How to Stay Safe from Seeding to Harvest

Posted in: Safety | 0

With the growing season in Alberta only lasting between 160-185 days, farmers and agricultural workers have a huge amount of work to do in a small window of time, from seeding to harvest. This sense of urgency can lead to accidents, property damage and even fatalities if power line safety measures aren’t followed.

Know Where Power Lines are Located on Your Property

If contact with a power line doesn’t result in a devastating injury or a fatality, you could still face a hefty bill from the utility company to repair the damaged infrastructure and indefinite loss of electricity to your property and surrounding area.

Always be aware of where overhead and underground lines are located on your property. Contact Alberta One-Call to receive a thorough evaluation of where all of your underground utilities are located, and your local utility provider for information about overhead power lines and safe limits of approach.

Work at Safe Distances

Whether operating a combine or moving a ladder, always keep your equipment at least 7 metres away from overhead power lines and learn about Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) guidelines for safe limits of approach.

Transporting equipment on trailer or truck beds, raising and lowering the arms of seeders and sprayers, or working with conductive equipment such as ladders and tree trimmers are tasks that can easily result in a power line incident.

Even without coming into direct contact with an overhead power line, coming too close also puts you in harm’s way. Electricity can arc or “jump” from the line, energizing your equipment, the surrounding area and you.

Make Sure Everyone Knows the Rules

Make sure that everyone on your property is well-versed in the do’s and don’ts of power line safety. Workers, friends and family can all be put at risk if safety isn’t kept top of mind.

Original post: June 1, 2017    www.wherestheline.ca

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *