POWERGRAMS

Close Call Closed When Jake Warnack noticed a potential safety hazard, it prompted him to take action. Late last year, Warnack confirmed a safety issue while energizing three newly installed 120/240-volt receptacles in a yard lightbox outside an Anniston facility. The receptacles supply power to equipment and lights in the substation yard. A clamp holding the wires was too tightly compressed, which damaged the conductor insulation enough to blow a circuit fuse when the receptacle was energized. Because the box was grounded, the circuit was safely de-energized. The close call was avoided because of a safety concern notice issued by the Protection and Control (P&C) Field Services safety committee in August 2012. "I began thinking 'What if that box had not been properly grounded and the damaged wire had caused it to become energized,'" said Warnack, West Jefferson P&C technician. "The box would be a land mine just waiting for the next person who plugged in a piece of equipment or touched it without safety gloves." Warnack realized the scenario was a possibility because the metal receptacle boxes were being mounted on plywood and were not being grounded per design. A loose wire, faulty connection or damaged receptacle could energize the box with 120 volts of electricity. Warnack, who chairs the P&C Field Services safety committee, brought the scenario before the committee and headed an effort to improve the design of receptacle boxes systemwide. Warnack began by enlisting the committee's help to investigate his concern. A safety concern notice was issued by the committee to bring awareness to the hazard. The committee joined with Transmission Design to develop a new standard yard lightbox, which includes adding grounding wires to each receptacle box. The team shared the design with Transmission safety committees across the state, urging them to have employees in their organizations inspect all substation yard light receptacle boxes to ensure the new standard is met. The P&C safety committee shared the design and research with the Transmission leadership at the other Southern operating companies. Soon after the committee began spreading the word about the new design, Warnack found an energized receptacle box in Hueytown. Because it was not Photo by Bill Snow P&C committee spreads word after designing answer to hazard Warnack took potential problem to safety committee for a solution. grounded, all the exposed metal was energized with 120 volts of electricity. "I knew one day we would find an energized box because it was not grounded, and that's what happened," Warnack said. "I believe having a questioning attitude in all we do prevents us from getting injured. Sharing the hazard and seeing the process through until it is fully resolved will hopefully prevent anyone from being injured as a result of this type of hazard." Transmission Maintenance General Manager Kristie Barton praised the contributions of the P&C committee. "This is an example of what safety committees are all about, trying to identify hazards and finding solutions to prevent those hazards," Barton said. "The bottom line is that because Jake and the P&C committee had a 'what if ' attitude, it's helping our employees work safer and better every day." By Carla Davis 5

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