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Take a Step Back

By Julie Mazur and Caroline Coppersmith | Jun 15, 2023
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Have you ever had computer trouble, only to be asked, “Did you turn it off and turn it back on again?”

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 It’s a relief—and a little bit annoying—when that solves the problem. The same goes for a Thanksgiving dinner where the turkey wasn’t cooking. Amid the holiday chaos, Caroline Coppersmith reports, someone walked into the kitchen, analyzed the problem with fresh eyes and asked, “Well, is the oven on?” Reader, it wasn’t. Twice.

In this issue, Chuck Kelly discusses how stepping back and exercising basic awareness around moving vehicles can prevent a leading cause of OSHA fatalities—struck-by incidents—on page 5. 

In the feature “Where There’s Smoke …” on page 12, Susan DeGrane delves into California’s more dramatic wildfire prevention measures such as electrical pole replacement, undergrounding and new safety committees for utilities. Tom O’Connor discusses how equipment checks, buffer zones and contingency planning can prevent wildfires caused by electrical infrastructure. Read his Safety Briefing on page 15.

We have several stories about the grids (both macro and micro) this month. In “Preparing for Planned Outages,” page 16, Katie Kuehner-Hebert gets into microgrids as a sustainable form of emergency backup power. On page 19, Gordon Feller updates us in “The Basics” on recent efforts to create new connections for offshore wind and macrogrids. For a historical bonus, check out the life story of the woman who can be credited for modern electrical grid calculations, Edith Clarke, on page 7. 

All this grid building will require fresh eyes and (many) new boots on the ground. Go to Susan Bloom’s “Building the Workforce of the Future” on page 2 to learn about an outside-the-box idea for addressing the labor shortage and expediting the apprenticeship process.

In “Demystifying Safety Clothing” on page 8, Jeff Gavin interviews safety experts on assessing the risk of arc flash and taking nothing for granted when dressing for the job. 

Getting some distance from the problem—whether it’s the oven, the glasses you can’t find (that are on top of your head) or the nation’s electrical grid—can allow you to see new solutions. Here’s to hoping this issue of LINE CONTRACTOR reminds us to take that step back once in awhile. 

About The Author

A woman, Julie Mazur, smiles at the camera. Image by Julie Mazur.

Julie Mazur

Managing Editor, Electrical Contractor magazine

Julie Mazur is the managing editor of ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR, Safety Leader and Line Contractor magazines. Before coming to ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR, she was an editor at Knight-Ridder/Tribune newspapers and the Los Angeles Times and taught English as a foreign language in Egypt and Japan. As managing editor, Julie oversees the whole publishing arc. She plans and assigns the stories for every issue, works with writers and designers and interacts with the printing plant. She has a mass communications B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. Go Bears!

Permanently retired from ziplining, Julie is an enthusiastic sports spectator and radio listener. She likes to read, exercise and cook.

Caroline Coppersmith headshot 2022

Caroline Coppersmith

Editorial Assistant
Caroline Coppersmith is an editorial assistant with ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR magazine. She studied English literature and is an experienced content writer and editor for online blogs, social media, and digital publications. Her duties at ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR magazine include scheduling and troubleshooting digital ads, compiling web analytics, setting up eblasts and corresponding with writers. She also collaborates with the terrific magazine staff to edit each issue of ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR and our supplement magazines, Safety Leader and Line Contractor. She is fueled by Dr. Pepper and everything bagels. Reach her at [email protected].

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