safety

Miller’s laser focus on safety — whether in an official capacity or “just speaking up when nobody else would speak up” — altered his career path. 

Culture of safety

Today, Miller’s nine-member safety team works in Ohio and West Virginia to coach, train, and support not only the 375 lineworkers employed by the co-ops, but all 1,500 cooperative employees in the state, with an aim to keep everyone safe. 

Electricity is truly remarkable. It’s everywhere — lighting up our homes, powering TVs and refrigerators, charging phones we rely on daily, and generally changing our lives in ways we almost take for granted. It feels like it’s always been here.

That’s not the case, of course. It’s worth remembering that, though electricity now runs almost every part of our routines, most homes and businesses in rural parts of the United States didn’t have electricity available to them until the mid-1930s.

Every year as winter fades, spring brings the promise of a refresh to our landscape. This year, spring also has brought several deadly tornadoes and strong storms, and Ohio’s electric cooperatives continue to assist in the rebuilding of devastated communities and pray for those who have suffered great loss.

Electricity runs (or can run) nearly everything in our lives. It’s such an integral part of our everyday lives, in fact, that we rarely even think about all the benefits that electric service brings to our homes and businesses every minute of every day. 

In the wee morning hours of Aug. 28, 2019, a line crew from Lancaster-based South Central Power Company was called to address a power hazard along State Route 73 near Hillsboro. An Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper guarded the zone while the crew established a new traffic path for drivers, setting cones and putting caution lights in place. As the linemen were about to begin work, the trooper confirmed that the work site met construction zone safety standards and headed out.

When he retired from P&G, that safety mindset carried over as he started helping his son, Jason, on Jason’s farm. People tend to associate farms with peaceful fields, fresh air, and contented cows, but as all farmers know, agriculture can be a dangerous way to make a living — and a farm is a dangerous place to live.

Between eight and 12 people, on average, are killed on farms every year in Ohio. Thousands more sustain injuries. “I became aware of farm injuries locally, statewide, and nationally, and I thought we could make a difference,” Russ says.

As spring blooms across Ohio, we also prepare for the inevitable thunderstorms that accompany the season. This past winter, we’ve done more than ever to prepare for the storms, car accidents, and other events that cause lights to go out. The Central Ohio Lineworker Training (COLT) program has been busier than ever, taking advantage of the new indoor facility that we built last year to train both apprentice and journeyman lineworkers about safe and effective methods to repair, and enhance, our electric network.

Snow and ice storms can lead to downed power lines and outages. Remember the following tips to stay safe and warm should you find yourself in the dark after severe winter weather: