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Archives
 November 1999 Issue
Features
The Build: 1999 SCTE Safety Survey Results
Subhead
By Earl Bennett
The results are in for the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers' annual Safety Survey. SCTE's Safety Committee conducted the study to see what safety issues are hot within the cable telecommunications industry.
The typical company represented in the survey:
- Has a formal safety policy
- Provides formal safety training and certification
- Holds monthly safety meetings
- Experiences most of its lost time from slip-and-trip accidents
- Wants to know more about fall protection equipment and its use (Interestingly, no respondent listed falls from heights as the leading cause of lost time.)
- Believes SCTE provides and promotes good safety information
- Rates safety as being of the highest importance to its operation
Findings and meanings
This year's results indicate encouraging trends for our industry. It appears that most companies within the telecommunications industry see the value of safety. Most realize that basic safety training is important, and they also are looking for information on some of the new safety concerns that we will face as we build the telecommunications networks of the future.
The survey's mix of 60 respondents was fairly diverse, with the majority being management-level employees, which produced interesting results. More than half of the respondents believe in communicating the safety message through safety meetings, taking disciplinary action and conducting additional training. However, many employees or companies still do not see the benefit of communicating the safety message.
The responses also indicate that our industry needs to continue to "raise the bar" for safe work practices within all of the companies represented. Our greatest challenge continues to be putting safety on the same line of importance as meeting marketplace demands, introducing new technologies and expanding our industry's future profitability. Further, the SCTE needs to stay on the cutting edge of our industry by providing information about changes in safe work practices and procedures.
Lastly, the industry needs more safety professionals to get involved in making safe work procedures and practices known to our growing industry. Thus, Communications Technology extends an invitation to other safety professionals to write articles on some of the hot topics listed. By working together, we can do more than just provide access to the "information superhighway;" we can also make it a safe driving experience for all concerned.
The raw data
1) Does your company/location have a formal disciplinary policy for violating basic safe work practices?
Yes: 32
No: 18
Do not know: 10
2) Does your company/location provide safety training for any of the following safety issues?
Ladder Usage: 46
Personal protective equipment: 45
Pole climbing: 38
Aerial lift operation: 38
Fall protection: 37
Working near power: 35
Electrical: 32
Supervisory safety training: 24
Ergonomics: 18
Forklift usage: 16
Respiratory protection: 11
3) How often does your company/location have documented safety meetings?
Bi-weekly: 3
Weekly: 11
Bi-monthly: 7
Monthly: 26
Do not hold safety meetings: 13
4) Are your employees formally trained (documented or certificate-issued) on a new safety process when a potentially dangerous operation is introduced into the workplace?
Yes: 31
No: 16
Do not know: 13
5) Are your employees certified (attended a formal class, taken a written exam, practical testing) in, or is there any formal documentation collected for, any of the following safe work procedures?
Defensive driving: 33
Pole climbing: 31
Personal protective equipment usage: 29
First aid and CPR: 29
Fall protection: 26
Aerial lift truck safety: 24
Electrical safety: 21
Hazard communication: 20
Forklift operation and safety: 19
Working near power: 18
Bloodborne pathogens: 9
6) Which of the following accident types cause the most lost time at your operation?
Slips and trips: 33
Vehicle: 18
Falls from heights: 15
Material handling: 11
Forklift: 0
Electrical: 0
Do not know: 9
7) Of the following choices, on which safety topic would you like to see an article in CT?
Fall protection equipment and usage: 39
90 V practices: 36
Types of voltage detectors used: 26
Respiratory protection practices: 16
Tree trimming policy: 14
Forklift training practices: 6
Other: 10
(Performing safety training sessions, airborne contamination issues, manholes/vaults, unsafe customer and/or public contact, road hazard, customer premise safety, trenching operations, adverse weather ladder use, working around primary and secondary power lines, fiber-optic safety)
8) Do you believe the SCTE is doing enough to provide pertinent information about safe work practices within our industry?
Yes: 31
No: 16
Do not know: 13
9) Which of the following best describes your position within your operation?
Operations manager/director: 10
Technician: 9
Operations supervisor: 8
Line technician: 5
Plant manager: 5
Engineer: 4
System safety coordinator: 3
Safety manager: 3
Safety director: 2
Trainer: 2
Training manager: 2
Training director: 2
Installer: 1
Other: 6
10) On a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the highest importance and one being the lowest, rate how important safety is to your company's mission.
10 (Highest importance): 22
9: 5
8: 6
7 (Some importance): 11
6: 1
5: 3
4 (Less importance): 1
3: 6
2: 2
1 (Lowest importance): 3
Earl Bennett is chairman of the SCTE Safety Committee's Research Committee and director of training, safety and quality at ViaSource Communications, Inc. He may be reached via e-mail at .
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