Goofy management tales. Continue on...

[bobbo]

Had a safety guy. Said he is firing everyone if they use a cell phone. The company provided no radios. The only means of coordinating trucks and manpower were through our phones. The GFs, foreman were calling everyone through personal phones.

He he came up to me screaming when I was on my phone, asked him if he wanted to talk to his boss? Because he was on the phone with me.

[reppy007]

Since when does a safety guy make the rules?Secondly,if he had a cell phone that would mean that he also uses it during work,if not he would have left it at home.There would be no need for it .Anyway that day is gone,possibly in the late 80s but no way now.

[rob8210]

Here is my screwy safety guy encounter, I had just started doing work at that utility. I had a double circuit 3 phase 4kv dead end pole isolated and grounded and we were replacing the lead riser pole cable out of a station. This line ran on the opposite side of a ROW, 115kv on towers on the other side. Safety guy comes along says I have to ground my truck and wear rubber gloves. Of course I respond, Why? His answer induction , man , from the transmission line. I go, why? I am less than 10 feet from my line grounds. Safety guy runs away when I come down out of the air. " I am not talking to you" he says!

[BigClive]

Safety guy runs away when I come down out of the air. " I am not talking to you" he says!

That suggests you either intimidated him or are "heavy set". Win-win either way.

[reppy007]

Back when I was a young Jy, I had a habit of carrying a screwdriver in the rear pocket of my jeans,mostly while framing a poles.This one safety guy seemed obsessed with telling me to removed it.I swear,he would come for miles to find me and my screwdriver.The only time that he wouldn't say anything was if it was raining ,then it was safe I guess.Cause he wasn't about to get out of his vehicle during the rain.Which reminds me....how many of those safety guys went on your jobs while the weather was extreme or pouring rain?:D

[rob8210]

Well , Clive , I am not heavy set!

[Old Line Dog]

Here is my screwy safety guy encounter, I had just started doing work at that utility. I had a double circuit 3 phase 4kv dead end pole isolated and grounded and we were replacing the lead riser pole cable out of a station. This line ran on the opposite side of a ROW, 115kv on towers on the other side. Safety guy comes along says I have to ground my truck and wear rubber gloves. Of course I respond, Why? His answer induction , man , from the transmission line. I go, why? I am less than 10 feet from my line grounds. Safety guy runs away when I come down out of the air. " I am not talking to you" he says!

Safety Guys...:rolleyes:
One of the main reasons I retired.

I was installin an arrester on "A" phase on a 3 phase 7200 staight thru pole...just 3 Primarys and a neutral man...
My truck in a parking lot, with A and B phase on the right side of my bucket.

Had A and B covered with guts and hoods on the insulators, my truck is grounded to the neutral...yea, yea, yea... Safety guy rolls up.

"Gonna have to write ya up man." For WHAT? "Ya don't have C Phase covered up." Unsnapped my "Harness", unassed the bucked, told my app. "Pull up the Jacks man, take me to the yard, I fuckin Quit." I just don't do STUPID. That was...2004. Yea, I went back after 2 days, cause they called me.

For about another 6 months of workin under stupid shit like that. Then just said Fuck it, and REALLY retired. Till I got called back for Ike for 6 weeks...then "Retired" again...LAST Time!

[reppy007]

Safety Guys...:rolleyes:
One of the main reasons I retired.

I was installin an arrester on "A" phase on a 3 phase 7200 staight thru pole...just 3 Primarys and a neutral man...
My truck in a parking lot, with A and B phase on the right side of my bucket.

Had A and B covered with guts and hoods on the insulators, my truck is grounded to the neutral...yea, yea, yea... Safety guy rolls up.

"Gonna have to write ya up man." For WHAT? "Ya don't have C Phase covered up." Unsnapped my "Harness", unassed the bucked, told my app. "Pull up the Jacks man, take me to the yard, I fuckin Quit." I just don't do STUPID. That was...2004. Yea, I went back after 2 days, cause they called me.

For about another 6 months of workin under stupid shit like that. Then just said Fuck it, and REALLY retired. Till I got called back for Ike for 6 weeks...then "Retired" again...LAST Time!

I see your point swampy,but instead of being a hot head,why didn't you go back into the cab and offer the idiot your pen and tell him go ahead, Sir !

[Old Line Dog]

I see your point swampy,but instead of being a hot head,why didn't you go back into the cab and offer the idiot your pen and tell him go ahead, Sir ! Hot head? No reppy. I just know FRIGGING STUPID, when I see it, and won't abide by it.. THAT was back in the day. Nowdays?...I'd be fired for ASSAULT on that ingnorant asshole!!:mad:

[reppy007]

Hot head? No reppy. I just know FRIGGING STUPID, when I see it, and won't abide by it.. THAT was back in the day. Nowdays?...I'd be fired for ASSAULT on that ingnorant asshole!!:mad:

Well if they called you back in two days,that alone shows that you didn't break any major rule.And to me you were in the right ,I mean really why cover up the far phase? Most places state conductors within reach or falling distance need to be covered .You can have all the covering in the world and still get hurt in this trade.Ive seen guys put 6 line guards on each phase just to change out a V-20/small 12 kv insulator and that's not necessary .Each safety man has his own idea on how many guards it takes....and with the idiots coming up they might want the whole span covered,beats me.:nightmare:..Now if you were really sharp,you should have asked the idiot which way does the nut go on?.....catch my drift?:D

[Old Line Dog]

I see your point swampy,but instead of being a hot head,why didn't you go back into the cab and offer the idiot your pen and tell him go ahead, Sir ! I'm not a hothead. I'm Pragmatic. "Dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations." I know when talkin to stupid fuckers like you is just a waste of my time.

[reppy007]

I'm not a hothead. I'm Pragmatic. "Dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations." I know when talkin to stupid fuckers like you is just a waste of my time.

Your so easy,so that's why you even replied...to waste your time :D.Have another sip for me.

[Old Line Dog]

I see your point swampy!No you don't, You don't have a fucking CLUE dude...

[reppy007]

No you don't, You don't have a fucking CLUE dude...

Ok then ...keep drinking :D.I give up old man...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jv3fqDe34E

[bobbo]

No you don't, You don't have a fucking CLUE dude...

i understand all of this. So many guys are done with this trade. They want out so bad. Sad thing is there are a lot of superiorly smart guys run by idiot dum management. Every year gets worse and worse. I am getting closer and closer to getting of the bullshit. If I get a safety visit from a utility douche, I will probably go apeshit. No one wants to be foreman or GF, and that leaves it to the stupid douches that want a truck at 25. Seriously this trade really sucks.'the experienced guys don't want any leadership. Been thAt way for ten years! They don't want the bullshit and the headaches!

[rob8210]

Yep, Bobbo you certainly are right. I tried it for a couple of years, and I have no interest in doing it again. The ding dong safety guys were bad enough. The young guys that didn't want to work ,and thought they knew everything, them whining to the manager (contracting company), AND him telling me I was too hard on them, was too much. Just trying to do an honest days work!

[Orgnizdlbr]

The trend at the utility where I was has been promote all the fuckups and dopes, that started about 15 years ago. Part of that is our own fault cuz no one with a half a brain will take those jobs. Those fuckups did come out of the trade and had at least some idea of what made and kept the lights on. For the past 5 years or,so the company has been making clerks and jerks managers who are supposed to run line shops, needles to say it has become a huge clusterfuck, if it wasn't so sad it would be funny. Glad I'm retired.....

I really never had trouble with our safety rep, prolly cuz he and I worked in the tools together for years, he knew the ballgame and was a good dude, of course he was basically forced out.....

[US & CA Tramp]

Yep, Bobbo you certainly are right. I tried it for a couple of years, and I have no interest in doing it again. The ding dong safety guys were bad enough. The young guys that didn't want to work ,and thought they knew everything, them whining to the manager (contracting company), AND him telling me I was too hard on them, was too much. Just trying to do an honest days work!

The trade really doesn't want experience any more. It used to be the older guys with experience would move into those positions. Then about 10 to 15 years ago the companies started making the safety guys and Foreman the scapegoats. OSHA comes down on the company for what ever and they blame the Foreman! To get around the insurance company and lawyers. Us old guys got smart and got out of that bite. Now the companies don't want us old guys on the crews because we can teach and influence the young guys. The companies including construction would rather have the young guns that will ram and jam with their chests puffed out instead of thinking about what they are doing. Have I generalized too much?

[Orgnizdlbr]

The trade really doesn't want experience any more. It used to be the older guys with experience would move into those positions. Then about 10 to 15 years ago the companies started making the safety guys and Foreman the scapegoats. OSHA comes down on the company for what ever and they blame the Foreman! To get around the insurance company and lawyers. Us old guys got smart and got out of that bite. Now the companies don't want us old guys on the crews because we can teach and influence the young guys. The companies including construction would rather have the young guns that will ram and jam with their chests puffed out instead of thinking about what they are doing. Have I generalized too much?

no generalization at at, as a matter of fact, you nailed it...

[Old Line Dog]

The trade really doesn't want experience any more. It used to be the older guys with experience would move into those positions. Then about 10 to 15 years ago the companies started making the safety guys and Foreman the scapegoats. OSHA comes down on the company for what ever and they blame the Foreman! To get around the insurance company and lawyers. Us old guys got smart and got out of that bite. Now the companies don't want us old guys on the crews because we can teach and influence the young guys. The companies including construction would rather have the young guns that will ram and jam with their chests puffed out instead of thinking about what they are doing. Have I generalized too much?
Not at all. Very well spoken. That's exactly the truth. "Money talks and shit walks". It's cheaper for a "utility, co-op, muni" to hire contractors to basically do most EVERYTHING on their system as far as const. maint, installing new Underground, etc. Now, all they do is try to find the cheapest contractor. With the best young guns...

[SBatts]

I spent 40 years in tools, before entering safety. I knew all the rules because I walked away with fingers and toes, because I knew my job.
I enforced most, and tried changing the senseless. Take the lead, follow, or get out of the way.

[bobbo]

I am not saying that young guys aren't sharp. I have seen the best young hands running crews. Incredibly sharp men taught by some incredibly gifted lineman. Then you go to a real bad operation of no material, no planning, no tooling, bad organization broken trucks. Then a dud is somewhere.

Somewhere beyond your foreman, somebody who doesn't care men need to feed their families and hasn't a care but his fat ass. There are guys in this industry who are like that, but no one makes them accountable. Whatever happens they blame the men. It's just their nature,'self protection, but not a bone of integrity.

the older guys have been in the carnival long enough and see the posturing and bullshit. Just tired of it all.

I I never cared about foreman rate. Not a big deal to me at all. Even when I became foreman I did the work. I could care less about 2 dollars. I could care less about a title. Nowadays I just work for or with friends. I take care of them and they take care of me. They have my back and I have theirs. And that's how,it is. Running to the big job is not for me anymore.