Frontline Worker Security Archives

The Storm Work Security Conundrum

Written by Curtis Marquardt on June 29, 2024. Posted in Frontline Worker Security.

Interview with Dan Stemp and Alex Wakeland As storm restoration work becomes more frequent, so do the challenges of verifying that the workers that flock to the disaster areas are qualified to do the work as well as meet background checks and security verifications they need. We talked with Dan Stemp, the chief customer officer at JNCTN, a New Zealand-based company that is hoping to bring a solution to the U.S. market that will not only empower utilities to verify workers but also give the workers ownership of that information. Included in the discussion is Alex Wakeland, a journeyman lineman...

Key Situational Awareness & Response Strategies Your Frontline Workers Need to Stay Secure

Written by Charles Keeling, CUSP on June 23, 2024. Posted in Frontline Worker Security.

As the world and society become increasingly aggressive and complex, it’s important to know how to spot and respond to dangers in public spaces and act in ways that reduce the likelihood of violence As we see more criminal and aggressive incidents committed against utility workers, it’s important that your frontline workers be equipped with training that helps them act in ways that reduces their risk. Personal attacks on utility employees often happen unexpectedly and are preceded by a variety of customer threats—whether verbal, physical, using animals to intimidate, displaying weapons and...

Rethinking Utility Security for Field Workers

Written by Jim Willis, CMAS, CHS-V on April 22, 2024. Posted in Frontline Worker Security.

The names Nathan Baker, Zackary Randalls, Alex Boschert and William Froelich may not be familiar to you, but their stories are tragically important for utility workers. Nathan worked for East Mississippi Electric Power Association in Clarke County, Mississippi. Zackary was employed by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) in Fresno, California. And Alex and William worked for Laclede Gas Co. (LGC) near St. Louis. Except for Alex and William, who were employed by the same company, there is no evidence that these men knew each other or their paths ever crossed, so what thread binds them together?...

The Safety and Security Paradox

Written by Jim Willis, CMAS, CHS-V on February 29, 2024. Posted in Frontline Worker Security.

In this inaugural issue of Utility Security magazine, I felt the best place to start this column was with a foundational understanding from which we can build later. Let’s begin with a discussion of the paradox between safety and security. Many people see safety and security through the same lens and use the words interchangeably, but that’s a mistake. They’re different in concept and application. The terms themselves are paradoxical; they’re both ambiguous in concept and, at the same time, laser-focused in application. Let’s look closer at safety to see just how ambiguous the two terms are....