A coroner's recommendations after an inquest into the death of an Alexandra lineman will be studied by the Electricity Engineers' Association to see if work practices can be made safer. Otago Southland coroner David Crerar's finding on the death of Roger Allan Steel, who was attached to a power pole which toppled over, were made public last week.
Mr Steel died at Millers Flat on December 9, 2010, after receiving an electrical shock and burns and then multiple severe injuries when the pole hit the ground. The Delta lineman was working on his own and the pole had been identified by other staff as being unstable, but it had not been ''red-tagged''.
The company was fined $75,000 in the Alexandra District Court in October 2011 after pleading guilty to a charge laid under the Health and Safety in Employment Act, of failing to take all practicable steps to ensure the safety of its employees while at work. Mr Crerar recommended line staff work in pairs. Employees working alone had no opportunity to ''peer review'' a thought process or a work practice, he said.
''Airline pilots work in pairs not because either has insufficient ability or experience, but to ensure that decision are joint and peer-reviewed,'' Mr Crerar said in his finding.
Electricity Engineers' Association president Bob Simpson said the association had circulated the finding to its members and its safety rules working group would also be looking at the report and making its own recommendations.
''What we want to achieve is a safer workplace; obviously we need to learn from this and there's certainly no intention of putting our head in the sand.''
It was usually a judgement call whether line staff worked on their own, he said.
''It's the same with electricians. Usually they don't come in pairs, but the same principles apply,'' Mr Simpson said.
Delta chief executive Grady Cameron told the Otago Daily Times the company would ''review the implications'' of lines staff working in pairs on site and consult the wider industry on the topic.
In common with other sectors, lines people did work alone in some situations, he said.
''We have already made enhancements to our work practices following an independent review [into Mr Steel's death] and those learnings have been shared with the wider electricity supply industry.''
