ELECTRICAL SAFETY
Technology and Electrical Safety:
Keeping Pace?
As of 2023, drone ownership in the United States has risen to 8% of the population with 63% of that ownership being for private use*. This translates into most people who own and operate drones doing so without having a commercial license or industry training.
Since drones hit the market, so have the headlines chronicling their collisions and tangles with powerlines. Unfortunately, the consequences have been blackouts or electrical accidents, sometimes causing injury, or even death. Drones are now the new kites of electrical safety.
The FAA has recently passed new regulations and drone organizations have published numerous safety guidelines to help curb these dangerous incidents. Yet, a lag still exists between the development and use of new technologies on the open market and the guidelines and regulations that address their safe usage.
Technological advancements are not going to slow down. Education outreach on safe usage of those advancements cannot either.
Electrification adds to the growing use of new technologies connected to the use of electricity. It has supercharged the development and usage of new end use products. With more usage, comes a growing need for a wider understanding of how to use these technologies and products safely. As more and more end uses of energy become electrified, the higher the risk becomes for workers and users to encounter electrical hazards.
These new products are hitting the market daily and making their way into consumer hands. This includes the use of electric bikes and scooters, electrical vehicles and charging stations, major household appliances, and solar panels and battery storage units. These all come with new hazards, such as lithium-ion battery fires or even something as simple as improper use of extension cords. Knowing and understanding these new hazards and how to prevent them needs to be a part of these new technologies going online.
Technology will always outpace safety rules, regulations, and guidelines. Just like drones. Resulting in an awareness and safety knowledge gap as knew products get rolled out and ways of doing things change. As the energy transition accelerates this knowledge gap is set to expand as well. Coupled with the fact that, according to the Electrical Safety Association, almost all electrical injuries are due to preventable accidents, it would stand to reason that education is key to preventing electrical accidents, injuries, and even death.
Awareness campaigns and education outreach have often been enlisted to help fill knowledge gaps in adopting new technologies and using them safety, with utilities often taking on the responsibility of educating their communities about electrical safety. As the development of technologies continues to expand, and our use of electricity expands to new products, so does the need for basic electrical safety awareness and education. Moving forward with the energy transition means that electrical safety education needs to be as super-charged as the development and usage of electrification technologies.
*Percentage of ownership is based on the number of FAA registered drones as of November 2023, according to Drone Survey Services.
Better than a Lecture
Teachers from across the country who have received electrical safety educational outreach programs sponsored by utilities and presented by The National Theatre for Children have responded with high praise.
Here are a few snippets of teacher comments:
“The play model is great for kids to retain the information. Very interactive.”
“Much better than a lecture.”
“Who knew learning about electricity could be so funny and entertaining.”
“My students really enjoyed the program and retained useful information.”
“The students learned so much about electricity and safety while having such a fun time!”
Teachers, of course, are not wrong.
Their praise of NTC’s electrical safety programming, which uses theatre and storytelling as teaching tools, play out in multiple studies on the human brain, especially when it comes to retention.
20 years of research has found that the human brain is about 22 times more likely to remember facts that are presented in the form of a story, than if those facts are just presented outright.
22 times more!
That’s more than significant. It’s amazing.
When humans are simply told information as a list of facts, they retain only about 5-10 percent of it. Hence, we are always saying, “let me refer back to my notes” or “let me write that down so I remember it.” Yet, humans will remember 65-70 percent of a story. No notes or writing it down necessary. It’s how our brains work.
This also holds true with retention over time. As humans, we remember stories longer than we remember simple facts and figures. If you can embed those simple facts into a story, you have a powerful teaching tool.
The appeal of a story to connect to our human brains not only with information but with emotion as well, makes it memorable and meaningful for those engaged with the story. This connection also makes a longer lasting impression. It is why story-based learning, especially when trying to instill behavior change, is such a highly effective tool.
As organizational psychologist and leading storytelling expert, Dr. Peg C. Neuhauser puts it:
“…stories allow a person to feel and see the information as well as factually understand it … because you ‘hear’ the information factually, visually, and emotionally it is more likely to be imprinted on your brain in a way that it sticks with you longer with very little effort on your part…”
That part about “very little effort” is where, as a teaching tool, storytelling goes beyond just another method of relaying information. It becomes powerful. Learning through story doesn’t feel like learning, even though it enhances understanding, comprehension, and retention.
When the audience of school-age children watch a performance about electrical safety, they are not excited and engaged because they are learning how to be careful around powerlines and practice safe electricity usage. They are engaged by the characters, plot, humor, costumes, props, and dialogue that is woven into the story that is unfolding in front of them. But, funny enough, they also learn the importance of electrical safety and how to stay safe around electricity. They also remember those things longer than if they were just told those same things in a lecture. In fact, as already stated, 22 times more. All with very little effort on their part.
This is all to say that the verdict is indeed in. Backed up by teacher feedback. Backed up by studies of the human brain. Backed up by leading researchers and experts. Learning through story works.
The Link between Electrical Safety and Emergency Preparedness
These types of headlines appear to be popping up more frequently.
Wildfires Spread across…
Highest Temperature Ever Recorded…
Record-breaking floods…
It is more than headlines though. Severe weather events are increasing across the globe. According to the Sixth Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released in 2021, a “rise in greenhouse gases has increased the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.”* These include record-breaking heat waves, intense rains, excessive floods, extreme wildfires and lengthy, widespread droughts.
Which stands to reason that emergency preparedness, as a part of community readiness programs, is more important than ever. Educating communities about what to do in an emergency before a crisis strikes not only saves lives, it saves resources too. The public needs to know how to prepare, who to call, where to go, and what actions to take and also what actions not to take, when extreme weather disasters occur in their area. The more prepared a community is for the types of disasters that can happen in their area the better. There is one part of this preparedness, however, that is often overlooked.
These headlines seem to also pop up near extreme weather events.
Injuries result from fallen powerlines…
Widespread power outages…
Damaged electrical lines cause injury…
Power outages or downed powerlines resulting from extreme weather disasters are not the first things people think about when these events hit their area. Yet, an analysis of data on national power outages reported by utilities** suggests that upwards of 80% of outages over the last two decades have been caused by weather-related events. The data also suggests that these outages are on the rise with twice as many happening in the last ten years over the previous ten years.
People have mostly grown used to electricity coming into their homes both safely and with predictability. Extreme weather disasters change that equation. They often cause damage to the electrical grid and infrastructure. This creates a public safety risk that most citizens in an area struck by disaster do not know enough about. They especially do not know enough about how to plan for these occurrences, or how to act and avoid injury and even death.
Emergency preparedness education needs to include electrical safety to help mitigate these public safety risks. Or put another way, electrical safety education needs to include emergency preparedness. Communities need to know what to do if they encounter a fallen or damaged power line or what steps to take to prepare for a power outage.
Education in these areas can help prevent accidents, injuries and deaths. It might not cut down on the headlines about these disasters, but it can cut down on the related headlines about preventable electrical accidents.
*Reported on science/nasa.gov/climate-change/extreme-weather/
**Reported on https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/weather-related-power-outages-rising
Theatre as a Teaching Tool:
Teacher Comments Backed Up by Research
The verdict is in!
Teachers from across Illinois, Missouri, South Carolina and Idaho who have received the Land of Smiles educational outreach program sponsored by Delta Dental and presented by The National Theatre for Children have responded with high praise.
Here are a few snippets of teacher comments:
“Much better than a lecture.”
“It was a fun way to get the students engaged and learning about how to take care of their teeth.”
“The presenters were very engaging and entertaining. All of the children were focused and definitely remember the importance of proper dental hygiene.”
“This program was phenomenal!! The students were highly engaged and enjoyed learning about teeth and dental care in such a lively and fun way.”
Teachers, of course, are not wrong.
Their praise of Land of Smiles, which uses theatre and storytelling as teaching tools, play out in multiple studies on the human brain, especially when it comes to retention.
20 years of research have found: The human brain is about 22 times more likely to remember facts that are presented in the form of a story, than if those facts are just presented outright.
22 times more!
That’s more than significant. It’s amazing.
When humans are simply told information as a list of facts, they retain only about 5-10 percent of it. Hence, we are always saying, “let me refer back to my notes” or “let me write that down so I remember it.” Yet, humans will remember 65-70 percent of a story. No notes or writing it down necessary. It’s how our brains work.
This also holds true with retention over time. As humans, we remember stories longer than we remember simple facts and figures. If you can embed those simple facts into a story, you have a powerful teaching tool.
The appeal of a story to connect to our human brains not only with information but with emotion as well, makes it memorable and meaningful for those engaged with the story. This connection also makes a longer lasting impression. It is why story-based learning, especially when trying to instill behavior change, is such a highly effective tool.
As organizational psychologist and leading storytelling expert, Dr. Peg C. Neuhauser puts it:
“…stories allow a person to feel and see the information as well as factually understand it … because you ‘hear’ the information factually, visually, and emotionally it is more likely to be imprinted on your brain in a way that it sticks with you longer with very little effort on your part…”
That part about “very little effort” is where, as a teaching tool, storytelling goes beyond just another method of relaying information. It becomes powerful. Learning through story doesn’t feel like learning, even though it enhances understanding, comprehension, and retention.
When the audience of school-age children watch Land of Smiles, they are not excited and engaged because they are learning how to properly brush and floss their teeth. They are engaged by the characters, plot, humor, costumes, props, and dialogue that is woven into the story that is unfolding in front of them. But, funny enough, they also learn the importance of good oral health and how to properly brush and floss their teeth. They also remember those things longer than if they were just told those same things in a lecture. In fact, as already stated, 22 times more. All with very little effort on their part.
This is all to say that the verdict is indeed in. Backed up by teacher feedback. Backed up by studies of the human brain. Backed up by leading researchers and experts. Learning through story works.
Learn How to Build Your Education Outreach Program
Reach out to Eddie Eames, our Director of Client Success, to get your electrical safety or emergency preparedness outreach messaging into your community. There’s still time to get a tour together for Fall 2024.
EDDIE EAMES
Director of Client Success
eeames@ntccorporate.com
Phone: 763-452-1100