General Construction Vs. Division

[Powerline.Athlete818]

Turd is a bad lineman,

T@D=Transmission and Distribution

I just dnt get how 1 can be a bad lineman and still manage to keep his job. i guess they just know how 2 get by ? And i thought it was that haha So does division work on any towers or that is strictly GC?

[Resto-master]

Alot of things play into being a Turd and staying employed.

Having the ability to be lazy and play the safety card always is a way to avoid work. It also allows crews to stay on overtime longer by taking meals every 4 hours and being "safe".

Working here i know this. Production is number 2 safety is now number 1.

Divison does no Tower work or wood pole transmission. While in your apprenticeship you are required to have some Transmission expecerince so they may send you to GC for a few months. But after that its over.

I think if a emergency car pole arises and it has some overbuild transmission on it, division may do it or they call in TSM@C. Or most of the time call in GC


To add more confusion Division also has a Transsmission maintenace group called TSM@C. They do small stuff like change bells or one pole but do cool stuff like barehand 500kv but not normally. they are a small group and those jobs are always on the internet.

On a good note for you Bakersfield is a good place to work. Most of the work is rural(single circuit) so you can pull a truck up to everything(since its flatland) and not tons of traffic etc. When I was down there we would have jobs with like 2 hours windshield time going 1 way =]. You will get alot of 3 phase bank change outs to Agracultural pumps, reg bank cap bank and things like that. Tons of 4 acsr.! But had a few 600 foot spans of 715 sagged tighter then hell I couldnt get it out of the roller without blocks or help.

[Powerline.Athlete818]

Alot of things play into being a Turd and staying employed.

Having the ability to be lazy and play the safety card always is a way to avoid work. It also allows crews to stay on overtime longer by taking meals every 4 hours and being "safe".

Working here i know this. Production is number 2 safety is now number 1.

Divison does no Tower work or wood pole transmission. While in your apprenticeship you are required to have some Transmission expecerince so they may send you to GC for a few months. But after that its over.

I think if a emergency car pole arises and it has some overbuild transmission on it, division may do it or they call in TSM@C. Or most of the time call in GC


To add more confusion Division also has a Transsmission maintenace group called TSM@C. They do small stuff like change bells or one pole but do cool stuff like barehand 500kv but not normally. they are a small group and those jobs are always on the internet.

On a good note for you Bakersfield is a good place to work. Most of the work is rural(single circuit) so you can pull a truck up to everything(since its flatland) and not tons of traffic etc. When I was down there we would have jobs with like 2 hours windshield time going 1 way =]. You will get alot of 3 phase bank change outs to Agracultural pumps, reg bank cap bank and things like that. Tons of 4 acsr.! But had a few 600 foot spans of 715 sagged tighter then hell I couldnt get it out of the roller without blocks or help.

Thanks for breaking it down 2 me.I wouldve thought SAFETY would have ALWAYS been # 1..?? So if theres any transmission work in bakersfield they'll have TSM&C or GC do it.? and what if a storm hits or a road washes out. will that be GC as well or if its in our division we'll take care of it.? Also when you say you can pull a truck up to everything does that mean there is little climbing involved most of the time.? How about the majority of the work. Is there alot of work in the City ? or mainly in the farmlands?

[Resto-master]

Well, Theres supposed to be a t-line crew TSM@C out of midway substation, which is down by bakersfield, however they cant fill spots in the yard so maybe its gone, i dont know. GC is most likely gonna handle it down there.

Im not sure how the politics work out during emergency. Division usually doesnt have access to tranmission hardware etc. (big insulators etc)

I am sayin mostly farmlands and some city stuff. but when your out of the city its sweet cause aint nobody around.

i would say not much climbing goes on as its theres no mountains around, all flat land. some stuff is unaccessable but not much.

i would say most of the bakers yard doesnt put tools on everyday. However hopefully they will make you do it after your year is up and you make 1st step apprentice. It will be your advantage to learn to work in tools first then learn the bucket but it may not be that way.

[Powerline.Athlete818]

Well, Theres supposed to be a t-line crew TSM@C out of midway substation, which is down by bakersfield, however they cant fill spots in the yard so maybe its gone, i dont know. GC is most likely gonna handle it down there.

Im not sure how the politics work out during emergency. Division usually doesnt have access to tranmission hardware etc. (big insulators etc)

I am sayin mostly farmlands and some city stuff. but when your out of the city its sweet cause aint nobody around.

i would say not much climbing goes on as its theres no mountains around, all flat land. some stuff is unaccessable but not much.

i would say most of the bakers yard doesnt put tools on everyday. However hopefully they will make you do it after your year is up and you make 1st step apprentice. It will be your advantage to learn to work in tools first then learn the bucket but it may not be that way.

i Gotchya. Man i Wouldve sure loved to get a GC spot seein how they get to get theyre hands dirty out in them storms n rain. But everything happens for a reason and im sure i was givin this division spot for a reason as well. I am going to sure take this oppurtunity and turn it into GOLD. I am so Hungry for this and this is what i have been bustin my butt off for.. I am going to try and find the BEST Lineman in my crew and Pick their brain like there is no tomorrow. LoL. Im not saying im gnna be annoying but i sure will have ToNS n TOnS of questions for them all. And as far as Workin in the farmlands , im sure it will be great work without the city folk around And as for the CLIMBING. I really hope they do throw my butt up there and WORK me when i get to that 1st step . And yes i agree w/ u when u say it will be 2 my advantage learnin to work in tools rather than the bucket but as you said its not definite. Im Just So thrilled to have this shot at a GREAT career. I Want/And WILL be a JOURNEYMAN LINEMAN!!!!

[Resto-master]

You can learn from bad and good both alike. Congrats on the job thou. Division has good people as well. good luck.

[Powerline.Athlete818]

You can learn from bad and good both alike. Congrats on the job thou. Division has good people as well. good luck.

Thanks man. I appreciate all the info . I've been meaning to ask... are u in GC or division.??

[Resto-master]

GC I like how we do things.

[Powerline.Athlete818]

GC I like how we do things.

thats wassup... how long have you been with pg & e for ? what's a normal day look like "I know there is no such thing in this field" ...but maybe you could share a days work or even some projects you've done .and anyone else who's been there and done it..gc or division...or line work in general..thanks y'all.

[1245hand]

Seen good hands and not so good hands in both division and GC. Just more places to hide in division, more work other than crew work to be done.

My typical day in division starts with a showup in the same yard everyday. Most of us work 7am- 3:30pm, M-F schedule. We have a bullroom tailboard, which can last 5 minutes or 60 minutes depending on what the company deems important to talk about each day. Afterwards, depending on how many people show up that day, we have a brief crew tailboard and get trucks and material loaded for the day.

Once loaded up for the day, we go to the jobsite, and have a jobsite tailboard. Then we get to work on that days job. Most of our jobs are less than 5 days crew work, everything bigger goes to GC.

Doing smaller jobs, we can be in town doing a new primary dip to Burger King one day, then out in the foothills, hiking in to replace an inaccessible crossarm hot the next.

Depending on our work schedule, we return to the yard in time to clean up and prep for the next days work. Even when the next days work is prepped, we may not load the trucks due to potential emergency work that nite. It's not worth the time and effort to get loaded up for the next day, and someone works emergency and scheduled work doesn't get done the next day due to manpower shortage.

There's one or several men on rest period more than once a week due to emergency work. So most everyday is a scramble to complete scheduled work with who is there. This is one of the biggest differences between division an GC. Division covers the emergency work, regular hours and after hours. Division also has shift crews.

Our typical crew consists of 2 journeyman and a crew foreman. A bucket truck, line truck and pickup truck. We presently have no apprentices, operators, or grunts. On a day when everyone shows up, we have 2 4-man crews.

Don't believe everything you hear. Go in with an open mind and open ears. You'll recognize the ones that don't want to work and those that do. Learn from everyone and when the time comes, use the techniques that work for you. I'm not saying division or GC's better, but I bet you can transfer into GC if you really want to after you're hired on. Whatever you do, be good at it.

Good Luck and Be Safe.