Guy wires and power lines can be a deadly mix, OSHA warns

great article. This may be out of scope for the regulation, but guy wire hazards also have impacts to the public. Damaged or improperly placed guy wires, anchors and insulators have caused incidents. A proper hazard reporting system, inspection program and auditing program can help reduce the risk.

John's comment is exactly right. My firm performs electrical safety inspections for utility companies across the US and there are indeed a large number of incorrect guy wire installations- most often we find the guy wire is fastened to the pole above the phase conductors with no protection at all below the electrical utility zone followed by guy wires that have developed slack or are disconnected from their anchor point in the earth. This is what this OSHA alert is warning about and we can confirm the issue on a larger scale. Third largest problem on our list- we frequently see a particular type of insulator commonly called a "Johnny Ball" not properly installed that can cause them to degrade or fail. We have addressed a similar issue with electrical faults on metal streetlights and traffic signals. These faults are also very common- often we find hundreds of electrical faults when we safety survey a city for these objects. The question we have asked in the past is, but have never received a clear answer on, are these streetlights and traffic signals to be considered part of the workplace for the men and women who maintain these devices? If so, then OSHA rules should apply. But to John's point- utilities often only become aware of these problems when an innocent pedestrian or dog is injured or killed rather than a worker who typically is wearing the correct PPE or is in an insulated bucket truck.