On May 23rd and 24th, Local 15 Business Representatives Mark Shaulis and Mike Keating attended the 2022 IBEW Safety Caucus held in Tempe, Arizona. The Safety Caucus was formed to allow IBEW Locals to gather and present, as well as discuss, safety information, products and trends affecting Locals across the United States and Canada.
Included in the Caucus this year were subjects having impact on the Utility, Outside, Construction, Telecom, Broadcasting, Manufacturing and Maritime divisions of the IBEW. Some of the subjects presented included: the high rates of suicide in the workforce, a listing of accident reports from the IBEW Safety Department, the top 10 OSHA safety violations, OSHA standards and how they get written and amended, ANSI standards, the major increase in heat injuries, how to participate in OSHA investigations, and other subjects that affect the electrical workers across the trade.
The caucus also provided a forum for Locals in each of the sections of the IBEW to share issues happening in their jurisdictions and how those issues parallel with other Locals in the same portion of the industry. Some of those issues included: PPE availability-quality-cost, material shortages and how this affects the safety of Locals, safety practices at their companies, equipment failures, conductor and equipment grounding, and others.