Linemen who work in both overhead and underground installations are at risk for arc-flash hazards. While arc flashes are a rare occurrence, when they do happen, they can have traumatic consequences.

Some of our linemen have been involved in arc flashes, but thankfully, no one has been injured. To protect our workers, Barrie Hydro, which is the 10^th largest utility in Ontario, Canada, serving 68,000 customers, invested in a program to outfit all the field workers in flame-resistant clothing and has also changed some work practices. Here are four ways Barrie Hydro has addressed this issue out in the field.

1. Test flame-retardant clothing in the field

   Before investing in flame-retardant clothing, we researched the market. We discovered there are two popular types of arc clothing: inherently flame-resistant and chemically induced flame-retardant. Barrie Hydro opted to go with the inherently flame-resistant material for clothing, because there was no degradation to the protection level as clothing is washed.

   During our test phase, we selected several employees from our line, metering and station departments to test the garments over a six-month period. We made our final selection based on the employees' comments on the fit and feel of the garments.

   We purchased the following flame-resistant clothing for our linemen: seven pairs of pants, seven long-sleeved shirts with pockets, two unlined jackets, one lined jacket, one lined coverall, two unlined coveralls, a fleece vest and two sweatshirts. To ensure arc protection in all situations, we also supply high-visibility flame-resistant rainwear, and our line staff receives Kevlar Nomex bucket harnesses.

   Because we have workers who are all different shapes and sizes, we asked our manufacturer to custom alter the garments to match our employees' dimensions. To further employee buy in, we embroidered all the garments with the Barrie Hydro logo. Also, we plan to have flame-resistant Canadian flags adhered to the left shoulder of the overgarments. By adding these extra touches, our linemen look professional, feel comfortable and take pride in their clothing.

2. Carefully maintain flame-resistant clothing

   Our linemen need to properly care for their flame-resistant clothing to ensure its longevity and effectiveness. Most of the clothing is cotton based and will shrink if exposed to high-intensity dryers. We have invested extra money in special laundering that is used by police and fire departments. We launder the linemen's outside garments such as their coveralls and jackets and give them washing directions on how to care for their personal protective equipment.

3. Take caution when repairing garments

   We've heard horror stories of companies using nylon thread or patches to fix flame-resistant clothing, which defeats the whole purpose of such clothing. The clothing manufacturer we chose makes all the repairs to the clothing using flame-resistant thread and cloth. If our vendor can't repair the item of clothing, then it replaces the garment.

4. Modify work practices

   In addition to investing in nearly $7000 of flame-resistant clothing for each field professional, we required linemen to change their work practices. We now require workers to maintain a distance of 6 ft, rather than 4 ft, from any device they're working on. We also are working with staff and manufacturers to adapt arc shields to our live-line tools and meter-pulling devices, as typically these are the areas with the highest arc-flash values and that require our staff to work closer than 6 ft to a device. In any area where we can't maintain 6 ft of clearance, we require our linemen to wear extra layers of flame-resistant clothing. We are currently working on operating policies and procedures for our staff to follow in these instances.

Safety is the No. 1 priority at our utility, and we value the safety of our employees. By investing in flame-resistant clothing and adjusting our work practices, we hope to lower the incidence of arc flashes and protect our workers.

John Hamilton is the operations manager of lines and stations for Barrie Hydro. jhamilton@barriehydro.com

Mike Mason is the lines administration supervisor at Barrie Hydro. mmason@barriehydro.com