How Good Luck Kills: The Electrical Safety Illusion

No Electrical Accidents? Odds Are You’re Luckier Than Safe.

For many leaders, a clean electrical safety record feels like proof that the systems, training, and culture are working. In reality, it is often proof of nothing more than a long streak of good fortune. And the longer that streak, the more it convinces executives and safety leaders that they have “solved” electrical safety. That is, until one incident shatters the illusion.

I’ve experienced this firsthand. Earlier in my career, I was CEO of a global electrical equipment company with a strong safety record. We had skilled people, solid processes, and the confidence that comes from years without a major incident. That confidence vanished the day I watched an employee narrowly escape a horrific accident, the kind that could have ended his life in seconds. 

The shock of seeing that video still torments me, realizing how close we came and how I had failed our team. Behind the apparently comforting numbers, the risks had been there all along, hidden in plain sight. I learned our record had far more to do with luck than with safety.

Electrical incidents are rare, yet they have some of the highest fatality rates in industry. Leaders focus on fixing bottlenecks, applying the Pareto principle, and targeting the 20% of actions that deliver 80% of results. That approach works well for high-frequency, easy-to-measure metrics like lost time incidents, where the volume of data allows patterns to be spotted and addressed. Yet, rare, high-consequence events like electrical incidents require a different mindset. They must be anticipated, and systematically controlled long before they have the chance to appear.

If your record is spotless, do not mistake it for safety. Luck has an expiration date, and when it runs out, the cost can be measured in lives, lost production, reputational damage, and millions in business interruption. The time to act is before the streak ends.

Lightning Does Strike

While electrical accidents are rare, their consequences can be severe. They have one of the highest fatality rates of all industrial accidents, and can bring huge costs in repair and downtime. Not only is safety a moral imperative, but the costs of operating an unsafe environment are giant.

One insurance partner estimated the loss expectancy for a global manufacturer without an electrical preventative maintenance plan at $319 million. This included $19 million in casualty costs and $300 million in business interruption. These figures do not account for the indirect costs, such as the ability to retain talent, the long-term damage to a company’s brand, or the operational disruption that follows a serious incident.

Safety is Leadership

Our strategy is to help leaders own electrical safety, not leave it to chance. Your skilled workers, with electricians often at the point, are the front line, facing hazards directly and spotting risks in real time. But safety cannot rest solely on their shoulders. Electrical safety must become part of the organization’s culture, supported by the right funding, resources, and executive commitment.

Most executives and managers are far removed from day-to-day electrical operations and have minimal awareness of the specific risks, yet they are the ones responsible for funding and staffing safety initiatives. Professional safety managers typically excel at establishing corporate safety systems and managing common safety topics, but often lack deep expertise in electrical hazards. Electrical experts, meanwhile, understand those hazards in detail, but usually do not control budgets or build company-wide systems.

This is where Guidant steps in as a trusted guide. We help safety professionals and electrical experts work together to educate executives about the real risks, propose practical and systemic solutions, and advocate effectively for the resources needed to implement them. In doing so, we bridge the gaps in expertise, authority, and communication so leaders can act with clarity and confidence, ensuring electrical safety is both a cultural value and a funded priority.

A Culture of Safety

In most companies, electrical safety is not even on the radar. Few recognize its importance and work toward basic compliance, often pencil-whipping forms to satisfy basic requirements. Fewer still embrace electrical safety as a true element of leadership and culture. 

Our mission at Guidant Power is to move as many companies as possible up this hierarchy. The best organizations embed safety into every decision, building a culture where it is reinforced daily and workers are encouraged to speak up about hazards without fear.

For example, we recognize that internally advocating for electrical safety is not always a safety manager’s or facility manager’s favorite task, nor is it necessarily their strongest skill. They need a trusted guide who listens, understands the challenges, and walks alongside them, helping translate technical risks into compelling business cases that resonate with decision-makers and secure the funding and staffing needed for real change. 

Supporting our clients in this way is part of our broader mission to guide every person and every company on their unique safety journey. Whether you are building the basics, strengthening existing systems, or pushing toward best-in-class performance, our role is to help you understand and prioritize your risks, put effective controls in place, and create a culture where safety is a shared value, not a stroke of luck.