{"id":997,"date":"2010-06-10T07:09:04","date_gmt":"2010-06-10T11:09:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/?p=3928"},"modified":"2023-07-09T16:27:22","modified_gmt":"2023-07-09T20:27:22","slug":"protective-gear-and-worker-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/2010\/06\/protective-gear-and-worker-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"Protective gear and worker safety"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Safety at work is one of those things that is often overlooked for various reasons.  Sometimes we just get into a groove and are not thinking about it.  Other times, employers can put workers in a potentially dangerous situation by ignoring regulations or insisting employees do things contrary to common sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a broadcast engineer working in the field, safety can be a matter of life and death. \u00a0Transmitters, in particular, have a host of potential safety issues; high voltage, thermal burns, RF burns, revolving mechanical parts, and external things like lightning. \u00a0Transmitter sites themselves can be critter magnets, anything from bees to raccoons, bears, and even the two-legged kind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good general practices can go a great way in reducing injuries and downtime.  Take this young fellow here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"improperly
improperly attired worker attempting unsafe operation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

First of all, it appears he has gone to work in his pajamas, which is a no-no. \u00a0Secondly, he has the right idea, wearing safety goggles while undertaking the risky operation of cutting low-density polyethylene with a pair of hand shears, however, those look more like swim goggles. \u00a0They appear to be improperly donned. \u00a0He is using a right-handed shearing device with his left hand and the work area looks cluttered and unkempt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seriously, we are all responsible for ourselves. \u00a0While at work, it is important to use common sense. \u00a0I may be a wimp, but if I have a question on whether the breaker is on or off, I go check. \u00a0High-voltage power supplies offer no second chances. \u00a0Here is a list of things to be cognizant of while working at transmitter sites:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Weather.  If the transmitter got knocked off the air by lightning, wait till the storm is over to fix it.  It is still coupled to the tower, even if the backup transmitter is on the air.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Fall hazards.  OHSA<\/a> requires fall protection for any worker working at an elevation higher than 4 feet.  Fall protection can vary CFR 29 subpart E 1926 <\/a>has all the details.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Falling object hazards. \u00a0Tower works have been known to drop a wrench from time to time. \u00a0A hard hat should be required whenever climbers are on the tower. \u00a0Also, I watched ice shedding from a 1000-foot TV tower practically destroy a fuel delivery truck in a matter of minutes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. RF safety. \u00a0I require all tower climbers to wear personal RF alarms<\/a> when climbing on any tower that has RF radiators active. \u00a0Do not work in hot ATUs or Phasors. \u00a0ATUs and Phasors should have provisions to make all necessary measurements with protective covers in place and minimally exposed RF parts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Electrical safety. \u00a0Never work alone at a transmitter site. \u00a0Turn off breakers before opening transmitter doors, do not defeat interlocks, and always discharge high voltage with a ground stick. \u00a0Hang ground stick on HV power supply output. \u00a0Tag out breakers if in a separate room from the transmitter.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Critters. \u00a0Use bee spray on ATUs and other outdoor structures. \u00a0Be careful around wild animals, even mice, and mice droppings can spread disease, use hand cleaner after cleaning up mice nests. \u00a0Snakes love tuning houses, generator sheds or just about any building that is not inhabited.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Generators and backup power. \u00a0Generators pose several hazards; fuel and batteries can be explosion risks, revolving parts, thermal burns, and high voltage.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Access to the site. \u00a0In some areas where mountaintop transmitter sites are common, access during winter months can be tricky.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Much of this is common sense, remember, a radio station is a radio station, and there is only one you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Safety at work is one of those things that is often overlooked for various reasons.  Sometimes we just get into a groove and are not thinking about it.  Other times, employers can put workers in a potentially dangerous situation by ignoring regulations or insisting employees do things contrary to common sense. For a broadcast engineer … Continue reading Protective gear and worker safety<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[110],"class_list":["post-997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-safety"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=997"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12192,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/997\/revisions\/12192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.engineeringradio.us\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}