Weathering the Storm

David Bates, Area Director, OSHAWilliam Young, Lead Safety Consultant, OG&E

Planning Phase

• Industry discussions were held prior years• Ice Storm / Tornado Events• Orientation is key for mutual assistance

contractors• Past fatalities investigated after weather

events

May 18, 2013

• Severe lightning and wind up to 100 mph

• 24,000 outages

• 21 transmission poles down on major street blocking businesses and trapping cars

May 19, 2013

• Tornadoes hit Edmond, Shawnee, Wellston, Carney and Norman

• I-40 blocked by downed transmission lines

• 8,000 outages

May 20, 2013

• EF5, mile-wide tornado hits south Oklahoma City and Moore

• Thousands of homes,businesses, and twoelementary schools destroyed

• 41,000 outages

• Crossroads Mall established as main staging site for OG&E and mutual assistance crews

• Mutual assistance crews and transmission crews arrive

• May 18th and 19th storm damage work completed

• OSHA begins interventions

May 21 - 23, 2013

May 31, 2013

• Widest tornado ever recorded at 2.6 miles travels 16 miles from El Reno through south Oklahoma City to Midwest City

• Widespread damage with 145,000 outages

• I-40 blocked by downed power lines

On-the-Ground

OSHA• Cooperative mode with

interventions and training from May 22 – June 19

• 12 of 18 Compliance safety and health officers (CSHO’s)

• Outreach / Cooperative staff assisted also

OG&E• May 18 – 20 storms

– 6 OGE teams– 1,132 personnel

• May 31 storms– 947 personnel

Daily Safety Briefings

• Conducted for all OG&E members, mutual assistance crews, and contractors

• Co-presented by OG&E and mutual assistance company safety professionals, FEMA, and OSHA

OSHA Experience in Other Events

• World Trade Center• Hurricane Katrina• Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill• Superstorm Sandy

• The effect on S&H can be much greater when OSHA is integrated into and functions as part of the Incident Command System

OSHA Interventions

• 64 different interventions in Edmond, Moore, Newcastle, and Oklahoma City

• Over 830 employees covered

• Quick Cards and Fact Sheets distributed

OSHA Interventions

OSHA Interventions

Hazards Observed

• PPE – eye, head, hand, foot, hearing, masks

• Fall protection• Work zone areas• Portable equipment• Portable generators• Heat stress• Sunburns• Hazardous chemicals in

debris (Asbestos, Lead)

FEMA Coordination

• Joint Federal Operations (JFO)• Interagency S&H Committee– FEMA, OSHA, OK DOL, OEM, Corps of Engineers,

City of Moore & OKC, Volunteer Organizations, Contractors, Small Business Administration

Safety Incidents

• Minimal number of incidents– Crane– Eye injury– Snakebite– Electrical contact

• OSHA in cooperative mode until June 19th

Future Events & Cooperative Efforts

• Enhance the orientation process• Possible joint crew visits with OG&E Health &

Safety and OSHA• Real-time information sharing via conference

calls• Develop S&H response tools for events more

difficult to access– Remote access areas– Ice storms

By-the-Numbers

• 217,597 outages• 1,347 poles destroyed• 1,452 crossarms destroyed• 481 transformers

destroyed• 189 transmission

structures destroyed• 1,200 OG&E members,

contractors, and mutual assistance crews

• 17 OSHA personnel• 64 interventions

covering 830 employees• 4 OSHA recordable

safety incidents• 24-hour logistics

operation• 1,100 meals three times

per day• 600 hotel rooms

THANK YOU