Case study: Electrical disaster recovery operations for a hospital

This case study will be a chronicle of events that were encountered through on site interactions with electrical workers, corporate managers and safety professionals at a large national hospital facility during an arc flash/blast incident in a utility vault that severely burned an experienced electrical worker, an experienced utility worker and a hospital maintenance director. The goal of this presentation is to communicate the specific accounts and challenges that allowed the incident to occur and the human failures from the site executives and safety professionals throughout the recovery process of the site. Many of the cultures that were exhibited during this project seem to plague many utilities, hospitals as well as general industry today, even with the heightened awareness on electrical safety and qualifications of workers. There were several key strategies employed by the site recovery personnel to counter the site hazards. The hazards included exposed conductors, poor equipment grounding, inclement weather, human factors, limited qualified recovery personnel, as well as the site management's limited knowledge about electrical safety, their electrical system and disaster preparedness. Key lessons were learned that should be communicated to safety professionals everywhere: 1. What are the challenges involved when working on a recovery project after an electrical disaster that affects two employers and pending legal action is likely? 2. How can the “Energized Work Plan” be used to get the attention of executives and safety professionals. 3. How is it possible, even after a traumatic near life loss incident at the hospital utility vault that the safety and maintenance culture of both employers involved in the incident have not changed?