Any info on the Bucksqueeze

[Lnhnd13]

or fall arrest or whatever they are calling it. Our Co. is saying that other locations are requiring it for 100% of their ap's and lineman. Any one using it, liking it, hating it. What brand do you like.

[ready2go]

I'm not a big fan. They limit your range of movement. But they don't let you fall if you cut out. I would rather just use two safety straps or one safety and a rope.

[CPOPE]

or fall arrest or whatever they are calling it. Our Co. is saying that other locations are requiring it for 100% of their ap's and lineman. Any one using it, liking it, hating it. What brand do you like.

Follow the link and check it out for yourself. Simple device and works if properly adjusted. Problem is that OSHA is requiring 100% fall protection. A general indusrtry requirement, not 1910.269. The utilities are generally fighting the requirement because it is just not practical to outlaw free climbing with the multitude of pole attachments in urban locations.

http://www.buckinghammfg.com/linemen/483.pdf

[Lnhnd13]

Thanks for the link. Right now only our first years are required to wear it, then comp out of it right before they turn second years, at least thats what the plan was supposed to be. Now they are talking about leaving them in it for good. We have a first year on our crew and it is painfull to watch him fight that thing through all the trash in our backyards. Looks like more of a hazard unless you get a clean pole.

[Lnhnd13]

O' yeah, and when one of the trainers was asked how would you perform a pole top rescue with one of those things, his reply was that the rescue procedure would more than likely turn into a recovery procedure. :confused: :eek: :mad:

I should add that this is second hand info.

[JAKE]

i have one and like it for the scarier poles or when the poles are icy, on clean poles i can climb up to the neutral (usually our first obstical) just as quick with it as i can without it. coming down you have to go a bit slower. i use mine pretty often but still free climb some, we arnt required to use it and actually the company i work for didnt want me using it since they hadnt certified me with it they only let me after i could get the buckingham trainer to send them a letter sayin iver been trained on it.

we seem to only climb enough to knock the rust off our hooks, and i was only 9 seconds slower on hurtman rescue with it.

[Lnhnd13]

good to hear your hurtman times did not fall to much w/ it, and on an icy pole I could sure see where it would be handy

[JAKE]

ya got to put the little spikes in it for the icy poles but that only takes a couple of minutes to do i seem to put them in the first ice storm and leave them in till after easter.

i heard from our safety guy that there were quite a few guys the bucksqueeze and the competitors ones and some of thoose guys were just as fast on alot of the events.

my only thing is i like my belt pretty loose so i can move around better and was told by the trainer that guys that wear there belts looser should wear a harness with it so if you cutout and cant keep your arms down you dont slide out of your belt. i cant remember where it was but he said there was a few utilities i think up in canada that wear there harnesses with them. there a bit of a diffent harness they were orginally meant for rebar steel workers when they went to 100%fp they have loops in the harness to keep your belt in the right spot, and there hurt man rescue they have a carabeaner on there hand lines and just clip the back of the harness and lower ya down.

[Lnhnd13]

Jake, when you're wearing this thing, are you actually working out of it or do you have a regular safety also. Our ap. does not seem to have as much movement with it than he does his reg. safety.

Not to take anything away from the comp. but those are done on clean poles. I would hate to see how long it would take in our mid-town backyards.

[JAKE]

your movement is a bit restricted at first it kinda takes a bit of getting used too, once you have been in it some you can move around almost like a regular strap, just takes some getting used too, i use two straps and will usually use just a regular strap when im above the neutral (were 100% wye)
alot of times i will leave the bucksqueeze at the noodle since your above it its gonna stop ya from going down any further. we have pretty clean poles occasional phone, no open wire secondary, rare for catv. one of our biggest obstiacals are barb wire fences at the bottom, ive got some old line hose thats no good that i use to gut up the wire and tposts if i gotta go up over it.

[WCLR]

I think Duke Power and some Progress Energy crews used them at the International. I have mixed reviews on it myself.

[Hatteras]

Follow the link and check it out for yourself. Simple device and works if properly adjusted. Problem is that OSHA is requiring 100% fall protection. A general indusrtry requirement, not 1910.269. The utilities are generally fighting the requirement because it is just not practical to outlaw free climbing with the multitude of pole attachments in urban locations.

http://www.buckinghammfg.com/linemen/483.pdf

OSHA doesn't require 100% fall protection. The standard is below:
..1910.269(g)(2)(v)

1910.269(g)(2)(v)

Fall arrest equipment, work positioning equipment, or travel restricting equipment shall be used by employees working at elevated locations more than 4 feet (1.2 m) above the ground on poles, towers, or similar structures if other fall protection has not been provided. Fall protection equipment is not required to be used by a qualified employee climbing or changing location on poles, towers, or similar structures, unless conditions, such as, but not limited to, ice, high winds, the design of the structure (for example, no provision for holding on with hands), or the presence of contaminants on the structure, could cause the employee to lose his or her grip or footing.

[Lnhnd13]

Thank you Hat.

I hate to sound like i'm being neg. towards anything safe. I know I may get slammed by some posters on this subject, but here it goes.

I believe that their are people who have never done our job that are dreaming up ways to "help" us out and make our jobs more safe. They have never seen me fighting my way through a spider web of phone and cable drops in the middle of the night to get to My work. They have never had to see me sneak up a pole in fear of shaking open wire secondary together that has spent years of being overloded and just kinda hanging in there, or burning down the #6 cu primary all around me. If i'm not free climbing, there is a pretty good chance its all coming down.

Some people hear the word safe and feel the need to jump on board and holler "HEY LOOK WHAT I'M PROMOTING", not realizing or caring what the impact is on the lineman or on our trade. Truth is I could press out a pile of cow poo, stamp the word safe on it and it would be an instant hit.

What we have at our location is a bunch of second year apes that do not know how to climp a pole (the right way). They will be forced to stay in this thing all the way through their apprenticeship and then when they top out that will be all they know. That's supposed to be safe. We timed our ape getting up a tuff pole wearing a bucksqueeze. If their happened to be a hurtman at the top he would have had riggamortis(sp) by the time he hit the ground.

Believe me I'm all about safety. If we need to kill something out, we do it. If we need more hands, we get them. No shortcuts anywhere. That being said, I believe this to be a very bad thing for our trade.

[polemonkey]

I work for progress energy and we have been using the bucksqeeze for about 2 yrs now. Yes it is at tmes agrevating, but once you get used to it you learn some tricks to make it easier.

[entlineman]

I think that they are batting the idea around here at Entergy of using the bucksqueeze. Haven't seen it personnally but I heard it weighed a ton. Is there anything else out there or is this about it?

[Stinger]

Here in the on National Grid System is 100% safety is mandantory regardless if your utility or contractor. No free climbing. Get caught without it, your going home. Do not agree with it, but hey, it is their rodeo, we are just the cowboys. A couple of climbs and i was comfortable with it. As soon as you are above the crossarm you can use your regular safety. The grid requires from ground to working position. So when you are climbing, you have to use two safety's. That being when you get to some obsticale, you take your regular safety, belt off, take the buck-squezze and pass it up over the obsticale re-hook the BS and keep climbing to your work posistion, repeating as necessary till you are there.

[Lnhnd13]

I think that they are batting the idea around here at Entergy of using the bucksqueeze. Haven't seen it personnally but I heard it weighed a ton. Is there anything else out there or is this about it?

I know Miller makes one and there is another but I'm not sure who makes it. the Bucksqueeze sounds like it may be the better one. The Miller does not have as many straps and buckles but it looks more difficult to climb in.