Insight from the Trenches: Tom Langley

Safety issues can derail an entire restoration, because it could distract employees who will want to know if co-workers are ok and what happened. For this and similar reasons, proactive communication when safety is compromised is absolutely critical. At best, proactive communication can mean the difference between an efficient restoration and an inefficient one. At worst, it could mean the difference between life and death.

I experienced this first hand while serving as regional director for a large electric utility – a lineman was seriously injured during a thunderstorm restoration in Bridgeton, NJ. I also experienced the unfortunate reality of a fatality in Cape May, NJ. In both cases, proactive communication was delivered that provided the full details of each incident, which clearly helped employees stay focused on the task at hand.