What does U think

[reppy007]

Today while driving I couldnt help but notice a lineman for the local contractor working single phase primary alone in a bucket,just off the main road...also noticed he was only wearing a white T-shirt.....ok....no big deal .....but.........what would they say or do to him in your area? I must say it was a pretty hot day maybe 97 degrees and really humid.

[cololinehand]

We would say c ya!!

[Pootnaigle]

Umm I wud say he didnt deserve to have a ticket

[Lineman North Florida]

The rules have changed a good bit over the years, but I would say he isn't doing anything that wasn't done by many others that was considered standard procedure at a lot of places in this country not all that many years ago. Reppy out of curiousity are you certain the lateral was hot? Could they have possibly been working it dead behind a set of grounds?

[T-Man]

T-shirt in Primary zone, alone? I'd guess an OSHA inspector in the area could make some stink about that if he happened by. Too much gets recorded and thrown up on the social media now a days, so anybody admiring this ladds work could have taken a short clip and posted for everyone to see, which could spell NOT GOOD if the right eyes befell on it.

A million years ago I did something similar, We didn't have FRC back then. I went up a pole in a T and only leather gloves to fix something in the secondary (I had pants too, and boots hard hat etc. Don't go there). No one around. I get up to the work and a voice says "Hey turn around I'll take your picture". There on the ground is the home owner with camera and he snaps a photo. I'm thinking now this is going to get interesting. When I come down he hands me the picture, he was testing his polaroid camera. . .whew! Even back then it was a no no.

[reppy007]

Im sure it was hot and yes we have all did it .....I just wanted to know what companies would do now if he was caught.....here its routine,well for the contractors.....a slap on the hand maybe.Like its been said....things have changed....what used to be nomal is now a big NO-NO. I guess .....As far as OSHA is concerned.....guys in this area think all they do is sit in their offices......and they might be right.....you just dont see them around in these parts.

[Rob]

In most area's the Utilities require the contractors to work by there rules on their property. At least all the one's I've been to. I'd be surprised if the Utility down there didn't require FR clothing. But to answer your question, Here in NY he'd be thrown off the property if caught.

[US & CA Tramp]

Im sure it was hot and yes we have all did it .....I just wanted to know what companies would do now if he was caught.....here its routine,well for the contractors.....a slap on the hand maybe.Like its been said....things have changed....what used to be nomal is now a big NO-NO. I guess .....As far as OSHA is concerned.....guys in this area think all they do is sit in their offices......and they might be right.....you just dont see them around in these parts.

You probably won't see an OSHA inspector unless you have a fatality or more than three people hospitalized. OSHA only had one inspector qualified and knowledgeable in the high voltage industry for all states, and he retired. The average inspector knows nothing about our industry so won't deal with it!!

[reppy007]

Only 1...I say...I say only 1...........amazing. :nightmare:

[birdog37]

I have a question for anyone who cares to respond.Storm rolls threw,fair amount of outages.You come across a # 6 copper primary wire,one span burned down mid span 10 people out from blown fuse.Your by yourself,along a gravel road out in the country.Your the on call guy,help is out and there doing there thing as you are.Question is do i ground on both ends of downed wire,still where my rubber gloves and sleeves,or can i legally work this line with my gloves and sleeves with no ground on the line by my self?I've seen it done both ways

[Pootnaigle]

Umm I thunk n it hurt ne in my headbone but I wouldda took the fuse barrel out n took it with me n them ground the source side of the primary ahead of where it wuz down n pick up the wire usin a jumper before sleevin it together .. no real danger of backfeed since its single phase n few folks round here have generators

[Rob]

I have a question for anyone who cares to respond.Storm rolls threw,fair amount of outages.You come across a # 6 copper primary wire,one span burned down mid span 10 people out from blown fuse.Your by yourself,along a gravel road out in the country.Your the on call guy,help is out and there doing there thing as you are.Question is do i ground on both ends of downed wire,still where my rubber gloves and sleeves,or can i legally work this line with my gloves and sleeves with no ground on the line by my self?I've seen it done both ways

Here you'd have to ground both ends . After applying grounds you wouldn't need gloves and sleeves

[birdog37]

We do the same as far as taking fuse with you.Also we have a worker on line vinyl wrap thats green and orange we wrap on pole.A place that I learned line work we would always test & ground on both ends,then use our leathers.It seems to me its a short cut to not ground regardless of whether its laying on the ground or not when it comes to primary.I guess i can understand doing it with gloves and no grounds as long as its safe but is it safe?

[Lineman North Florida]

We do the same as far as taking fuse with you.Also we have a worker on line vinyl wrap thats green and orange we wrap on pole.A place that I learned line work we would always test & ground on both ends,then use our leathers.It seems to me its a short cut to not ground regardless of whether its laying on the ground or not when it comes to primary.I guess i can understand doing it with gloves and no grounds as long as its safe but is it safe? Even if you took the barrel out of the door and lifted the topside and put your rubber gloves on you are probably not going to treat the line the same as an energized line, I would say ground the line and sleeve the wire back together in conjunction with the other things already mentioned pole wrap included, we are not the fire dept and it is not always practical to send a posse of people around to a situation such as the one we are discussing, but I do realize that times are changing and my way of thinking is getting more and more outdated, but I am a firm believer of either working it hot or grounding it and working it dead without rubber gloves, I will also admit that I have done it both ways before but I would take the time these days to do it the way that I consider right. Charlie.

[birdog37]

I agree I think it should be fuse out,test for ground, pole wrapped (tagged) because your working on it and grounded on both ends.So magical question is it safe,are rules being broken,Osha violation? Just different than the way I was taught.Using only your rubber gloves to me is just not right.I just bet that alot of lineman think this is a safe practice Charlie,thanks for input.Suggestions,thoughts?

[Lineman North Florida]

I agree I think it should be fuse out,test for ground, pole wrapped (tagged) because your working on it and grounded on both ends.So magical question is it safe,are rules being broken,Osha violation? Just different than the way I was taught.Using only your rubber gloves to me is just not right.I just bet that alot of lineman think this is a safe practice Charlie,thanks for input.Suggestions,thoughts?

Yes a lot of lineman do believe that it is ok because 25 years ago everybody and their brother didn't have a generator and solar or pv systems were non-existant, when a lineman went to a wires down he pretty well knew his source, not that in some places that there wasn't a chance of another source it just wasn't as common, today it's almost a given that you are gonna have another potential source, it may be hooked up correctly and not cause you any problems, but it is there and a potential source, many believe shortcut ways to work are alright due to the fact that they have always done it that way and have never had a problem doing it that way, when in fact they have just been fortunate, I'm not throwing stones here as I suspect we have all been lucky a time or two and probably guilty of this way of thinking at some point in our careers.

[birdog37]

Exactly Charlie.Well said.Times have changed.You ultimately know you can't touch 2 different potentials while rubber gloving,now your standing on the ground and asking yourself do I feel lucky or will I use the skills I have been trained to use in this line of work.It makes you wonder why we as Journeyman Lineman, just can't step back and have more patience,and utilize these skills.Training and retraining is so important to recharge lineman's way of thinking and eliminate the thought of well that's the way we use to do it.Company's really do have there hands full to figure out how they can change the way we work,be consistent in what we do so we all go home the same way we came to work.Actually it should state better than the way we came to work.I know our Company has been down there @ your company looking for ways to make us have a better safety record.Your company has one of the best safety records in the country.Our company goes above and beyond trying to do the same things you do when it comes to safety.This web site is such a great tool to use, I just wish all lineman could be apart of it.I guess seeing is believing so to speak when you take the time to read some of the comments posted.Thank You.

[rob8210]

Up here a man alone would only be able to remove the fuse and tag the pole . The repairs would require a second man. We would ground both sides making the potential on both sides the same then we would work in leathers to repair. And yeah we have short cutted in the past, but nowadays it would not be a good idea, as Charlie says. I believe there is a right time and place for a short cut, the trick is knowing where and when you can do it.

[birdog37]

So true Rob.Primary wire down really should be a 2 man operation.Can someone do this by their self,well all trouble calls can be different and like you said before Rob the best thing a lineman has is his brain,the will to use it,the mouth to speak up & the training and experience to back it up.Been doing this work for 25 years and this statement alone pretty much sums it up as to how you will be going home.Thanks Rob!