Chapter 5: Emergency Management/Storm Response Flashcards
What often causes the loss of electric power over large areas?
catastrophic weather events, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, snow and ice storms, and flooding; these events also can and do cause the collapse of trees onto electric conductors, poles, and other infrastructure, which causes major power outages
What is the goal of utilities during these catastrophic weather events?
restore power to customers as quickly as possible with appropriate regard for the health and safety of the personnel involved and the general public; primary goal is to clear fallen and broken trees from the lines as quickly as possible
What role do utility arborists play in storm response?
utility tree crews are often confronted with a tangled mess of conductors, trees, and other vegetation, all of which must be removed before the utility line personnel and engineers can repair the infrastructure; deal with fallen, broken, and leaning trees in the vicinity of downed conductors, poles, and transformers; inherently dangerous
What is the first task when a utility line-clearance crew encounters a storm site situation?
assess the situation, determine the risks and danger involved, and plan the cutting operations in a way that minimizes the risks to their own health and safety and that of other personnel and the public in the immediate vicinity
Who are other emergency services personnel?
fire department, emergency medical response teams, the police, construction crews
Why is establishing a chain of command important?
clear lines of communication are essential for responding emergency personnel to avoid conflicting or counterproductive activities and to ensure timely restoration of power
American National Standards Institute
ANSI; private, nonprofit organization that administers and coordinates U.S. voluntary consensus standards for a broad range of businesses
ANSI Z133
safety requirements standard for pruning, trimming, repairing, maintaining, and removing trees and cutting brush; committee produced since 1972
ANSI Z133.1-2000
standard reference for those engaged in tree care work; adopted by Telecommunications Safety and Health Standard and Occupational Safety and Health Administration
on call
line-clearance crews that are on standby 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and can be called to an emergency at relatively short notice; usually requirement part of the contract between utility and line-clearance company
24-7
24 hours a day, 7 days a week
emergency response status
placement of all line and tree crews in status as preparation for inevitable damage by catastrophic weather event
sudden events
storms that occur without warning or develop faster than the Weather Service predicted
stand down
refers to the time when the crews are released from on-call or 24-7 status to return to normal working hours
standby v. stand down
standby = on call, ready in case an emergency develops; stand down = normal working hours; mobilization will often involve more work from stand down than a standby situation
person in charge
a person designated as the leader or controller of an emergency situation or operation; has total control and responsibility to dispatch the crews to the appropriate locations and to direct the emergency response operation; all communication must past through this individual; may change through the emergency
dispatcher
a person at the utility or line-clearance company who is in control of sending the line-clearance crews to work locations; maintains communication with all crews, with the utility, and with any other emergency services that may be attending
What is the first priority when planning storm restoration?
the line-clearance crew’s priority is to facilitate the construction crew’s restoration efforts; communication and coordination between the two groups are critical to an efficient restoration effort
risk assessment plan
a document that should contain a description of the dangerous situations and occurrences likely to be encountered at the storm sites, an assessment of the risks associated with those situations, and a description of how they should be addressed to minimize the risk to the health and safety of the line-clearance personnel and the public
site specific
refers to issues, situations, risks, dangers, and other factors that are unique to a particular work site or emergency situation; generic risk assessment plans can be refined to assess the specific risks to health and safety presented by the situation on site
When should the cutting work begin at a storm response location?
after the risks have been assessed and the safest approach decided and adopted
back feed
a process whereby electricity is fed back into downed lines, usually from a home generator that can re-energize the lines; the voltages can be raised if it passes through a transformer
grounded
properly providing a path for the flow of electricity to prevent accidental energizing of a power line
secondary lines
circuits that carry lower voltages from distribution transformers to the point of use
primary lines
distribution lines that carry voltage ranging from 2,400 to 34,500 volts
What sort of things should be communicated as clearance work progresses?
- work that has been completed/progress
- locations of all downed conductors and damaged equipment found (never assume the utility is aware of all downed conductor locations)
- if the conductors are energized
- if there is a risk of back feed from sources
- if the de-energized conductors have been grounded
- if there is likelihood of secondary lines carrying higher-than-normal voltages because of downed primary lines
risk assessment
a process of assessing the risks posed by a job task(s) such that the identified risks can be reduced or eliminated, making the job safer for personnel; process of determining the level of risk posed by a tree or group of trees on a property; involves analyzing each situation or work task to identify whether or not undertaking it poses any risk to the health or safety of the person undertaking the task, their colleagues, other personnel, emergency response personnel, or the general public; establishing the likelihood of the potential risk event occurring and the severity of the outcome should that event occur
Who should be considered in risk assessment?
the person undertaking the task, their colleagues, other personnel, emergency response personnel, or the general public
What are the types of level of risk?
acceptable or unacceptable
What must be done for all tasks designated with unacceptable level of risk?
a policy or procedure must be in place to minimize or, if possible, eliminate the risk
personal protective equipment
PPE; personal safety gear such as hard hat, safety glasses, and hearing protection
How to reduce unacceptable risks?
conduct a generic risk assessment for all major work tasks personnel perform as part of their routine work
What is one of the highest risks in storm response?
fatigue; personnel are working long hours to assist the utility to restore power; fatigue can lead to lapse in concentration, which can result in injury or death
How to prevent fatigue?
frequent breaks are essential as is constant communication with colleagues on site; large or prolonged storms may require establishing shift schedules to provide for sleep and avoid the dangers associated with fatigue
tagging and grounding process for line sections taken out of service
- a qualified utility person in the field signs the clearance tag
- the line-clearance crew can proceed only when the tag is in place
- the tag cannot be removed until the utility person in charge has checked firsthand that the line-clearance crew is away from the line
- tag can be removed and the line re-energized
Cautions to take during storm response work
- watch out for downed conductors
- listen for the sound of portable generators that can cause back feed
- beware of fences with wire or highway metal barriers that may be energized by contact with downed conductors elsewhere on the circuit (assume all such structures are energized)
- beware of working close to secondary lines that can be energized and carrying higher voltages through contact with primary lines (assume all lines are energized)
5 x 5 matrix
a method to determine the severity and likelihood of a risk; each hazard is given a rating based on its likelihood of occurrence (1-very unlikely, 2-unlikely, 3-likely, 4-very likely, 5-certain) and its potential severity (1-no time lost to injury, 2-up to 3 days lost-time to injury, 3-minor injury/illness 3day+, 4-major injury/illness, 5-fatality); the two figures are multiplied together to give a risk rating number; 10 to 25 = “high” to “unacceptable” risks
What is the key to a successful operation?
communication among all parties involved in the clearance and restoration of power is the key to a successful operation
Who primarily performs the vital communication function?
the dispatcher; also the crew leader(s) on site; the contact person who is the link among the utility and the municipal representatives
What are the methods of communication during storm response work?
- two-way radio
- radio frequencies
- cellular phones
two-way radio
a device used to facilitate communication between two parties such as crews and crew leaders, crew leader and dispatcher, or dispatcher and utility person in charge
Pros and Cons of radio communication
Pros: can be the most effective way to provide minute-to-minute communication
Cons: only effective over a relatively short range unless a mobile transmission base station can be set up on site
Pros and Cons of cell phones
Pros: ideal means for supervisors and crew leaders to contact essential people over larger areas; can reduce traffic over the radio frequencies, particularly when relaying the location of downed lines and hardware to the utility or dispatcher; more secure form of communication; capability of transmitting and receiving text communications which is advantageous when the noise of machinery and natural elements make voice communication difficult on site; speed dialing with quick access of relevant contact numbers on site
Cons: can have bad/unreliable signal
Why is customer contact essential during storm response work?
- to keep the owners informed as to what is being done and why (many of the downed trees are owned by private individuals)
- to minimize the risk of complaints when the power is restored and life gets back to normal (reasonable effort must be made to contact tree owners before work begins)
Where to redirect customer calls and questions?
refer to the utility or to the municipal official who is in contact with the utility for further information; calls should be routed to the utility customer services personnel
How much cleanup is expected after emergency or storm response work?
a lot of debris in the form of felled trees, branches, and brush in and around the storm sites will be left; work sites should be made safe when the line-clearance crews are finished, with logs and branches stacked in stable positions on the ground; leave roads and driveways safe and clear; always leave storm sites in a safe state
Who is responsible for the disposal of storm-damaged trees?
property owners and municipalities; crews should be informed of utility-specific disposal policies and be able to communicate those policies to customers (door cards can be used for this purpose)
What are some benefits of storm or emergency situations?
- opportunity to interface with customers, landowners, and the public in positive ways
- provides valuable lessons to customers on the damage trees can cause to the electrical system and the level of disruption that trees can cause when storms and emergencies occur
- raise public awareness of the importance of its scheduled line-clearance program
- emphasize the need to prune and remove trees close to the conductors to minimize the impact of future storms
- time without power due to trees that have damaged the system can be an important education for customers
What helps the utility educate its customers about the value of proper line-clearance programs?
application of proper pruning techniques and sound reasoning to justify the removal of hazard trees while attending to customers’ needs
