With the growing emergence of high-tech wearables and other advanced personal protective equipment, electricians and lineworkers can work more safely than ever.

An extra layer of protection

One product is Proxxi, a wearable wristband designed to protect workers and warn them prior to contact with energized gear, said Campbell Macdonald, co-founder and CEO of Proxxi Technology Corp., Vancouver, British Columbia.

The Proxxi wristband is designed to warn workers prior to making contact with energized gear.

“At its heart, it’s a capacitive sensor that measures the strength of the electric field, which is present whenever there’s AC voltage,” Macdonald said. “We interpret the strength of that field and have trigger warnings that warn workers at a safe distance before they come into the system.”

The Proxxi wristband further minimizes injuries because it complements existing electrical safety procedures described in NFPA 70E, he said. Workers continue to isolate energized gear prior to working on it, and they verify de-energization either through contact sensors or other solutions. But they leverage Proxxi after that to ensure there’s no change to the system if the gear becomes accidentally re-energized, or if they make an error, such as leaving a work site and coming back and working on different gear, like the wrong panel.

“Proxxi is also beneficial after de-energizing just in case there’s backfeed or faulty grounding or where there’s even just undocumented work. The gear that they’ve tested that they thought was energized is fine, but there is other gear that’s nearby or in the same panel that is energized because of undocumented work,” Macdonald said.

The wristband also collects and stores up to a month’s worth of data, he said. Whenever the wristband is connected to one of Proxxi’s mobile apps—either the Proxxi hub or the individual user app—the company gathers that data and feeds it to its back-end analytics to gain insight on how to improve safety on the job.

“A majority of the time, one main root cause comes down to unintentional human error ... the human element allowed for contact to be made with the energized source.”
—Travis Keeney

“This can be used to help identify when workers are interacting with energized gear, to identify risky situations that require job site remediation, potentially job redesign or simply training for the individual if they are not using the wristband or are using it incorrectly,” Macdonald said.

Tri-City Electric Co., Davenport, Iowa, provides Proxxi wristbands to its workers to minimize one of the industry’s greatest risk exposures: the potential for accidental contact with energized electrical sources, said Travis Keeney, vice president of risk management.

“A majority of the time, one main root cause comes down to unintentional human error,” Keeney said. “Whether the process broke down, the absence of voltage was not verified, an assumption was made, or any other reason, the human element allowed for contact to be made with the energized source.”

Other root causes such as unknown backfeeds, complex systems or training deficiencies have also led to unintentional contact events, he said. This led Tri-City Electric to look to safety technology for a solution that could provide a “last line of defense” should all else fail.

Since implementing the Proxxi wristband with the personal voltage detector, Tri-City Electric has seen great success with the new technology, Keeney said.

Instances have occurred where a worker was unaware or not expecting voltage to be present and was alerted by the device, he said. Upon further investigation, it was discovered where the voltage was coming from and why it was present. Without the presence of the device, contact may have been made with the source, resulting in a severe injury or fatal event. 

“The PVD technology has allowed Tri-City to mitigate a huge risk exposure in the industry through use of the device,” Keeney said. “Workers have seen the value it brings and how it contributes to elevating worker safety to help achieve that ultimate goal of every person returning home safely each and every day.”

Tri-City Electric continues to research new technology—including advancements in artificial intelligence—and evaluate the benefit such technologies may bring to improving safety on the job site, he said.

Never alone

Manufacturers such as Lantronix Inc., Irvine, Calif.; RealWear Inc., Vancouver, Wash.; and Excellent WebWorld, headquartered in India with an office in Lakeville, Minn., now make wearables that are either part of the hard hat or inserted into one. 

These wearables can monitor temperature, location and even falls, said Monica Rakoczy, owner of EnterTraining Solutions LLC in Lancaster, Pa.

“In the electrical industry, there are so many lone-person-working scenarios, and so the ability to detect if something goes wrong and then have the GPS coordinates where the worker is just miles from where we were 10 years ago,” Rakoczy said. “Some of these wearables have cameras and communication systems so the worker and their supervisor can talk about what they’re looking at in real time.”

There is work being done to create smart boot technology, because it is completely out of the worker’s way, she said. The worker is already wearing the boots, so it doesn’t feel as intrusive as other wearables that some older workers aren’t comfortable with. Smart boots have GPS trackers and impact indicators to detect if a worker falls from a height. Moreover, workers can charge them just by walking.

“We talk a lot about technology-driven PPE, but sometimes it doesn’t have to be high-tech. It could be changes to tried and true that makes things better,” Rakoczy said. “For example, something as simple as the TickKey—an easy tool for workers to remove ticks in an easier manner without having to carry around tweezers.”

Moreover, some of the manufacturers of flame-resistant (FR) gear (such as GlenGuard) are now making the fabrics lighter and more breathable, without allowing it to become dangerous to the workers, she said. This is especially important for workers in hot and humid environments.

Another such manufacturer is Bulwark Protection based in Nashville, Tenn., said Derek Sang, Bulwark's senior technical training manager.

Terminology changes

In 2000, NFPA 70E established requirements for electricians and other industrial personnel to wear FR clothing when working on energized electrical equipment. In 2012, that standard evolved, replacing “flame-resistant” with “arc-rated” (AR) clothing to better align with the specific hazards of arc flash incidents.

Then, in 2014, OSHA mandated that lineworkers must wear FR and AR clothing equal to or greater than the estimated incident energy they may encounter in OSHA’s 1910.269 standard, he said.

“The primary hazard is clothing ignition caused by an arc flash,” Sang said. “When non-FR fabrics such as cotton or polycotton ignite, they are fuel, leading to severe burns or even fatalities. Preventing ignition is the key to protection, and we can achieve that by using flame-resistant fibers and fabrics.”

But that’s not all. Bulwark Protection ensures its fabrics meet the minimum requirements for thermal protection and incorporate features that make them comfortable and wearable.

“Our goal is simple: we want workers to want to wear our garments, not just have to,” Sang said. “If they want to wear them, they’re more likely to have them on when it matters most.”

Recent advancements in fiber technology have introduced moisture­-wicking components, allowing the manufacturer to blend natural fibers in ways that wick sweat away while maintaining arc protection, he said. 

This means garments can have a more breathable weave, improving air permeability and overall comfort.

“For workers exposed to excessive heat, lightweight FR fabrics do more than prevent ignition,” Sang said. “They support the body’s natural cooling process by pulling moisture away from the skin and allowing it to evaporate quickly. That cooling effect, combined with proper hydration, electrolyte balance and rest in shaded areas, helps mitigate the risks of heat stress.”

As worker expectations evolve, the demand for lighter, more comfortable and durable FR apparel continues to grow, he said. In response, Bulwark Protection developed its proprietary iQ Series, which is designed to meet those needs without compromising protection.

One piece of advice Sang always gives to contractors is to put the PPE to the test before making a purchasing decision, regardless of the manufacturer. 

“Marketing materials can only tell you so much,” he said. “A reputable supplier should be more than willing to conduct a well-structured wear trial so workers can evaluate the garments under real-world conditions. The best way to ensure you’re getting the right PPE is simple: try it on first.”

Research for the future

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is researching the effectiveness of several wearable technologies from an occupational safety and health perspective, said G. Scott Earnest, associate director for CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Office of Construction Safety and Health.

This includes exploring the use and value of exoskeletons to help prevent musculoskeletal conditions among workers performing strenuous and repetitive tasks, Earnest said. In addition, CDC researchers are exploring the use of wearables to address the exposure to heat stress in the workplace and the effect of fatigue.

“Electrocutions are preventable but still consistently rank as a leading cause of fatalities in the construction industry,” he said. “Wearable technology research increases understanding about workers’ exposure to specific stressors, hazards or conditions.”

Additionally, wearable technologies may provide an alert to the worker when an unsafe condition occurs, Earnest said. For example, some wearables detect electrical currents and provide early warning to prevent indoor electrical shocks and electrical current from passing through the body through gloves and boots.

For additional safety precautions, the CDC recommends that contractors take specific steps to prevent electrocution. Moreover, the agency’s hierarchy of controls identifies a preferred order of actions to best control hazardous workplace exposures.

“Using this hierarchy can lower worker exposures and reduce risk of illness or injury,” Earnest said.  

VectorMine/stock.adobe.com / bulwark