SAFETY IS THE TOP PRIORITY

At Lorain-Medina Rural Electric Cooperative, we believe in a culture of Safety First. Safety is one of our core values, and is part of everything we do. Lineworkers train year-round for restoring power, but also train to respond to all kinds of emergencies.

Our lineworkers take part each year in pole-top rescue training, which simulates a scenario in which a lineworker is injured at the top of a pole and must be saved by co-workers. While all lineworkers hope this is a skill they will never need in the real world, they know that practicing this and other safety drills means they are ready for any possibility they might face.

Dressing the part is just as crucial for continued safety as the extensive training. Lineworkers can wear or carry up to 50 pounds of safety gear while on the job. This includes everything from hard hats, flameresistant clothing, and insulated rubber gloves with protectors to safety harnesses, tool belts and pouches, steel-toed work boots, and gaff climbers.

LMRE lineworkers also utilize hot sticks – extendable tools made of high-voltagetested fiberglass – that allow them to work with energized lines from a safe distance and line hoses made of rubber to cover any power lines they may be working closely around. Rubber blankets are also used as further protection on larger, harder-to-cover areas at a work site.

In 2018, LMRE operations staff and key cooperative leaders voluntarily signed the Commitment to Zero Contacts pledge, a program introduced by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) to create a strong culture of safety in the workplace.

Today, our employees continue to follow that pledge, following procedures that keep themselves and their coworkers safe while on the job, speaking up when something seems unsafe or hazardous, and slowing down to perform effective job planning on all assignments before any work begins.

The co-op takes the responsibility of protecting our lineworkers just as seriously as they take the responsibility of looking out for one another, and we’re proud of the dedication to safety in the workplace shown by all. Sending our lineworkers home to their families every night is the greatest reward.