New Safety Equipment

(3 of 6 parts)

Another action concept developed during the early meetings of the Exchange addressed equipment, tools and devices used in electric utility industry operations. In the early meetings, it was discovered that various new or modified tools, equipment and devices were being used by one member company of which other members were not aware. Many of these things had been developed in-house by company employees. By exchanging information on equipment and devices, each member company benefited by the job skills of hundreds of employees making up the work force of the combined companies. Much of the equipment and devices unique to electric utility work in use today can be traced back to some early meeting of the Exchange where it was presented to the membership by one of its member company representatives.

These sessions of the Exchange conferences have proven to be most advantageous to its members, both safety-wise and expense-wise. Often an unfavorable experience by one of the member companies related to a new device or piece of equipment, when discussed at the Exchange, prevented other members from purchasing similar equipment not suited for utility work. Rarely is there a period of time between Exchange meetings in which the member companies do not have something that could be reported on in the equipment exchange sessions. It is the responsibility of each member company to make a special effort to participate in the equipment exchange sessions.