In the “Star Wars” movies, Obi-Wan Kenobi encourages Luke Skywalker to develop the skills necessary to battle the dark side: embrace the force. In the power utility industry, our linemen are equipped with the tools — albeit not light sabers — that enable them to work safely and effectively.

I would like to encourage our linemen and technicians to embrace the force that can be tapped into when we apply technology appropriately. And, really, most of our linemen are up for anything new that helps move our industry forward, with the caveat that they have access to appropriate training while the new technologies make for a safer work environment.

However, there is a contingent of line workers who believe they have to fight anything new and that ticks me off. A few years ago, I was talking to a group of linemen at the International Lineman's Rodeo, held annually here in Kansas City. One of the tool companies was demonstrating its new ergonomically designed, battery-powered hand tools. Amid a lot of oohs and aahs, one lineman (who thought himself the alpha male) looked disparagingly at the tools and said, “With today's bucket trucks and power tools, my grandma could do line work.”

But I posit that we would all be better off if the heavy lifting in the field were mental, not physical.

We've all seen linemen who have used themselves up at an early age due to competitive stress injuries. And it just isn't necessary or fair. We've seen the carnage left by carpel tunnel syndrome, and rotator cuff and back injuries, to name a few.

Many former linemen now find themselves resigned to being desk jockeys of one sort or another, when they would really rather be out in the field hitting it. I wouldn't wish that career move on anyone.

Here is another beef. I was asked to inspect work practices in a downtown vault. Bare bus work ran across one wall. I mentioned to one of the cable splicers that a single wrap of insulating tape would withstand thousands of volts, and I recommended that the bus be insulated. He responded that he felt safer knowing that the bus was exposed, because it caused him to focus harder when he was in the vault.

I'm sorry, but I just don't buy that logic. If we took that same thought process to overhead line work, we would decline to use rubber cover-up goods.

When I was in Louisiana covering the rebuild after Hurricane Katrina, I first saw personal voltage sensors being used in the field. Hallelujah! I asked one of the linemen how they work. He informed me that the sensor went off if he came near an energized line. That is so cool!

Unfortunately, we have lost linemen who were working storms and came in contact with energized downed lines. But this device can be a life saver — and it is. I heard of one instance where a lineman's sensor went off when he was working around a dumpster. It seems a downed line had energized the opposite end of that dumpster that was covered in debris.

And we now have gas sniffers we place in manholes and vaults to make sure that there is sufficient oxygen to breathe and that there has been no buildup of explosive gases. This is a good practice, but it is more than that. When you feel safe in your working environment, you can focus on the work at hand instead of obsessing over the working conditions.

Last year, when I was visiting Con Edison in New York, I was quite impressed with ongoing work to locate arcing in manholes and vaults. I visited with Neil Weisenfeld at the cable test lab. He and his cohorts were working with EPRI to develop an arc-detection system that could warn workers of problems and save lives. This effort came about because of a fatality on the Con Edison system that resulted from arcing in a cable.

There are linemen who state that if they lean too much on sensing devices, they might get complacent and then the device they are relying on might fail.

I don't buy that argument either. That's like saying we will be safer drivers with fewer fatalities if our cars are not equipped with air bags and seat belts.

Our industry is changing every day and in every way. We need to keep abreast of change. But as much as technology can do for us, it will never take the place of true love and concern for one another.

Too many of our executives have lost sight of the fact that only caring, dedicated employees can assure a company's future. That dedication comes from knowing we make a difference and that peoples' lives are better because we were here. But it takes a team built on camaraderie and closeness that comes from tackling hard, challenging work.

We need to use the most advanced tools at our disposal to work effectively and to work safely. Let's work together to make sure that each and every one of us returns home safely and injury-free at the end of each day.