The morning fog still hung over the Kentucky River when the call came in for an outage on the east side of Frankfort. For the Electric & Water Plant Board of the City of Frankfort (FPB), moments like this were routine. For FPB’s safety program managers, they were reminders of why preparation matters.
When you provide power, water, and telecommunications, the interruptions don’t wait for ideal conditions. But when interruptions occur, FPB is ready to respond.
FPB is a diversified municipal utility with more than 210 employees. Each line of business brings its own hazards, including high voltage, confined spaces, trenches, and unpredictable weather. Every jobsite changes daily, and urgency is part of the work.
In this industry, tasks can feel routine, but the risks never are. Under constant pressure to keep essential services running, people can get hurt if they stop paying attention. For FPB, safety is a daily discipline for everyone.
Each morning begins with stretch‑and‑flex routines to reduce the risk of overexertion injuries. Trench logs are completed before entry. Confined space permits are required. Electric crews hold daily job briefings focused on that day’s specific hazards.
Weekly safety meetings reflect FPB’s universal safety commitment, as they are jointly led by the safety department, management, and field employees. The conversations are practical, honest, and grounded in real work.
Traditional classroom training is supplemented with hands-on field training on existing jobsites, using real equipment and current conditions, which has led to increased engagement and improved safety inspections.
Additionally, FPB continues to strengthen emergency preparedness by partnering with its equipment provider to manage nearly 50 AEDs across the system, ensuring monthly inspections, and enhance response readiness through KEMI’s CPR/First Aid/AED and forklift training.
The results are clear: since 2017, FPB’s experience modification rate has averaged well below the national average, indicating that injuries are being prevented, workers’ compensation claims remain low, and injury severity has been steadily controlled. With proactive loss control, FPB has earned the annual KEMI Destiny Award for Workplace Safety 12 times.
At the end of the day, FPB measures success one shift at a time—by how many people go home the same way they came in. At FPB, safety is the line that holds everything together, keeping the lights on, the water flowing, and people connected.
Written with AI assistance.
