JOB HAZARD ANALYSIS
WORKING NEAR POWERLINES
Arc, contact, step potential. MAD is a wall. Guessing voltage is the incident.
- DOCUMENT
- GOSPEL-JHA-013
- REVISION
- 01 CURRENT
- EFFECTIVE
- 2026-09-01
- OWNER
- GOSPEL Safety
- APPROVED BY
- GOSPEL
- REVIEW
- 2027-09-01
THE JOB
Any lift where overhead or buried electrical lines exist or might. Method: GOSPEL-SWP-018. Distances: WorkSafeBC Table 19-1A, the same numbers BC Hydro publishes.
WHO IS EXPOSED
- Operator
- Rigger and tag-line hands
- Spotter on the line
- Anyone who can walk up to a crane in contact
A JHA names what can hurt someone and how that risk is controlled. It is not the procedure. Do the work to the matching SWP. WorkSafeBC does not prescribe a JHA form — the Workers Compensation Act s. 21(2)(b) requires workers to be made aware of known or reasonably foreseeable hazards. This is how GOSPEL does that for this job.
HAZARDS AND RISK
Task is the work being analysed — not a procedure to follow. Controls follow the hierarchy: eliminate, substitute, engineer, administer, PPE last. The badge is how bad this task going wrong is in this job. Extreme is the killer with no recovery. High is serious injury or a dropped load you still have a chance to stop. Moderate is lost time or a plan that failed. Low is first aid.
LOWMODERATEHIGHEXTREME
| TASK | HAZARD | RISK | CONTROL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Find the lines | Service drop, distribution or transmission missed on the drawing | HIGHContact or arc. Fatal. 14.52.1. | Look up. Look down. Ask the site. Do not trust a single drawing. |
| Name the voltage | Guessing kV. Treating transmission as distribution. | HIGHMAD too short. Arc across the gap you thought was enough. | BC Hydro Express Connect 1 877 520 1355. Unknown: 3 m distribution, 6 m transmission, until they verify. |
| Hold MAD | Boom, load or tag line inside Table 19-1A | EXTREMEArc or contact. Operator and ground crew both exposed. | 1 m under 750 V. 3 m to 75 kV. 4.5 m to 250 kV. 6 m to 550 kV. All of boom, load, people, tools. 19.24.1. |
| Work inside MAD | Entering the limits without assurance in writing | EXTREMEUnplanned contact. No utility control of the line. | Stop. Coded 30M33 signed by the power-system owner. GOSPEL-FRM-037 is the schematic, not the assurance. |
| Contact | People approaching a live crane. Operator jumping into step potential. | EXTREMESecond electrocution. Fatal. | Stay on unless fire or shock. People back 10 m — 33 m if transmission or a manhole. 911. Jump clear, feet together, shuffle. Briefed before the lift. |
RESIDUAL RISK
A verified voltage still arcs across a gap. Residual is a boom that drifts, a tag line that sails, or a person who approaches a crane in contact. Held by MAD as a wall, a dedicated spotter, and 10 m / 911 on contact — not by the line looking dead.
THE JOB DOES NOT PROCEED IF
- Voltage not verified by the utility
- MAD for this voltage cannot be held and there is no signed 30M33
- No dedicated spotter when the boom or load can encroach
- Tag line that can blow into the line
PPE — LAST LINE
- Hard hat
- CSA-grade footwear
- High-visibility clothing
- Eye protection
- Task-rated gloves
- Hearing protection where required
- Fall protection where the work exposes a fall
SWP — WORKING NEAR POWERLINES →
REFERENCES
- Workers Compensation Act s. 21(2)(b) — workers made aware of known or reasonably foreseeable hazards
- Workers Compensation Act s. 21(2)(e) — information, instruction, training and supervision
- OHS Regulation B.C. Reg. 296/97 (in force 15 Apr 1998) Part 3 — program, instruction, inspections (ss. 3.1–3.12)
- CCOHS Job Safety Analysis — JSA and JHA are the same method: break the job, name the hazards, select controls
- Workers Compensation Act s. 21 — known or reasonably foreseeable hazards; instruction and supervision
- OHS Regulation (B.C. Reg. 296/97, in force 15 Apr 1998) Part 3 — OHS program, instruction, inspections
- OHS Regulation Part 4 s. 4.13 — risk assessment where rescue or evacuation may arise
- OHS Regulation Part 8 — PPE; headwear CSA Z94.1-05 or Z94.1-15
- OHS Regulation Part 11 — fall protection
- OHS Regulation Part 14 — Cranes and Hoists
- 14.2(5) — CSA Z150-1998, or ASME B30.5-2004, or ASME B30.22-2005 (articulating boom)
- 14.2(6) — CSA Z248-2004 for tower, hammerhead and self-erecting tower cranes
- 14.35 pre-use inspection · 14.36 load weight · 14.42.1 critical lift · 14.44 loads over work areas · 14.45 unattended loads · 14.47–14.49 signals
- OHS Regulation Part 15 — Rigging
- Manufacturer load chart, manual and configuration limits
- Site lift plan, FLHA and site rules where stricter
- OHS Regulation Part 19 s. 19.24.1 and Table 19-1A — minimum approach distance for persons, tools, machines, material and equipment
- 19.24.1(2) — tower crane zone-limiting device if practicable
- Form 30M33 — assurance in writing if MAD cannot be maintained. Only the coded WorkSafeBC form. Part 19.
- 14.52.1 — high voltage electrical equipment and cranes
- BC Hydro Working near power lines — same Table 19-1A. Express Connect 1 877 520 1355.
- BC Hydro: unknown voltage — 3 m distribution, 6 m transmission, until they verify.
- BC Hydro: fallen line or contact — 10 m, call 911. Downed transmission or manhole — 33 m.
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