press operator at the federal mint, members of the armed services, the ranger at the national park, and an FBI agent, are exempt from OSHA coverage. Even the federal OSHA compliance officer that comes to inspect your company for compliance with OSHA regulations is not subject to coverage by the very Act that created his or her job! Many federal agencies do voluntarily “adopt” OSHA regulations for their employees, but when push comes to shove and they are running low on funds or time, some of them are very quick to remember that they are exempt.

2) State, City & County Employees – because of prohibitions against something know as an unfunded mandate, the employees of the states, cities & counties (sometimes called public employees) are also exempt from OSHA coverage. So workers employed by a private company who are digging a ditch are regulated by OSHA’s excavation standards, but the city crew digging a ditch across the street from them is not. Like some federal agencies, many state, city & county agencies also voluntarily adopt OSHA regulations for their workers. And those States who opted to develop and administer their own State OSHA program must also include their state, city & county workers in their jurisdiction, meaning those agencies would no longer be exempt.

3) Certain Employee Groups Covered by Other Federal Agencies – for example, workers in a mine are covered by the Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA), and not by OSHA. There are also other work situations where other regulations could take precedence over OSHA’s, like with workers on a ship at sea, flight crews up in an airplane, and truck drivers rolling down the highway.

4) Family Members Working on Their Family Farm – technically these people are not considered employees of the farm. So even though OSHA has agricultural standards, these family members are exempt from OSHA coverage.

5) A Sole Proprietor with No Employees – if you have no employees, then you are not an employer, and OSHA only has jurisdiction over employers. There could be an exception to this exemption, however, if the sole proprietor hired temporary workers (like from a temp service) and directed their day-to-day activities.

6) Volunteers – if someone is working voluntarily for a company and receives no pay or compensation, they would not be considered an employee. Therefore, they do not fall under OSHA’s jurisdiction.

There is a general misconception that “small” employers are exempt from OSHA jurisdiction. While OSHA generally will not conduct a general scheduled OSHA inspection at a company with fewer than 10 employees, that company is not exempted from OSHA coverage. The small employer must still comply with all OSHA rules and regulations that apply to their workplace, and the company is also subject to receiving an OSHA inspection in certain situations, such as when an employee complaint is filed or a work-related fatality occurs. In certain cases, the small business may be exempt from implementing specific OSHA standards, like those requiring an OSHA injury/illness log or developing a written emergency action plan, but they must still comply with all other applicable standards.

[rcdallas]

Government can't sue government.