What Could I have Done Differently?

Abstract

At some point in our careers, each of us will experience an event that will have a major impact on the way we see and experience normal every day electrical events. This could be a Near Miss Incident, an OSHA Recordable incident, a Disabling Injury, or a Fatality. Any one of them can cause a major shift in company culture and how we look at electrical safety This paper is a case history review of a major Disabling Near Fatality event that happened very early in the author's career as a Maintenance Engineering Supervisor. The incident involved an electrician who stuck his bare hand into an energized 13.8 kV breaker bushing that nearly killed him. This incident has had a profound impact on the author's electrical safety thinking. The paper is not being written with the intent for the reader to answer the author's question. It is being written with the intent that each reader examines his own career for a serious incident and asks himself: “What Could I Have Done Differently?”