NIPSCO and the union for its 240 linemen have initiated a new safety program in the wake of two on-the-job deaths in the space of a year-and-a-half.

"It's long overdue," United Steelworkers Local 12775 President Jim Blythe said. "It's something we should have been doing a long time ago. I'm trying to be positive about this."

Five union lineman have been assigned full-time to go to work sites and conduct safety meetings, Blythe said. They also are checking on work practices, procedures and equipment both at local maintenance depots and in the field.

The union and company came up with the safety program as the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigated the Feb. 16 accident that claimed the life of journeyman lineman Jeffrey R. Cox, 48, of Plymouth, Ind.

A year-and-a-half before, apprentice lineman Michael Nesius, of Rensselaer was electrocuted as he installed a power pole near Medaryville, Ind.

Two months after that accident, another lineman was severely burned after coming in contact with a 7,200-volt line.

IOSHA recently completed its investigation into the accident that claimed Cox's life and found NIPSCO was not at fault, according to Jeffrey Stuart Carter, Indiana Deputy Commissioner of Labor for Occupational Health and Safety.

But Carter said he met personally with company officials during the investigation and the agency offered several suggestions for improving NIPSCO's safety programs.

"Anytime there are multiple fatalities on my watch, the company is going to get a personal visit," Cox sad.

In the accident that claimed Nesius' life, IOSHA cited NIPSCO for two safety violations and fined the company $1,875. The company is appealing.

Safety programs have long been a point of contention between the union and NIPSCO.

Just before the accident that claimed Nesius' life, the union safety chief wrote the company a letter saying a "business as usual mentality" was preventing meaningful dialogue on safety issues.

Company officials have responded to those allegations by saying safety is the company's top priority. They said they had proposed a joint safety program that had been rejected by the union.

Blythe said the death of lineman Cox brought new urgency to those negotiations. He said top NIPSCO officials were directly involved in the talks, including new Indiana CEO Eileen O'Neill Odum.

Blythe said the safety program now in place goes far beyond what the company had previously proposed.

The union local represents about 1,400 NIPSCO employees. Blythe said he would like to see the program for lineman expanded to other jobs at NIPSCO.