Think safety!

This issue of North Dakota LIVING focuses on agriculture, with the Big Iron Farm Show supplement, and on outdoor hunting opportunities in our state, with a story on the fall hunting outlook. These two subjects bring to mind a third that relates to our industry: safety.

Whether hunting or harvesting this fall, please take the time to think about how you will take part in those activities in a safe manner, and especially to take steps to make sure you stay clear of power lines and related facilities.

Each year, electric cooperatives experience damage to electrical facilities caused by stray bullets. When hunting, take the time before you start to make sure you’re aware of which electrical facilities might be in or near your hunting zone. Never fire weapons in the direction of electrical facilities or at overhead power lines, as stray bullets that strike transformers or other equipment can cause power outages and create safety issues. The N.D. Game and Fish Department has a wealth of information on hunter safety. For those good reminders on how to hunt safely and the requirements for youth hunter education, please visit its Web site at www.ndgf@nd.gov or contact the department at (701) 328-6300.

As for agriculture, the Big Iron show that North Dakota LIVING helps promote is a strong visual reminder of how much the size and scale of agriculture has changed over the past years. The enormity of the equipment used in farming these days requires extra special attention be paid to the electrical facilities in your fields and around your farms.

A recent report from Federated Rural Electric Insurance Exchange, which is a member-owned property and casualty insurance carrier for most of the nation’s electric cooperatives, reminds all of us that accidents around electrical facilities still occur. In the first six months of 2010, Federated reported that 53 electrical contacts resulting in 13 fatalities had been reported to it from the cooperatives it insures across the country.

The report contains a number of contacts that seem to reoccur, despite the best efforts of utilities to inform consumers about the importance of working safely around power lines. For example, this report contains fatalities caused by a farmer’s equipment that caught a guy line and pulled down the line; an aircraft wire strike; and two fatalities from pipe (most likely irrigation) that came into contact with overhead power lines.

In each of these cases, the contacts could have been avoided with proper safety awareness. In our business of teaching lineworkers how to safely go about their daily tasks, we stress the importance of a job briefing. In the briefing, the line foreman on the job will talk through the task to be performed and what steps are to be taken to complete the work safely, before any work is done.

This technique is good practice to follow for your own situation, whether out hunting, harvesting or working around the home or farm. Before tackling any project or task, take a few minutes to prepare. In addition to having the right tools and equipment, take note of potential hazards in the work area, especially for overhead power lines. When located, remember the 10-foot rule: Do not come closer than 10 feet to any overhead power line.

The adage, “accidents do happen,” should not be an acceptable explanation when unfortunately, people are injured or killed from electrical contacts. With proper safety awareness and caution, accidents in and around power lines and electrical facilities can be avoided.