Feature Cabling & Cable Management Reducing the danger of cable strikes
Cognisco and Develop Training have partnered to develop a new approach to training cable operators in order improve the competence and safety of utilities workers
he UK utilities sector experiences more than 60,000 cable strikes every year, many of which result in serious injury and death. They also cost businesses millions of pounds in damages and compensation costs. Clearly, this is a very high number and that’s not taking into account the many cable strikes that go unreported. Many companies have invested heavily in technical training for operators and supervisors in order to address the prob- lem, yet accidents keep happening.
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Cable-Avoidance Evaluation Cognisco and Develop Training have partnered to develop a new approach to training cable operators - the ‘Cable- Avoidance Evaluation’. The Cable-Avoidance Evaluation is designed to help companies improve the competence, knowledge and atti- tudes of operatives and supervisors. The questions were created by Cognisco’s occupational psychologists in partnership with Develop Training and mapped against the ‘desired’ com- petencies of an ideal cable operative. Operatives and supervisors are evalu- ated through this online assessment and asked multiple response questions based on real life situations. Their knowledge, confidence and attitudes are tested in topics including pre-dig assessments, utility mapping, personal protective equipment, assessing exist- ing damage, checking and using equip- ment, interpreting cables and pipework, and methods of excavating. By measur- ing a combination of an employee’s skills, knowledge and confidence the results reveal what individuals know, how they apply their knowledge in their roles and how confident they are. Once the results have been gathered any skill gaps and potential risks can be pinpointed. For example, people with low knowledge but high confidence could pose a risk to themselves or others. Likewise, if a person has high knowledge but low confidence, how can a company be sure that he or she will be confident enough to make the right decision in a critical situation? Having insight into how people are likely to perform and behave enables a company to act quickly and provide tar- geted interventions to improve compe-
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Right: the European Union Sector Skills Council recently piloted the
Cable-Avoidance Evaluation among four utilities
companies which were its members
tence levels. This knowledge enables companies to actively manage their risks and reduce them.
This approach also improves training and ensures companies avoid a ‘one size fits all’ training model. The results identify specific skill gaps and training needs which can be addressed with a tailored development programme.
Pilot study
The European Union Sector Skills Council recently piloted the Cable- Avoidance Evaluation among four utili- ties companies which were its members. Cable operators and supervi- sors took the assessments and their knowledge, skills and confidence were measured across a series of subjects based on their job roles.
The aim of the assessment was to determine individual competence levels and to spot any knowledge gaps that might compromise their health and safety and place their company at risk. In terms of the results, the best employees will have a very low risk score, which means they have high understanding with high confidence in each area. The employees that pose the highest risk are those with poor understanding, but high confidence. The results of the pilot gave managers in-depth information about the knowl- edge, confidence and attitudes of their workers on each topic and their training needs. It also enabled them to recognise their star and poor performers, as well as those who place their organisation at risk - employees that need additional support or training or who might not be fit to practise.
The results not only looked at indi- vidual performance but how companies performed against each other and if
there were any commonalities in the results. The study highlighted common knowledge gaps in certain areas within all four companies. These included the way operatives check and use equip- ment, their knowledge of utility map- ping and their interpretation of cables and pipework. The results revealed that employees were at medium to high risk. In the categories focused on checking equipment and utility mapping, employees had the highest gap between understanding and confidence, a combi- nation that poses the highest risk. If employees are not checking equip- ment, whether through complacency or over confidence, this is clearly a risk. Equally, if they do not understand util- ity mapping and interpretation of cables and pipework, they are more likely to make an error or strike a cable.
Conclusion The Cable Avoidance Evaluation enables utilities companies to understand who their most competent workers are and those that might place themselves or their company at risk. Once identified, these employees can be given the essen- tial interventions needed, or even taken off the job until they have improved their competence levels and can demon- strate that they are fit to practise. The assessment helps companies understand the training and develop- ment needs of cable operators in order to raise individual and industry wide safety standards and improve employee behav- iour. In time, this may lead to a reduction in cable strikes - something the industry desperately needs and wants.
Cognisco
www.cognisco.com T: 01234 757 250
Enter 221 APRIL 2013 Electrical Engineering
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