RE-marks Archive

New Year’s Day is the traditional time for resolutions, usually aimed at self-improvement and often drawn from reflections on the past.

Backing accidents are among the most frequent types of vehicle accidents reported by utilities insured in this program. Many of these are minor, but certainly not all!

Editor's Note: Over the course of the past year or two there has been a sharp increase in the number of questions about firearms in the workplace put by members of this program. The questions have come from all sides of the issues, from how to bar all firearms from the work premises to how to decide where, when, and by whom arms should be permitted for protection. I have had a number of lengthy conversations with a fair number of utility employees, both with safety professionals in one-on-one meetings and with other employees during training sessions. As a result, I thought the time had come to seek some independent professional legal advice on this topic.

What follows below is an overview of the issues surrounding this topic, including a brief review of the applicable statutes, both Federal and State (where they exist) along with some comments on “best practices” in this area. This article was written by Mark Barber, a consulting attorney to the Hurtado & Associates Power Distribution Insurance Specialists program.

Since its founding, this program has supported it member cooperatives by attending the annual meeting vendor show, now known as the EXPO.

Recently, during a consultation visit to a utility insured in this program, the discussion turned to inspections and the value that inspection visits can add to building a safety culture within a company. The Safety Officer I was visiting (I will call him “Mark”) articulated a particularly clear vision of the benefits that inspections can provide that went beyond what we usually hear. I thought it might be good to share this approach with everyone.

The Hurtado & Associates Utility Insurance Program has been carefully designed to meet the needs of its varied members, with a wide range of coverages built-in or automatically included, and with the added ability to provide unusual coverages when they are needed. Throughout the decades that this program has existed it has been continuously improved as the needs of the group and the abilities of the insurance marketplace have evolved. Change, it seems, is the only constant in this business!

Line work is inherently risk-laden. Most work areas where line crews operate are “off site,” where exposures are more challenging to control.

Safety was in the spotlight this past October at the second ever NRECA Safety Leadership Summit in San Antonio.

Did you know that nearly 4 out of 10 employees suffer from fatigue during their workday? 

You have heard the expression “Silly as a goose.” Maybe geese are smarter than we think. 

"It seems like a good time to revisit this topic and highlight a few developments."

 "Sometimes when we review particular utilities’ loss runs there are no backing incidents to be found, not even when we look several years back. What explains this?"

"Hurtado & Associates has a long heritage of attendance at these annual events that dates back to 1976"

Here’s another opportunity to learn for free a lesson that has already cost someone else.

“You will undoubtedly recall hearing me say that experience is the best teacher, but learning from other peoples’ experiences is far cheaper!"
Jan-Feb-Mar, 2013

"The site seems more modern, simpler to grasp and navigate."
Jan-Feb-Mar, 2013

"An effective response requires a multi-level effort"
Oct-Nov-Dec, 2012

"There are unintended consequences of the way (Risk Management is) traditionally thought of in smaller companies."
Oct-Nov-Dec, 2012

"Employers have options available that can eliminate the need to constantly maintain an MSDS reference binder."
Jul-Aug-Sep, 2012

"A select group of consumers out there ... believe that your Smart Meters are spying on them."
Jul-Aug-Sep, 2012

"Every utility in this program should review its pole inspection program."

"Late last year the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration turned down an exemption request for co-ops and power companies from the new mobile phone rule. With this latest decision, it seems likely that everyone in this program will be addressing the issue."

"Doing things right the first time, every time, is the best way to limit costs."

"Any and all potential evidence should be saved until the claim is closed."

"This is intended as a quick 'heads up' on a recent herbicide problem