Occupational Health and Safety - Program 62

Transcription

1 Program Description Program Overview Workplace injuries affect employee health, quality of life, occupational productivity, and job satisfaction. Efforts to reduce the burden of injuries and illnesses, medical costs, and productivity losses, while helping to improve worker morale and workforce retention, are a critical part of electric power company operations. Within the electric power industry, typical risks may result from poor ergonomic design in equipment, misguided procedures, and long-term or repetitive exposure to various physical and chemical agents. Companies must develop strategies capable of protecting workers while meeting compliance with worker health and safety requirements for reliable, uninterrupted delivery of electricity to customers. Regulatory standard setting and rulemaking by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), as well as sister agencies in Canada and the European Union (EU), influence the amount of exposure monitoring, injury prevention and training programs, and engineering controls or best practice guidelines required within the electric sector. The Electric Power Research Institute s (EPRI) Occupational Health and Safety program provides scientific research needed to make informed decisions about control methods geared toward workplace injury and illness prevention. Products, tools, and design recommendations that emerge from this research help electric power companies maintain safer, healthier work environments and control labor-related costs. The research identifies injury and illness trends, develops cost-effective ergonomic interventions and designs, and addresses critical occupational exposure issues. The program serves as the foundation for occupational health and safety related work within the electric utility industry. Research Value This program provides the scientific research needed to make informed decisions concerning strategies for injury prevention, safety program targets, exposure controls, regulatory compliance, and intervention and training methods. Scientific research provides the basis for informed health and safety practices for both the current and anticipated future electric utility infrastructure. The program provides insight into future health and safety deliberations and an integrated approach for occupational planning in the electricity sector based on the integration of health, exposure, and surveillance data. Lost productivity and medical costs of occupational injuries significantly contribute to operational costs, reliability, and workforce retention within the electric power industry. If effectively integrated within the safety management systems of electric power companies, EPRI products and research results may contribute to the reduction of these effects. Approach This program delivers research, data, analyses, and expertise that help electric power companies effectively address occupational health and safety issues. The program transfers the knowledge through many avenues: Easy-to-read handbooks describing ergonomic interventions, best practices, and design guidelines Presentations to industry, the scientific community, and regulatory agencies Monthly webinar forums for discussions on recent safety research topics of interest to the sector Reports and peer-reviewed literature on toxic and potentially toxic workplace exposures that provide data for guideline setting by OSHA and for compliance with federal and state regulations Accomplishments The program provides timely, reliable, and comprehensive solutions to industry-specific research needs and offers practical implementation guidance. Program accomplishments include worker health and safety improvements through reduced workplace injuries (ergonomic solutions reduced strain and sprain injuries among power plant and line workers); 1

2 2 Electric Power Research Institute Portfolio 2014 a long-term, one-of-a-kind series of ergonomic handbooks identifying sector-specific worker tasks carrying risk of injury, followed up with recommendations, best practices, and design recommendations for injury prevention in generation, transmission, distribution and maintenance settings; detailed process guidelines for vehicle acquisition, maintenance, and design specifications for fleet vehicles in the electric power industry; analysis of industrial hygiene databases (chemical and physical exposures) available within the electric utility industry; and development of a cross-sector interest group for worker safety, to serve as a forum on discussion of current and future safety related research areas across EPRI, the sector, and the professional safety community. Current Year Activities Program R&D for 2014 will focus on expanding the use of the injury surveillance database; developing strategies for the economic evaluation of ergonomic interventions; continuing the characterization of occupational exposure to temperature extremes and noise; and initiating a comprehensive, industry-specific exposure database. Specific efforts include characterization of electric power industry specific work tasks involving exposures to high temperatures (outdoor/indoor), including the influence of personal protective equipment such as arc flash resistant clothing, via field observation and laboratory calorimetry assessment to provide the scientific basis for occupational guidelines; development of economic metrics for evaluation of injury and safety programs; integration of existing industrial hygiene exposure data from across the electric industry and expansion of the job exposure matrix to include physical, biological, and chemical exposures; industry-specific studies to inform future occupational risk guidelines for sulfur hexafluoride decomposition by-product exposures, for potential integration into substation safety programs; and better quantification and integration of task- and occupation-specific exposures to inform OSHA rulemaking and sector-specific occupational guidelines on noise, heat, trace metals, and other emerging exposures. Estimated 2014 Program Funding $2.0M Program Manager Sharan Campleman, , scampleman@epri.com

3 3 Electric Power Research Institute Portfolio 2014 Summary of Projects Project Number Project Title Description P Occupational Health and Safety Database EPRI's Occupational Health and Safety Database has provided information that electric companies use to monitor and control health care costs, improve health and safety programs, and reduce occupational illness and injury rates. The database is also the source of information used to identify health and safety research needs. P Ergonomics Research This project has developed ergonomic interventions and design guidelines that help reduce injuries in the electric power industry workforce. Results are described in easy-to-use handbooks and instructive DVDs. This project produced the first ergonomic power plant design handbook, a key reference for design engineers. EPRI ergonomics work was presented to OSH's National Advisory Committee on Ergonomics. EPRI continues to represent the electricity industry on the advisory council for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's National Occupational Research Agenda. P Occupational Exposure and Health Studies Research results have provided new data on exposure to crystalline silica, a known carcinogen that can also cause silicosis with prolonged exposure, in coal fly ash. These data may provide input to proposed new Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidelines for crystalline silica exposure. Recent work also provided an objective database on exposure to hexavalent chromium during welding, which could be used in complying with OSHA regulations. P Occupational Health and Safety Database (101907) Description This surveillance project produces the Occupational Health and Safety Database (OHSD), a unique source of detailed, comprehensive, standardized injury and illness rates and statistical analyses specifically for the electricity industry. This database serves as a baseline measure of injury occurrence for the sector, enabling consistent long-term analysis, benchmarking, and anchoring of leading safety and injury prevention indicators. The OHSD provides a linkage tool for analyzing the effectiveness of injury control, safety intervention strategies, and regulatory requirements around a given reference point (sector and individual company level). P Ergonomics Research (102993) Description A long-term series of field observation, laboratory, and engineering studies has characterized the role of ergonomic factors across work tasks, resulting in process recommendation and design remedies across the sector. This project continues to mature by analyzing the translation and relative success of this science within the sector, including helping identify methods for economic evaluation and effective application. These studies will continue to identify and feed back into the development of additional ergonomic research.

4 4 Electric Power Research Institute Portfolio 2014 P Occupational Exposure and Health Studies (055833) Description This research investigates relationships among injury and illness occurrence rates, lifestyle factors, and workplace exposures (e.g., heat stress, sulfur hexafluoride decomposition by-products, noise). Current issues of interest include exposure to both physical (temperature extremes and noise) and chemical (beryllium, welding fumes) agents. Development of a comprehensive, sector-specific exposure database continues in order to better inform workplace monitoring, thereby providing significant cost savings by pooling available industrial hygiene data from participating companies. Exposure characterization and epidemiologic research to address occupational and lifestyle factors potentially associated with injuries and illnesses, together with statistical analyses of existing occupational exposure and health information, provide further insight.

5 5 Electric Power Research Institute Portfolio 2014 Supplemental Projects Interest Group for Worker Safety Research Trends across Electric Power Generation and Delivery (073470) Background, Objectives, and New Learning As the electric power sector works toward improved safety performance, individual companies must manage proactive and responsive safety management systems. However, as inherent safety concerns across the generation, transmission and delivery of electricity require workers to confront a range of challenges. Individual companies must continually promote and manage programs, maintain and improve procedures and processes doing the same job better and more safely. Although existing industry forums exchange current best practices and methods, rarely do such discussions focus on safety-related research geared toward tasks, exposures and environments unique to electric utility. With the lack of commercially available ( off the shelf ) power sector specific safety programs and resources, individual companies are challenged to translate commercial programs and generic safety research to their business. Driven by a range of factors, including compliance, regulation, reliability and cost considerations, and the expectation of a safe work environment, companies need to create effective methods to establish and maintain safety programs. The programs, imbedded in an organizational culture, benefit both the worker and the company. Ultimately, the public benefits by avoiding indirect costs associated with safety failures and high injury rates. Project Approach and Summary Interest group members will guide discussion topics with organizing meetings, conference calls, webcasts, and other means of communication. EPRI will identify external safety experts and industry professionals to present on relevant topics. Potential general areas of interest to be discussed over an initial series of monthly webinars and a scoping forum include the following: Collaboratively Advance Industry Worker Safety Maintain an industry forum including facilitated discussions, presentations, and engagement with industry experts to exchange new ideas identify potential research topics. Identify emerging safety issues and discuss common safety challenges with an eye toward solutions. Understand Safety Priorities and Indicators Evaluate industry safety priorities and performance indicators through representative business cases and case studies (including successes and failures). Evaluate the utility of risk analysis or cost-benefit methodologies to sector-specific safety management. Describe Available Methods for Immediate Safety Improvements Organize and develop programs based on research outcomes and best practices, focused on improving worker safety performance on key indicators. Share or design specific methods to improve and measure worker practices and behavior-based safety failures. Identify Knowledge Gaps Requiring Safety Research, Technical Developments or New Management Tools Discussion will focus on research needs and best practices with potential to be developed into specific safety programs.

6 6 Electric Power Research Institute Portfolio 2014 Areas of potential group discussion, to help focus research and program development, may draw from external subject matter experts and include the following: Behavior-based Safety Strategies methods, training, monitoring, and evaluation Safety Concerns for Renewable Energy (solar, wind) expansion of traditional worker safety procedures, standard operating practices, and training Human performance and related factors metric identification, classification, and application Safety Training Program Development tools, best practices Linking outcomes from EPRI research with safety-focused programs Benefits The Interest Group for Worker Safety Research Trends goal is to provide a collaborative forum representing a cross-section of the electric power and safety industries. The electric power industry will benefit by engaging in discussions, sharing information with other safety professionals and developing common strategies for researching and improving worker safety. Regular meetings throughout the year via webcast, conference calls, and an annual workshop will provide numerous opportunities for the exchange of company safety performance information. Ultimately, the Interest Group for Worker Safety Research Trends creates business value by highlighting immediate technical improvements, training strategies, tools, performance measures, management and communication strategies, while also identifying areas for future improvement requiring longer-term research. In 2014, the interest group will focus on engaging interested individuals from both the electric power and safety industry sectors to highlight areas of immediate and future concern for maximizing and maintaining worker safety throughout the energy sector, and provide mutual benefits to society.