|
 |
| Overhead and Underground Safety Practices |
|
| Review these tips with coworkers at your tailgate or toolbox meetings before work begins to help avoid potential hazards when working near overhead and underground utility lines. |
| Order our FREE worker safety kit on the Ameren Illinois e-SMARTworkers website. |
|
|
|
|
| Look Out for Overhead Power Lines |
| • |
Survey your job site every day to find overhead power lines, poles and guy wires, and point them out to coworkers. Be alert for lines that may be masked by foliage or otherwise blocked from view. |
|
| • |
Consider all overhead power lines to be energized and potentially dangerous, including the service lines that run from utility poles to buildings. |
|
| • |
Mark a safety boundary to keep workers, tools and equipment a safe distance away—at least 10 feet—from power lines up to 50 kV. Higher voltages require greater distances. For specific requirements, consult osha.gov. |
| • |
If you must work closer than regulations allow, contact Ameren Illinois at 800.755.5000 well in advance so that safety arrangements can be made. |
| • |
Designate a spotter whose only job is to make sure you maintain the mandatory safety clearances between your equipment and overhead power lines. |
|
|
| Dig Safely |
| • |
Notify JULIE at 811 before you dig or move earth in any way—even for small or shallow jobs. This free service will arrange to have underground utility lines marked so that you can dig a safe distance away from them. |
| • |
Dial 811 or use the JULIE online ticket-entry system at illinois1call.com. Then wait the required time for facility owners to mark their lines. |
|
| |
◦ |
In Illinois, wait at least two days, not including the day of notice, weekends and legal holidays. |
|
| • |
Pre-mark the boundaries of your proposed dig area with white paint, flags, chalk, lath or whispers before you notify 811. (Use black when snow is on the ground.) |
|
| • |
Hand dig or use other soft excavation methods within the tolerance zone to carefully expose marked utilities and verify their precise location and depth. In Illinois, the tolerance zone is 18 inches from either indicated outside edge of a marked utility line. |
|
| • |
Call Ameren Illinois at 1.800.755.5000 immediately to report any contact with an underground natural gas or electric line. If gas is escaping, the law requires you to call 911. |
|
|
| Always contact your state 811 center before digging and for the most current requirements. |
| Would You Like to Know More? |
| Additional utility safety tips, case studies, instructional videos and educational tools can all be found, at no charge to you, on the Ameren Illinois e-SMARTworkers website. |
|
