Last month I was regaling
you with true horror stories about accidents at the transmitter site. This month let’s try out a few ideas that
would prevent them.
Have you ever
noticed, when you have tower riggers at the transmitter site,
that they’ll barely get out of their truck without putting on their hard
hats? These people do this for a living,
and they don’t take safety for granted.
Hard hats are available practically everywhere, and they’re very
inexpensive. Get yourself one and wear
it whenever you’ve got people working on the tower.
I shouldn’t have to
mention that tower work is a specialized job and should be undertaken only by
professionals in that field. If the
height and the hazards don’t give you pause, the liabilities that your employer
incurs whenever you hop on a tower should prevent any attempt to do tower work
yourself. We’ve all met technicians that
think nothing of running up a tower to relamp it,
usually without adequate safety equipment or any knowledge of what they’re
doing. To repeat: the insurance issues
alone should prevent this from ever happening. These people don’t belong in our
industry.
When you take an
emergency field call, especially after hours, make sure that someone
knows where you’re going and how to reach you before you dash off into the
wilderness. It’s smart to keep a few
survival supplies in your vehicle, too.
A broken fan belt may be the only thing between you and a disabled
vehicle on a deserted road in the middle of nowhere.
Of course, my main
point last month was that the primary risk to life that we all face at
transmitter sites is electrocution from high voltage. If your transmitter has a shorting stick,
make ample use of it before reaching inside.
If there’s no shorting stick, get a big screwdriver and use it to short
possible energized points to ground.
While it would be very simple for me to make the blanket statement that
you should never ever operate a transmitter with interlocks defeated and the
doors open, the fact remains that we’ve all found it necessary occasionally to
look inside while it’s operating.
Sometimes this is the only way to troubleshoot a troublesome rig. But use extreme caution! Think hard about any alternative, safer
procedures that you could try instead.
Often you can contrive another, less exciting test that will give you
the information you need at less risk.
Step back and visualize what you’re planning to do, and what could go
wrong. Think about it thoroughly. Then think about it again! Take off
wristwatches and rings. Put one hand in
your pocket. And don’t go poking around
in the transmitter when the power’s connected!
Limit your adventure to observation only!
When dealing with
gutters and mains distribution panels, it’s entirely justifiable to refuse even
an inspection if the power cannot be disconnected. Many thoughtful, experienced technicians
share this view. On the other hand,
you’ll find many technicians that will not hesitate to reach inside a live
panel. Most of us fall somewhere in
between. My personal rule is to treat
this kind of situation similarly to the transmitter example above: avoid if at
all possible. Think about what you plan
to do, and what could go wrong if things don’t turn out as you expect. Think about it some more. If I can’t contrive a way around it, I might
proceed with extreme caution, and only with someone around to observe and
intervene. Often having someone around
with whom you can discuss the problem will prevent some of the sillier stunts from even being
attempted. If it’s just a matter of
getting some out of service time to shut down the panel, think seriously about
that. If it’s an emergency and needs
doing now, then maybe a short power interruption and off-air time are necessary
right now. At least, make sure you have
a hard hat and safety goggles. And if,
after considering it slowly and thoroughly you’re still scared thinking about
it, just don’t do it. Come back later
and do it safely!