1Q2022 Joint OSH Committee Minutes

First Quarter Occupational Safety and Health Meeting

April 8, 2022

Isa Shabazz – co chair

Daniel Bowling – co chair

Daniel Harper, Doug Reid, Tara Beekman - Company

Matthew Wood, Stanley Long, Bubba Shewalter – CWA

Opening Comments

Welcome to new members, Doug and Tara.

Stanley Long – running into an issue with Rubber gloves and blankets. Taking them off the trucks. Rubber gloves. Running from department to department. Supply issue?

Doug – OSHA fines us with expired gloves ($6000 fine). Encourage them to order them 2 months in advance. Encourage the managers to order them ahead of time. Order them the two months in advance, 2 weeks escalate them. Opened it up to another company, when American standard can’t meet what we need, can get them from another company. Waited until the last day to get them ordered.

Stanley – managers should know if they’re doing their inspections.

Doug – some of the managers in NC helped get some from C&E.

Stanley – working well together. Took it off the truck. In bucket without a rubber blanket.

Doug – shouldn’t be a problem, but it has been.

Stanley – redesigned hand hole hooks, working with Lisa Bennett. Come out with a new hook, two little balls on it. Sending them to somebody. Bigger hand holes, tech goes to lift it, not lifting with the legs. Holes are in towards the center, back then legs. Sent up, checked, look at something with them. Welded balls on the end of it. Bothers me. Hand hole hook, never broke. New design to lift with the back. Breaks off the end. Hook location is further in towards the center of the hand hole.

Daniel – check in with Lisa.

Stanley – getting safety alerts in a timely manner. Counter parts as presidents. SE CFO, update coming every time there Is an accident in the area. Wanting a way to get updates, instead of hearing it from the grapevine. BSW, didn’t find out until 2 days later. Like to be updated quickly.

Daniel – circle back around.

Dee – safety flashes come out to the network managers, share it with the teams. Stopped putting the names, personal information being excluded. Those could be sent out, used to send to the presidents. Give email list, send them out. Tells them what the flash was. Possibly be something we could get updated, share that with them.

Stanley – metro Atlanta, Ed doesn’t get them.

Doug – process for the notifications to go out, maintenance center know, draw a square to alert those in the square. Manager has to call them and dispatch center would let them know.

Stanley – alright that’ll work for me.

Stanley – sent out with a technician, hadn’t been to training. Senior tech told him to do something, got hurt. Until you went through safety training, you didn’t get to go out.

Doug – in CFO, they go to orientation on Friday, then start training on Monday.

Dee – the process is usually they try to get them through to school. New curriculum, new hands on training. She hired a manager that is doing the hands on training. Working hand in hand with TU to do that. Some of them have been back logged. Go into the field, having them go into the field, won’t be in the field as much. Observing until the go to school. Conversations with the organization. Nature of it. Keep that from ever happening, re-looked at. Been like that for awhile. Go out there and watch, wasn’t supposed to touch, observe. That was the case, being told by the MO to do something, ended up getting hurt.

Stanley – conversations with Lisa. Construction looking at revamping the schools. Lisa the most dependable for me. She said when they’re in line school, make them understand that they’re going to put risers on the back of pole. Throw his hand on the back of the pole. Stanley to get with her.

Daniel – CDL issue update.

Stanley – checking into the licenses.

Isa – came from Montgomery AL, local president out of Montgomery, he was in a class, OSHA standard was you have to 6 feet working aloft, fall restraint. ATT policy was 4 feet. If we are working what should we do. Probably call the supervisor, might tell you good luck with that. Don’t understand the logic. Cones aren’t going to help you from falling.

Doug – may be some misunderstanding. Classes put together because of the new rules. Still had DTV when we put the training together. Training for fixed ladders. If you have a ladder, fixed ladder, over 24 feet long have to have fall protection. Deep neck manholes, not 24 feet. Working over 4 feet, doesn’t go for a frame/extension ladders. Less than 24 feet, built before 2018, not required to have fall protection. 2036 deadline on it. Probably means we’re going to put that out there. Less than 24 feet on a fixed ladder, doesn’t have fall protection, built before 2018. Probably not any new CEVs. Anchor point dependent. Falls in CEVs, doesn’t seem to be an issue. Any falls from CEV ladders.

Isa – what’s the plan going forward to get these ladders retrofitted?

Doug – red ladder strap is a good example. Right now, enter them safely. Abide by the OSHA rules. Get some feedback from the corporate guys, is working on fall protection.

Stanley – deep neck manholes in GA, how do we handle those?

Doug – fall restraint, there is a tri-pod. That can be deployed.

Daniel – follow up with the technician that brought the issue. Issue with managers using the leased vehicles without magnets, using personal cars.

Isa – rental cars, leased cars, using them as an I got you. Technicians see a car coming up, going to be leery, nervous, scared, besides the I got you moment.

Doug – manager has a leased vehicle in East TN and KY. Only instance I know of. He doesn’t use it to sneak up on people, just the vehicle he has.

Isa – have to find out, same guy, figure out what’s going on. See white car coming up, magnets will be on the side, they know or don’t know, change their behavior or whatever. Magnets should be put on there. If they forgot. Aint got them its another story. Find out if it’s still going on.

Tara – followed up with CRE. Put some new traffic cones in the area and alert the technicians of the alternate route to get into the CO.

Isa – thanks for that follow up.

Daniel – any other items for discussion? Appreciate the team bringing items to discuss and the partnership to try and resolve the issues. Have a great weekend.

Isa – agree, echo the comments, appreciate the focus on keeping everyone safe.