Overview & Events

Project Description

“Safety by Design” is not a new concept. However, it has not been well known or widely used in the electric power industry. EPRI kicked off this work in 2019 with a workshop co-sponsored by FirstEnergy, and followed up with Phase 1 in 2020-2021, Phase 2 in 2022-2023 and now in phase 3 in 2024. Considerable “behind-the-scenes” work was completed by EPRI staff, along with significant additional growth of the number of collaborating utilities.

EPRI has successfully demonstrated its ability to meet the need for technical documents, training, and fostering a collaborative learning environment crucial for implementing SbD concepts on transmission lines and transmission and distribution (T&D) substations.

Research Value

EPRI’s work in this area intends to provide the following benefits:

  • Provide information, tools, and guidelines to help reduce accidents, injuries, and fatalities.
  • Raise the level of awareness and use of the Safety by Design concepts in T&D.
  • Improve safety and reliability by cultivating discussions to capture and share helpful practices from the field.
  • Allow for quicker and easier adoption of Safety by Design in T&D projects.
  • Leverage technology to better incorporate safety into designs.

FAQ

Isn’t this stuff common sense? Why do we need to talk about it?
Common sense isn’t always common practice. Like most safety-related programs and projects, each utility is at a different point in their “journey” for improvement. EPRI has found some utilities with a very robust culture that implements safety by design. Most have only an informal adaption of the concepts if they are aware of them at all.

Is this just a “flavor of the month” buzzword project?
Absolutely not! The concept has been around for decades and has been heavily used in the general construction industry. However, it hasn’t been widely adapted by the electric power industry, and there’s a lot of “low hanging fruit” to harvest just for starters.

Does “Safety by Design” infer that thing are “unsafe” now, or that they will be “100% safe” in the future?
Again, the answer is “no” to both of these ideas. Safety by Design is a way to keep raising the inherent safety of our equipment and sites by attempting to eliminate or substitute (i.e.: lower) hazards. Operating in the real world means there will always be risk and fallible people in the mix, and safety by design is one of many tools available to strive for better results. While human nature means we can’t achieve and maintain a perfect safety record, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be striving each day to improve and try to get there.