Look up and live š
We recently were chatting with Glen Cook who was the incredible creator behind the life saving Look Up and Live app. read below to see what he is up to and what the app can help you and your organisation achieve!!
Look up and live, a notable quote when it comes to powerline safety all over the world.
It is easy to say but in practice it can be difficult for workers to see powerlines and recognise the danger.
"I knew that powerline was there, I just didnāt see it!ā I hear this phrase almost every day, from workers who have been extremely lucky to survive an accidental contact with overhead powerlines. Usually the machinery is not so lucky with tremendous damage to tyres, hydraulics and electrics of the vehicle.
Why?
Why do these incidents occur so regularly when the powerline infrastructure is so visible, and why donāt people see them? Have you ever missed seeing a cyclist when arriving at an intersection? Why didnāt you see them? Were you looking for vehicles or a cyclist? Despite what most people think our eyes do not work like a video camera capturing everything and sending that info to our brain. If you havenāt identified what you are looking for it can be easily overlooked and is known as āinattentional blindnessā. Inattentional blindness occurs when the brain is focused on a specific task, and the eyes and brain miss a fully visible hazard, such as powerlines. Try this āawareness testā video.
Adequate planning.
Letās talk about underground powerlines for a second. Underground powerlines are not visible but are damaged far less often, why is that? Itās because we cannot see them that we, then formulate a plan to work near them, by using planning tools such as One Call / 811 or Dial Before You Dig. Formulating a simple plan has identified the hazard and has significantly reduced to chance of accidental contact with the underground cable.
So, what happens for overhead powerlines? Well most businesses, generally rely on workers to see the powerlines and identify the hazard when they arrive onsite. This is when inattentional blindness comes in, blocking the fully visible powerline to the worker, until itās too late.