Contributor: Sturgeon Electric
As OSHA VPPPA members we are always striving for continuous safety improvement at Sturgeon Electric Company. We recognize Human and Organization Performance (HOP) is the future of construction health and safety and it has become a driving force in our safety training.
HOP focuses on understanding the human element of decision making and where errors are made.
Because it understands that human beings can make mistakes in judgement, particularly when under stress, HOP shifts attention to how people are placed in those situations. It focuses on providing them with skills and tools to identify and avoid those scenarios.
HOP also considers organizational policies and how they affect human performance and works to improve them to reduce conditions that lead to safety incidents.
Introducing the Energy Wheel: A Scientific Tool to Identify Hazards
In a HOP framework for safety, hazard recognition becomes the best way to combat incidents.
It is critical. Yet, research shows that workers in the field typically recognize less than half of the hazards present without proper training.
Dr. Matthew Hallowell of CU Boulder and executive director of the Construction Safety Research Alliance (CSRA) has conducted extensive research into hazard recognition methods and effectiveness on construction sites. In one of his studies, he sought to find out how many of all potential hazards are typically recognized in the field. Hallowell and the CSRA’s research have challenged safety philosophy and led the development of new ways to improve workplace safety – especially in construction.
Through 4,800 hours of worker observation, he discovered that about 45 percent of hazards were readily identified on the job. But that still left more than half unrecognized.
Hallowell conducted additional neuroscience research into why certain types of hazards were readily spotted while others weren’t.
From there he was able to develop a scientifically-based tool, the energy wheel, which field studies showed can improve hazard recognition by about 30 percent.
The energy wheel aids in hazard recognition by breaking down ten types of energy: Gravity, Motion, Mechanical, Electrical, Pressure, Sound, Radiation, Biological, Chemical, Temperature.
In Hallowell’s words, “Every injury is the result of some undesirable contact between a human being and an energy source.”
For example, street traffic and a digger derrick pose potential hazards caused by motion (the energy source). A crane or a lift presents hazards caused by gravity. Trenches, hydraulics and steampipes are just a few possible hazards caused by pressure.
Regardless of the type of construction being performed, the energy wheel can help your people identify more of the hazards in their work and mitigate them, reducing potential for injuries.
Best Practices for Energy Wheel Use in the Field
At Sturgeon Electric, we’ve shifted to HOP thinking, applying the framework to our safety trainings across the company. Because we understand the importance of hazard recognition to human performance adding energy wheel training to our safety programs was the logical next step. We include it in our daily job briefing documents for our crews to more effectively identify and discuss hazards each day and implement controls for those hazards. The more they identify, the more they mitigate and that will mean fewer injuries.
Here are some of the best practices we have developed by putting the energy wheel into practice across all of our divisions (Transmission and Distribution, Commercial and Industrial, and Transportation).
- Empower Your People with Proper Training
Begin with training. Empowering employees to work safer starts with teaching them what the energy wheel is and how it will help them identify more of the hazards in their work environment.
Make sure they understand the energy source itself is not the hazard, but “undesirable” contact with that source of energy. Working on a ladder presents hazards such as the potential to fall, or the potential to drop tools from the ladder. Gravity is the type of energy in those hazards, not the hazard itself. - Use the Energy Wheel in the Morning Huddle
Once employees are trained on the purpose of the energy wheel and how to use it, they should put it into practice on the job every day. We have found the best way to do this in the morning job briefing is to begin by having crew members identify all the instinctive hazards.
As an electrical construction company, the electrical hazards are always top of mind. Gravity hazards are also commonly spotted, but taking the time to stop and review the entire energy wheel helps our people recognize hazards they might have otherwise missed.
“After the energy wheel process has identified hazards not previously discussed, then we use the hierarchy of controls to mitigate these hazards,” explains Sturgeon Electric Regional Safety Manager Zachary Valdez. - Avoid Arguing Over the “Correct” Energy Category
While reviewing all the energy categories carefully employees will notice more hazards that were not recognized instinctively. One key in this step is not to get hung up on where the hazards belong. Hazard identification is what will improve safety, not perfect categorization. - Use the Energy Wheel Again in the Work Area
If your team moves to separate work areas after the morning huddle, like our crews commonly do, encourage them to review the categories again with their foremen. They will be more likely to spot the hazards in their designated work environment.
Since implementing energy wheel trainings and adding them to our daily safety processes, our field employees have confirmed that using the energy wheel in their daily processes is helping them recognize more hazards so they can be mitigated.
If your company is not using the energy wheel yet but wants to learn more about it, or the HOP safety philosophy, the CSRA website is a great resource with findings and tools available for anyone to download.
About Sturgeon Electric Company
Sturgeon Electric Company provides comprehensive electrical construction services and operates throughout the western U.S. and in Alaska. Both their T&D and C&I divisions have earned and maintained VPP STAR status for more than a decade. As a subsidiary of MYR Group, they have also been members of the Construction Safety Research Alliance since 2020.