 Doing utility inspections comes with a broad range of possible safety hazards. When you are moving from pole to pole across varying terrain types, you just never know what you may run into. There are the obvious safety hazards such as working around energized power lines and equipment or working in areas with a lot of vehicle traffic, but there are also a number of more subtle hazards such as crossing barbed wire fences or preventing tick-borne illnesses. With such a broad range of possible hazards, it is especially important to have a stringent safety program to address some of these hazards and create awareness among employees.
How has Lee Inspection tackled this challenge? The root of our safety program starts with proper employee training. In addition to the technical inspection training that our new employees receive, they also undergo stringent safety training. Some of the initial safety training topics include:
An employee’s first few months are spent under the direct supervision of one of our experienced project managers. During this time, they learn about best practices and the type of hazards to look out for. But our safety program does not stop after initial new-hire training. Each month we have a company-wide conference call with a featured safety topic. This gives us the ability to highlight a new safety hazard each month and talk about how to lessen the risks associated with these hazards. This program is headed by our safety manager, David Smith. David carefully selects topics and gives detailed instructions on how to best mitigate safety issues. We believe that this continued education is a great tool to help our employees be more mindful of safety. Employees are also encouraged to submit observed hazards to help us decide which topics to choose. Unfortunately, even with a stringent safety program in place, sometimes accidents still occur. Whenever an accident happens, it is carefully investigated to determine the root cause, other contributing factors, and what could have been done differently. We try our best to learn from each incident and decide what additional training or equipment may be needed to help mitigate those risks. Our number one goal is to make sure that each employee makes it home safely each night. We make every effort to equip each employee with the training and equipment that is necessary to do this. Although we have seen great improvements in our safety program in recent years, we are constantly expanding upon what we do to keep our employees safe. By working together as a team, creating awareness of hazards, and supplying employees with what they need, we hope to create the safest work environment possible!
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 One crucial skill that each utility worker has to learn is maintaining good relations with landowners who have utility assets on their property. Many of the assets that we inspect are located on private property. Utility providers and their contractors do have a right to perform system maintenance on electrical right of ways, but it is important that they do their part to be courteous and respectful of property owners; however, it is equally important that landowners do not act aggressively or hostile toward the workers trying to keep their power on.
When you are moving down the power lines, you encounter a lot of different people. Many times, these people do not know who you are or what you are doing on their property. As you can imagine, our presence alone may raise the eyebrows of some landowners. Especially since many times poles or other assets may be located close to the house or possibly in a back yard. We train our employees to knock on doors and let the landowners know who we are contracting for and what we are doing. Most of the time, these interactions are pleasant and we are able to complete our inspections without a problem. However, there are times where we are met with extreme aggression, threats, or in some instances we have even been met with violent behavior. I think that both parties in the situation above have a responsibility to treat each other with courtesy and respect. I understand that in today’s day and age, landowners cannot be too careful and that you can not blindly trust everyone who may enter your property. I think it should also be understood that most utility workers are just trying to do their job and make sure that the utility infrastructure is in good shape. So how can both parties work together to improve relations? At Lee Inspection, we try to accomplish this through the following: Communication – We try our best to communicate clearly and effectively with the landowners. A lot of the time, this means knocking on doors when we need to inspect something close to or behind a home. It may be as simple as saying, “Hi, we are contracted by *insert utility* to inspect the power poles.” We may also ask the best way to access certain assets or if we can drive our vehicles on the property. A lot of times, taking just a few minutes to do this can make a huge difference with the temperament of the landowner. Being Highly Visible – We never try to sneak up on anyone. Our employees are required to wear high visibility colors with our company logo on them. All of our vehicles are equipped with flashing safety lights and company logos marked with “utility inspection”. We carry company ID badges, and try to approach homes from the road when possible. We want the landowner to know that we are there as soon as possible. Respecting customer property – We make our best efforts to leave each property as we find it. This includes securing gates as they were found, taking special care to not leave ruts and to minimize damage to landscaping or other property. We also try to pay close attention to posted signs, beware of dog signs etc. Following landowner request – At the end of the day, if the landowner does not want us on the property, we will leave, no questions asked. We never argue with landowners and try to remain calm and courteous at all times. What can landowners do to help? Pay close attention to announcements from your utility provider – A lot of times, a utility will put out a notice to its customers that there will be utility work going on in their area. This may come in the form of a letter, an automated call, or social media posts. Be sure to pay close attention to these types of messages, as what they are telling you may be important. Let your utility provider know if special arrangements need to be made to access your property If you wish to be notified before utility workers access your property or if other special arrangements need to be made, be sure to let your utility provider know this! Many utilities will note cases like this or even put it on to their map. Utilities are not required to give you advance notice before entering your property, and sometimes it is not possible, but many utilities will make note of these instances or even put them on their map. Make sure to have signs posted on your property if you have an aggressive dog or other hazardous situation – with most utilities serving tens of thousands of customers or more, there is no way for them to keep track of the exact details of every property. Make sure you have “beware of dog” signs posted if you have a dog that you think may bite a utility worker. Never act aggressively toward utility workers - Most utility workers are just trying to do their job and go home at the end of the day. If they are on your property, there is usually a good reason for it. When utility workers are immediately met with aggression, it can make it difficult for us to do our job effectively and keep your power on. It is unnecessary to act aggressively or to make threats of violence toward a utility worker. If you do not want them on your property, simply say so. Also weapons should never be pointed at a utility worker! Doing this may not only get your power shut off, but it may also be illegal. I believe that utility providers and contractors can work together with landowners to ensure safe and pleasant interactions with each other! Doing so helps make sure that both customer satisfaction and public safety are achieved today and for years to come!  I would like to take some time to introduce myself and our company. My name is Ben Lee, and I serve as company president for Lee Inspection & Consulting Services. For my entire life, I have been around the utility pole business. I grew up surrounded with the family business that was started by my grandfather, father, and uncle. When I was a kid, occasionally I would get the special treat of going to work with my dad, and I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. Still the memories remain of riding shotgun in his four-wheel-drive truck throughout rural Missouri and Oklahoma roads checking poles. He would have me do things like carry his Garmin GPS unit or put the treated wooden plugs in holes that he had just bored. Although I was not doing much, I still remember how proud it made me feel.
Fast forward to when I was sixteen, I began working through the summer months checking poles. Those couple of summers when I was still in high school taught me a lot about hard work. Under the supervision of our supervisors, I learned to properly do sound and bore inspections, and I started to learn about the RUS & REA specifications and assembly codes. My favorite part of the inspection work quickly became being in a new place and seeing new things each day. When you are following the power line from point A to point Z, you get to see some cool places and meet some interesting people along the way. After graduating high school, I continued with the inspection work. I began to really hone in my inspection skills, learning as much as I could. I had a great time traveling throughout the country doing the work that I loved. I began to gain more confidence in what I was doing and soon began to supervise my own projects. I continued with this work for about 3 more years before taking a year off to earn a certificate in geographic information science or GIS for short. I used what I learned in my GIS courses to greatly advance how we were collecting our data and the types of deliverables that we could offer our customers. I split my time between the field and the office for the next few years, until moving full time into the office in 2019 and eventually taking over the role of company president in 2023. Since transitioning to the office, my focus has shifted into the administrative roles of our business and to improving what we are doing as a company. I work closely with our customers to identify their needs and how we can best serve them. Since taking on this new role, I have also worked tirelessly to improve our training and safety programs and expanding our quality control efforts. I am very thankful that we employ a great staff that is very professional and good at what they do. None of what we do as a company would be possible without them. It is interesting to me how much the technology surrounding the inspection business has changed throughout the years since I was just a kid riding along with my dad. Our data collection has moved from paper notes and photos from the first digital cameras sporting a 3x5 floppy disk, to advanced mapping programs on iPads with high-tech GPS devices. We have gone from mailing or faxing inspection results to customers to weekly digital data submissions. Still, much of what we do is rooted in the generations of knowledge surrounding wood products throughout their entire life cycle. I look forward to seeing how technology continues to evolve around the inspection business with technology such as drones, AI capable technology, advanced inspection devices, etc. My goal is to continue implementing the latest technology to improve upon what we are doing, while maintaining the basic fundamentals that we have learned throughout the years. One of my main goals is to uphold our company slogan of “The Brand of Assured Quality” and offer the highest quality inspections and GIS data possible. Throughout the years, we have seen continual growth as a company, and I think this is a testament of the work that we perform. I wish that my grandfather and uncle were here today to see what the business they started has become. I am honored to be able to continue their legacy as the next generation of Lee Inspection. At Lee Inspection, we offer a valuable service to utility providers that can greatly improve their electric distribution system’s reliability. We are very good at what we do, and we are continually learning and improving. If you have a need for inspections or GIS services, reach out to us today to see how we can help! |
