Your in-put

[reppy007]

Talked to a lineman from centerpoint energy,went up to the truck and asked him his name.I didnt know him,some younger guy that said he has been with the company for 4 years.As we talked this is a little of what he told me.That he went to climbing school for 6 months,and that he started his apprenticeship within 1 year,so in 4 years hes already a 1-man jy on a single bucket truck working nights,i was amazed.He said the company pushed them through all of this and since they are low on people,when a night shift needs coverage ,if nobody wants it .The lowest new jy is forced to take it.He sounded like a level headed young lineman,but i could tell that he would rather have another guy with him.Now comes the good stuff,i told him how i used to go in crack filled neighbor-hoods alone at 3-5am,and that sometimes id tell the dispatcher to send someone else in the daylight.Thats when he told me that now they have un-uniformed police officers follow them into these same areas,and that the police officers start at 7 pm,i didnt ask him until when,but that really blew my mind.Is this enough experience,4 yrs? Whats your opinions?I even told him it takes around 8 years to really tell if a guy is up to the job or not.INPUT PLEASE.

[topgroove]

you never gain enough expierence in this trade. Those on here who post how easy a particular task is,,,,,,,,,,, is full of crap. Every Job is different. Those of us who have seen how badly some things can go know what I mean.

I wish I had a cop with me on a few jobs... would of made me feel better.

I just hope this young man works smart and knows his limitations.
Sometimes the most expierenced lineman runs out of talent at the worst posible time.

[neil macgregor]

all i can say is thank god i live in a decent part of the world where we dont need to worry about certain areas

[BigClive]

all i can say is thank god i live in a decent part of the world where we dont need to worry about certain areas

You've never worked at night in Glasgow then. Jakies trying to break into your bucket truck while you're up working, and a need to put a cable tie behind the emergency stop button on the base so that they can't push it to trap you up top deliberately.

And if any equipment has to be left overnight then you have to secure it in pretty much the same way as the JCB/Backhoe guys.

Glasgow is a nasty place at night, and it's all thanks to the lawyers and "social workers" who perpetuate drug abuse.

[bren guzzi]

Well clive as ya know most big cities are like that. Dublin Cork barcelona etc. I would be more concerned wit a company that would put an employee at risk like that. As ya also know. You cannot set someone to work over here without complying to health an safteys first rule. ALL RISKS MUST BE SEEN TO BE MINAMALISED. Its ilegal to set someone to work if its "unsafe" trouble is with the state of the economy people are sadly AFRAID TO SAY NO.

[hotwiretamer]

Well clive as ya know most big cities are like that. Dublin Cork barcelona etc. I would be more concerned wit a company that would put an employee at risk like that. As ya also know. You cannot set someone to work over here without complying to health an safteys first rule. ALL RISKS MUST BE SEEN TO BE MINAMALISED. Its ilegal to set someone to work if its "unsafe" trouble is with the state of the economy people are sadly AFRAID TO SAY NO.

This has always been one of my petpeives(?). The company throws a little more money at someone, gives them a few hours of extra class work, gives them a new title, and then "qualifies" them to work alone.
I really have a problem with people doing any kind of linework alone on a regularly, scheduled basis.

[bren guzzi]

I think your right in what ya say.. BUT I'm lucky that I can say NO ! It seems that people are "afraid to , in this day an age . Personal cicumstances differ for the individuals. So its hard to judge. But also as "individuals" what can we DO ?????????????????

[BigClive]

Snag is, Glasgow's a busy city and if you have to work above roads then the work has to be done at night when they can be closed off safely.

Worst I heard of was a street lighting worker who was attacked while working on a pillar and had his tools stolen.

I was walking through Shawlands today and noticed that like most municipal Xmas trees in Glasgow they have high Heras fencing round it to stop it being vandalised. Wouldn't they be better dealing with the problem at source and not paying the rotten legal industry in direct proportion to the amount of crime they generate.

I wonder what it's like being a kid and looking at the Xmas tree through a tall metal fence like a prison cell.

[reppy007]

About a year maybe 2 years a lineman on a service call was beaten by some gang-member,and yes it was at night.Maybe thats one reason they have these police officers going on call with lineman.Here in houston,recently we've had people posing as utility workers,city workers,even fire marshalls,one person posing even was shot at by an 80 year old woman,that died of a heart attack after the fact.With x-mas being so close,i guess these guys think its with-in there rights to commit these crimes,posing as somone else to gain access to peoples homes.Personally if i find one of these guys,it would save texas the time and money meant for the death penality.In the last week its almost became an epidemic here,just right before x-mas.

[rcdallas]

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