To protect its field workforce, Vernon Electric Cooperative makes safety a top priority. Each month, the cooperative provides day-long safety training to its line crews. For example, last summer, the crews practiced rescuing unconscious linemen from the top of a power pole and from a raised bucket. After a training session at the cooperative’s headquarters in Westby, Wisconsin, last July, the linemen climbed a pole using their full fall protection.
Since last summer, the company has invested in new harnesses for its linemen to comply with the OSHA fall protection guidelines.