Electrocutions are far too common in agricultural operations, and the push to complete harvest can sometimes cause us to do incomplete repairs or delay repairs that are needed to ensure safety. Here are a few considerations to protect ourselves and our employees:
- As you wrap up harvest season, make a detailed list of the electrical repairs that need to be made and arrange for those repairs to be completed—either by you if you have the experience or by a licensed contractor.
- Do a walk-around of all facilities and be sure that electrical boxes and connections are ready for ice, snow and other winter weather that is common in your area.
- Check pole-top connections for adequate insulation around split bolts and to ensure that there are no wear points that could lead to a short.
- Inspect all mounting connections at building entries and connection points to ensure that they are sturdy and can support the weight of wires covered with ice during high winds. It may not be convenient to do now, but it will be extremely unsafe to do it during an ice storm or blizzard.
- All electrical boxes need covers that keep out weather, cover exposed wires and protect you from electrocution.
- Check standby generators to ensure they are ready for winter outages.
As with all areas, it is easier and safest to do proactive, preventative maintenance than to do major repairs during bad weather or when equipment is needed. Those times are inconvenient, but they are also the situations where you are most likely to be injured making those repairs.
