PDA

View Full Version : another accident



iceman1
07-09-2008, 07:00 PM
heard that a guy passed on today,from what i was told he got phase to phase then to ground

iceman1
07-09-2008, 07:19 PM
Utility worker electrocuted in Port Orange


STAFF REPORT


PORT ORANGE — A utility worker replacing power poles was electrocuted this afternoon.

The unidentified worker may be from Brevard County, police said, and was injured while working on power lines after 4:30 p.m. at Dunlawton Avenue and City Center. He was pronounced dead at 5:11 p.m. at Halifax Health Medical Center of Port Orange, said Capt. Wayne Miller, spokesman.

The victim was working for East Coast Utilities of Melbourne, which is subcontracted by Florida Power & Light to replace wooden poles with ones made of concrete from Spruce Creek Road to Interstate 95, police said.

CPOPE
07-09-2008, 07:47 PM
Utility worker electrocuted, dies
Susan Jacobson | Sentinel Staff Writer
7:27 PM EDT, July 9, 2008
A man working on power lines was electrocuted Wednesday when he accidentally touched live equipment, Port Orange police said.

The East Coast Utilities worker was in a bucket truck, transferring power lines to concrete power poles, when he contacted live equipment at the top of the poles about 4:35 p.m., police said. His co-workers tried to resuscitate him, and rescue workers took him to Halifax Health Medical Center.

But the man, whose name was not released because his family had not been notified, was pronounced dead about 5:10 p.m.

Power in the area temporarily went out when the man touched the equipment.

IronLine
07-10-2008, 12:16 PM
Oh no! POWER WENT OUT IN THE AREA?!:mad: That's really irritating. Makes me want to just slap the shit out of these reporters.

grizzlybuck
07-10-2008, 08:41 PM
My thoughts and prayers to our fallen Brothers family.

The knuckleheads in the media have to talk about the outage, since they are so ignorant about everything else concerning our jobs, the hazards involved and the recent changes in manpower and training because of a lack of manpower and the loss of so many experienced hands, they simply do not know what else to report.

iceman1
07-10-2008, 09:49 PM
heard today that he contacted a primary dip with a shoulder and the concrete pole with the other it was 7620

iceman1
07-10-2008, 09:53 PM
Electrocuted utility worker identified

By SETH ROBBINS
STAFF WRITER


PORT ORANGE -- Police have identified a utility worker who was electrocuted while working on a utility pole.

Robert Dennis Letlow, 49, of Mims, died Wednesday about 5:11 p.m., just minutes after he was shocked.

He was employed by East Coast Utilities, a Brevard County company sub-contracted by Florida Power & Light to replace wooden utility poles with concrete ones aimed at strengthening the system against hurricane damage from Interstate 95 to Spruce Creek Road, police Capt. Wayne Miller said today.

"They began this work on Monday and the crews today were transferring wires to the new poles," he said. "He obviously touched something live"

The work was being done close to Port Orange police department headquarters on Dunlawton Avenue.

"We were sent a letter about the work and told there may be intermittent power outages," Miller said. "We didn't realize there was a problem until we heard the rescue call."

Letlow was unconscious in the bucket truck in which he was working, Miller said. Co-workers performed CPR until paramedics arrived on Dunlawton Avenue and City Center.

Power went out momentarily on the block in which the accident occurred, which is also where the Port Orange Police Department is located.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will investigate the accident, Miller said.

This is the third electrocution in Volusia County since May.

BigClive
07-11-2008, 10:41 AM
So primary to the concrete pole. I wonder what actuall current flowed. If the concrete was dry then it would still have sustained a modest current, but not necessarily enough to cause serious physical injury. It would almost certainly have been enough to put his heart into fibrillation.

I'm not even going to say the rest......

Ironically if they do issue them to the workers then threads like this will be less frequent.

old lineman
07-11-2008, 08:48 PM
"According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), nearly 50 percent of all utility workers across the U.S. will reach or approach retirement age in the next 10 years.
This of course, means many new workers will be needed in the industry. As a new generation of workers enters the work force, each individual will need to learn how to work safely given the hazards associated with the work".
Nice to know someone sees a problem before it arrives. Maybe the utilities should start doing something know.
We all see what happens when we are warned and doing dick about it.
Wasn't it in 1974 that we were short of gas and the price went through the roof, if you could find it?
Sounds like Deja vu all over again.
The Old lineman

jaxtaz
07-14-2008, 09:57 PM
Heard to day from Fpl ccr in North fl that emp made contact with his neck with pirmary jumper on high side of a cutout while his elbow was in contact with the concreat pole....

Trampbag
07-15-2008, 11:42 AM
My condolences go to Robert Letlow’s family.


I wish there were something I could do about all this carnage. I used to get really uptight about what I perceived was senseless slaughter and the hard view that those not involved in the trade, like the reporters, expressed when one of ours fell. If a Police Officer or a Fireman is killed “in the line of duty” fellow workers show up from all over the country and the media cover the funeral service on all channels of the 6 O’clock news. All we ever get is “the power was knocked out for several hours inconveniencing 35,000 customers”.

As I rapidly approach retirement, living out the next few years in semi-retirement before plunging into full gainful unemployment, I find I have had to divorce myself from the emotional torture I have always felt when another lineman “bites the dust”. It seems I carried all those casualties of those I knew and worked with over the last 40 years in linework like Jacob Marley’s chains to absolutely no avail.

I guess the point I’m trying to make is that I haven’t, now or in the past, a single clue about what to do about this problem that the trade has suffered from its earliest days when the IBEW was started by Henry Miller and others to address the fact that more that 50% of those entering the trade were killed on the job. Henry Miller, who became the first President of the IBEW, was killed on the job.

Is this a “chicken or egg” situation?? Is there any solution??

As “Old Lineman” pointed out more than ½ of those now employed as linemen will retire within the next 10 years and there will certainly be a void of “experience”. What does this mean???

As I’m sure I won’t be part of it I’m equally sure that we will continue to have the lights come on when we click the switch.

Can I wish that God, no matter which God you worship, goes with those that follow with out offending anyone??

Bull Dog
07-15-2008, 12:52 PM
You know you have said exactly what I have gone through. I just can not get as involved emotionally as I used to. First of all very few people listen to others that want to end this. Why is that? The company's that continue to have this carnage on there property will have to answer. I've said this before on this board and took hell for it. Till some one has a better answer were all ears. It's a culture of safety that must start with the CEO and go all the way down to the janitor. Safety is expensive easier to pay a few thousand to OSHA and move on. We can do more but human nature is what it is. Tramp did you hear anything about that line man for Hooper in Madison that got burned? I'm wondering how hes doing. God bless this mans family.

Pootnaigle
07-15-2008, 06:27 PM
Well said TRAMPBAG you echo my sentiments exactly . I spoze I should say its an honor sharing this site with you,

PSE Lineman
07-19-2008, 11:07 AM
I haven't my lost emotions YET! This kind of crap really pisses me off. No one has to die to do this work, EVER! Where was the second man in the bucket? When you get near, the guy that is on the outside watches the other guy like a hawk and says "you're getting close to that jumper" or "watch your elbow" etc. etc. I read on here that one man does shit around the country that is illegal in Washington state. Why is that? Minimum approach distance for 12.5 is 2.2 feet. That's 2 men EVERY SINGLE TIME. Are we not using proper cover? I know, when it's covered you can't see it. Been there, done that too. When you old guys (i'm 53) don't cover for the apes you are showing them it's OK to NOT cover. The foreman doesn't need some lazy ass on the ground bullshitting him when the young buck is up there by his self. Pull your heads out of your asses and stop sending men into the primary zone alone. Stop getting so close to energized equipment. If you don't like the working conditions where you are, get them changed or get the hell out. Don't be another "hey the lights just went out, i wonder why" dead lineman. I'd like to see people stop this non sense, NOW!!!

Trampbag
07-21-2008, 10:52 AM
I can’t agree with you more, PSE Lineman. I just have lost the energy to get militant about it any more. In the 40 or so years I have been doing this trade over the many miles of “yellow line fever” I just haven’t seen the will on the part of the line crews to do it right.


Several years ago I worked for a contractor that had the GFs going from crew to crew constantly to ensure the hands were following the rules, they handed out verbal written warnings to anyone who wasn’t. You know what happened??? This contractor couldn’t attract the local qaulity hands – all that would work for them was the linemen on work permits, the ones that couldn’t just move easily to another contractor.

What does this tell you??? You would think that safety would be paramount to any lineman, but it wasn’t. The pay was the same, same amount of overtime, all was equal except the contractor ensured the safety rules were followed, back up by discipline.

I have walked off jobs because I didn’t like the way the job was going. A number of times a serious or fatal accident happened after I left. Not always but often enough that it convinced me that I can’t change things in this trade. I was fortunate in my working life in that most of the time I could walk if I needed to. There are one hell of a lot of brothers that cannot. By your handle, PSE Lineman meaning Puget Sound Energy I suppose, means you probably haven’t the ability to just “get the hell out”.

You probably have a lot invested in your job and that’s a good thing. It wasn’t so long ago that Local 77 and the workers at Puget Sound Power were going through a major change and a lot of guys from your area were forced on the road. I heard the stories from some of them how the contractors in your area were going through a lot of problems. This shit happens all over the place. A great place to work changes its business direction and viola the rules go out the door.

I’m winding my career down now in semi retirement. I sure hope the younger guys, like PSE Lieman, are able to change what I couldn’t.

PSE Lineman
07-21-2008, 11:53 AM
Trampbag, i hear where you are coming from. The only thing anyone can do is look out for number one. CYA! When PSE tossed out all the crews, 75 servicemen, first responders, troublemen, (take your pick) stayed on. Since then they have got us new trucks, online computers and gps navigation. Yes they can see us move on a screen and the program for daily work documents the times you click "accept" (the job) "enroute" "on site" and "reporting". I don't have a problem with it yet. I don't try to hide out, collect my pay and let the other guys answer the calls during the day. They let us take command of how we do our jobs. If i don't like something, i call for help. If it's too big i do the assessment and call a crew. We never ground without 2 men. That should say it all. We never move a hot line clamp with load on it alone. We put up small wire where we don't need flaggers. Flaggers and signs don't exist for us. It's funny, they give us 3 men to troubleshoot cables but expect us to put up wire with 2. Sometimes we will call for a 3rd and they still don't care. As long as we answer the calls at night they are happy. We keep asking them how much O/T is enough? They never come up with an answer. So, when you say you hope I can change what you couldn't, I don't see any change around here for now for me and my co-workers until the consortium from Canada and Australia buys PSE in the coming months. It's called the McQuirie Group, sounds like McQueery since I think I spelled it wrong. And a big yes to the fact I have been a "utility puke" all my lineman life. On another note, Potelco, since 2 fatalities in the last 2 or 3 years, and a few contacts, have really tightened up their safety procedures and really do take the time to do thngs safely. Of course there are few "Rambos" who will do what they do, but those kinda guys are everywhere. The foremen are directly responseable for the conduct of their linemen. If they don't like what they are going to do, they get them down and talk it over. If that doesn't work, it's down the road kickin' rocks. Good luck in your retirement. The younger bucks will hold the fort for you....

Trampbag
07-21-2008, 01:01 PM
The younger bucks will hold the fort for you....

I'm so glad.

mainline
07-21-2008, 05:31 PM
I admire the commitment to safety, but I still don't see the necessity of two guys in primary space. We regularly work with one guy in primary space. We jumper, using parking stands, jack deadends and move conductors. We observe coverup rules, and have a second qualified lineman on the ground observing. If a job requires two trucks we get two trucks. Sometimes, I think local safety rules are mistaken for safe work practices. I honestly cannot put a date on the last time a lineman was killed while working alone in primary space at my utility. Whatever your rules or crew compliment you need to have your head on a swivel.

Trbl639
07-21-2008, 07:39 PM
I agree with both of ya!! Well put in the posts!!!

I too am nearing the end of my Career........got to decide by 1 October if I am going at the end of the year, after 38 years, the last 20 as a Trblmn......I'm worn out, and broke down, and the BS is getting way too deep!!!! Too many people in management, with No clue as to what our job consists of, dictating how we do OUR job!!!! too many people worried about not dotting an i or crossing a t, just right, that they fail to do the Job right, cover-up, taking short cuts!! I'm 2nd generation, and was not brought up that way, I'm old school, taught by some of the Best in the trade in my opinion, and when I try to correct/advise some of the younger guys, I get told.........I'm a Journeyman........I know what I am supposed to do!!!!!!!

Then why in the hell, are ya not doing it right????? is my reply!!!!

Last July, we had an 18 wheeler, on a poorly marked Detour, tear the world down..3 or 4 poles, with 4/0 copper on a feeder........my Partner(about a 15-18 yr Jman..who got laid off and then rehired, about 6 yrs later and is now a trblmn..only 2 of us in this town) and I were going to lift Jumpers on a DBLDE to get most of the feeder back on until the crews got there......this was the Hospital feeder by the way......I got a switching order and clearance from the dispatcher to open the jumpers.......we talked things over, got a game plan, and started up.........I had all my PPE, and some cover-up, and 1 mack, so we could mack 1 phase...this DblDE also had a 3 phase tap on it.........he was coming up, NO FR, NO SLEEVES!!!! I see a Supv coming, and tell him...Get your sleeves and FR, Here comes Joe T......he just keeps raising the bucket!! Anyway, Joe T calls him back down to get his PPE..........then the next day, he draws a 5 day/no pay Lay-off, for violating safety rules..............but HE BLAMES IT ON ME!!!!!!!

I'm the BAD GUY, cause he screwed up and got Caught, and I tried to warn him..I told him to go down and get his PPE, to keep him outta trouble, but he won't listen!!!!

He called me another afternoon...after hours.....he had 7620 down, that came off the back of a 3 phase buck, made up solid.it was down about 2 spans from the buck...the fuse feeding that phase, was blown where the 3 phase lef the mainlne....those fuses fed a 3 pot bank on the end of the 3 phase...........he was just gonna leave the 1 fuse open, ground the 7620 and pick it up......without opening the bank..or the 2 other fuses...........

I told him if that's what he wanted to do, go ahead...he'd be by himself, cause I wasn't doing it ......then he said, oh I forgot about the bank!!!!!!!

Honestly..I have to Babysit him...and he won't listen to constructive criticism....all I'm trying to do, is to get him home, at the end of the day, in one piece!!!!!

And when he is with me, I also gotta Watch My Back.........hell, been in primary, replacing a bad connection, etc, and he's BS'in with a customer, instead of watching MY Back!!!!!!!!!

We have a saying..Be Your Brother's Keeper.......guess he doesn't comprehend it!!!!!:mad:

wtdoor67
07-21-2008, 07:48 PM
I admire the commitment to safety, but I still don't see the necessity of two guys in primary space. We regularly work with one guy in primary space. We jumper, using parking stands, jack deadends and move conductors. We observe coverup rules, and have a second qualified lineman on the ground observing. If a job requires two trucks we get two trucks. Sometimes, I think local safety rules are mistaken for safe work practices. I honestly cannot put a date on the last time a lineman was killed while working alone in primary space at my utility. Whatever your rules or crew compliment you need to have your head on a swivel.


You have mentioned before the necessity of only one man in primary space. I do not believe in it and have always thought that those who do are going to get hurt someday. It may work in some areas but not everywhere. It is a bad practice and I have known of many accidents involving one man alone. Not a good practice no matter what your companie's practice. Everyone's judgement just isn't the same.

Pootnaigle
07-21-2008, 10:03 PM
well I hafta agree that I dont see the need for 2 men just because yer in the primary zone. I do however feel that a 2nd man( qualified of course) needs to be observing. With that said I spoze after rethinkin it If an apprentice is goin up maybe a 2nd man would be in order, But unless sumpins way hairy a journeyman should be competent enough to handle most prollems.( I also am aware that there are Journeymen and there are "Journeymen". Maybe the entire workforce should be called and 4 buckets set up so everthang could be seen from different angles and a massive huddle could be formed and I magine 4 different plans could be critiqued.
Dont get me wrong I do beleive in Saftey but I am not to fond of what it has come to represent of late.After 36 yrs in the trade and entering and leaving with all my fingers and all my toes and never having suffered a flash burn or contact of any kind I kinda dont think I would chalk that up to luck alone. saftey In my opinion should be good common sense and not " The weakest link in the chain " crap.. If you have a weak link deal with that and

let saftey take care of its self.
I see so many rules that musta made sense to someone ( rarely an ex lineman) way up the ladder but hold no water whatsoever when critiqued. In MY honered opinion this is the kinda stuff that makes people shy away from safe work practises rather than embellish them.And when you couple that with the younger guys( some of which arent capable of judging a good rule from a bad one), The entire saftey program suffers.
Lemme give ya a prime example........ I worked for a utility that had a ground to ground rubber glove rule and they touted that as the most important rule in our book for years...... Now after a merger with a larger multi million doller 2 bit outfit they find that other companies in said consortium dont use that rule and since HR really needs an even playing field to adequately discipline offenders and there were more of them than us That rule was suddenly changed to "gloves when within minimun approach distance." Did Saftey gain or lose due to the need for a unified saftey program??? Bear in mind that many men that never had the choice to put em on of take em off suddenly DID and none of em were trained like that.
I have witnessed a few near misses due that that simple change.. But even if there had been an incident we would have been UNIFIED in our saftey program across 4 states. and thats all that would matter to those damn corporate whores ,so from my perspective Saftey hazta be instilled in the individual it dont come from a book it comes from a tragedy that some other poor soul paid dearly for and we had the opportunity to learn from his misteak.You will never hear a corporation say maybe we shoulld ammend our construction standards so that saftey is more easily attained ..........what you will hear is that our saftey program needs to more fully emcompass our construction standard so there will be NO accidents.
Gone are the days that old linemen with years of experience and expertise made the rules. Now we have College grads that have never been exposed to anything more than a broken pencil lead deciding our fate. And Oddly enough they can find an ex lineman to be their saftey man and tout their irresponsible decisions. Bet he would whore out his mama if it helped him stay in that airconditioned office and feel important. Ummmmmmmm Ok I feel better now Ize vented.......

wtdoor67
07-22-2008, 08:47 AM
If there was a way to hire, and use "common sense" as a criteria, and test for it, then it would all be simple. Only those who passed the common sense part of the test would be hired. We all know there isn't.

I have worked with, and I know many others have, with folks who have been in the trade for years and regularly seem to abandon their years of exposure, safety training etc. to now and then just do something stupid. Witness some of the accidents mentioned on this board. At least 2 I can recall offhand were very simple tasks and yet the man in the bucket wound up severely injuring himself while alone in the bucket.

If people insist on using one man in a bucket to work primary then great effort must be made to rigorously train folks in the safety observer role.

If folks look at it from their own perspective, and they have always been safe, then they simply don't understand how others can screw up. We know it happens from the accidents being reported.

No, it should be 2 men in the primary until the industry has properly addressed this practice. Each stupid accident only results in more stupid, restrictive rules.

I find it hard to believe there will be a significant decrease in accidents under the current practices.

Pootnaigle
07-22-2008, 05:24 PM
with the possible exception of 2 men in the primary zone I beleive we are on exactly the same page as far as current trends in saftey programs across the country.

mainline
07-22-2008, 05:25 PM
Whitedoor, I see your point. Common sense isn't that common. My utility also has some people who have been passed along instead of being dealt with. This is pretty sad commentary on our profession that we have people who are so piss poor that they need someone sitting on the opposite side of the pole watching so that they don't do something stupid. Maybe we should insist on testing people progressing internally, and external hires for competency. Maybe we should insist on more training. I can't believe the answer is that we accept incompetence and build our safety rules around it. This is not a shot at you or anyone else who has this as a safety rule, it just seems to be another way to risk proof the job for those who shouldn't be in the profession in the first place.

lewy
07-22-2008, 05:41 PM
We have some rules up here that people do not like , such as ground to ground rubber glove & using fall restraint, but one of the things that is taught to all apprentices in third year school is rubber gloving out of a single bucket MHD & it is a common practice here, but we have to have a dedicated observer who is competent in the work being performed.

Trbl639
07-22-2008, 05:47 PM
well I hafta agree that I dont see the need for 2 men just because yer in the primary zone. I do however feel that a 2nd man[/B[B]]( qualified of course) needs to be observing. With that said I spoze after rethinkin it If an apprentice is goin up maybe a 2nd man would be in order, But unless sumpins way hairy a journeyman should be competent enough to handle most prollems.( I also am aware that there are Journeymen and there are "Journeymen". Maybe the entire workforce should be called and 4 buckets set up so everthang could be seen from different angles and a massive huddle could be formed and I magine 4 different plans could be critiqued.
Dont get me wrong I do beleive in Saftey but I am not to fond of what it has come to represent of late.After 36 yrs in the trade and entering and leaving with all my fingers and all my toes and never having suffered a flash burn or contact of any kind I kinda dont think I would chalk that up to luck alone. saftey In my opinion should be good common sense and not " The weakest link in the chain " crap.. If you have a weak link deal with that and

let saftey take care of its self.
I see so many rules that musta made sense to someone ( rarely an ex lineman) way up the ladder but hold no water whatsoever when critiqued. In MY honered opinion this is the kinda stuff that makes people shy away from safe work practises rather than embellish them.And when you couple that with the younger guys( some of which arent capable of judging a good rule from a bad one), The entire saftey program suffers.
Lemme give ya a prime example........ I worked for a utility that had a ground to ground rubber glove rule and they touted that as the most important rule in our book for years...... Now after a merger with a larger multi million doller 2 bit outfit they find that other companies in said consortium dont use that rule and since HR really needs an even playing field to adequately discipline offenders and there were more of them than us That rule was suddenly changed to "gloves when within minimun approach distance." Did Saftey gain or lose due to the need for a unified saftey program??? Bear in mind that many men that never had the choice to put em on of take em off suddenly DID and none of em were trained like that.
I have witnessed a few near misses due that that simple change.. But even if there had been an incident we would have been UNIFIED in our saftey program across 4 states. and thats all that would matter to those damn corporate whores ,so from my perspective Saftey hazta be instilled in the individual it dont come from a book it comes from a tragedy that some other poor soul paid dearly for and we had the opportunity to learn from his misteak.You will never hear a corporation say maybe we shoulld ammend our construction standards so that saftey is more easily attained ..........what you will hear is that our saftey program needs to more fully emcompass our construction standard so there will be NO accidents.
Gone are the days that old linemen with years of experience and expertise made the rules. Now we have College grads that have never been exposed to anything more than a broken pencil lead deciding our fate. And Oddly enough they can find an ex lineman to be their saftey man and tout their irresponsible decisions. Bet he would whore out his mama if it helped him stay in that airconditioned office and feel important. Ummmmmmmm Ok I feel better now Ize vented.......


Before the Lay-offs and cut backs...........we had in our contract.....3 men, to do any hot work............2 jmen and a 3rd Qualified on the ground, and he had to be an 4th yr apprentice in his last 6 months, or another jman!!! Of course then we had all 3 man crews.............spent a many an hour on hooks, no board, rubbered up, at the neutral, observing, while the other jman was in a single bucket doing the work...........I was in a Position to render assistance...if needed.per the contract and safety manual............also spent a many an hour on a board, while the other guy was in a single bucket, ot both of us on boards..............now the apprentices get to get on a board, while at school.but we've got some jmen that have never been on one!!!! Now we have a 2 man rule..........if I am in the Zone....2ft plus MAD.........a 2nd Qualified man is required.........he doesn't have to be in the air, just there to watch my Back! the company's definition of a Qualified man is someone Trained in Bucket rescue and CPR!! Our lineman's definition is a qualified Jman!!!! This related to anything/work done in the Zone....although, if I can apply Hard cover, and am not doing Hands on Primary work...the company says I need a second man, but also says I am ok to work by myself, like that, like say changing a pot switch??!!! We usually get our 2nd man...we know when we need him!!!!!! Most of the time we call for 1 anyway, to keep them satified, may take him 30-45 minutes to get there, to do 10 minutes worth of work......but we get paid by the hour!!!!

Patr of our outfit had the Ground to Ground/Cradle to Cradle rule...the texas side---Old GSU property............for a year, the rest of the company had to place a Red Rubber Glove flag on the pole, indicating the Zone, till they got used to not having the grd to grd rule..........now the flag is back in play.....we are required to cover-up with gloves and sleeves..then remove the sleeves and we have long cuff gloves to do the work...but when its time to Un-cover...back to gloves and sleeves.........but there are a few exceptions.........like...........15kv pin insulator changeout......on 10ft xarm 2 of 3 phase, say on road phase...........seperation of phases is over 4 ft, then you can use gloves only...........field phase, if ya can't get the bucket to it, without going under the road phase, gotta sleeve up.........gets complicated............

I'm old school........brought up with gloves and sleeves.........so I wear em all the time!!!!!

Your statement about old lineman making the rules of yesterday, and the pencil pushers of today making em now..........HoW True!! I Agree 1000%!!!!!

Hell our Lead safety man now has a DBL E Degree..never done Linework........the other guy, well maybe 10 yrs and he was a Golden boy, as an apprentice at the KC Rodeo...............that tell ya anything!!!! Been in Safety about 8 months! Our Old Safety Lead, was demoted, after a Kid got burned, on a GOAB, due to lack of cover-up.he the safety guy wasn't on the job............and they demoted him about 4 months after the fact..........the supv over the crew, when the kid got burned was in the office, doing paperwork, he got laid off for a week I think....he told em to stick it and retired....both of those guys were good lineman...worked many hours with both of em!!

They ..... management.........is always looking for a scape goat, someone to send home to make an example out of!!!!!! And they have NO clue about what we do!!!!!

Ok.am off my soapbox too!!:D

PSE Lineman
07-27-2008, 11:23 AM
You guys just keep moving conductors and dead ends alone in the primary. Sure it can be done. A trained monkey can do this stuff. What about your family and wife? Don't they need their dad? I'm going to keep doing what i'm doing and I'm going to retire without any injuries other than worn out body parts. The last t-man that got burnt around here was in the 80's that reached for the end of a current limiter that he thought was "open". One other idiot tried to move a piece of grass off a bushing without a dust cap on a j-box with a screwdriver, only got his dick knocked in the dirt. That was in the 80's too. Anyone who has been around a while knows that a foreman can't actually control what the men do up in the air at all times. Same goes with a single man and an observer on the ground. The guy in the air has no one to tell him his idea is not a good one and we should do it this way. Notice I'm not saying stupid idea? So, there you have it. By the way, the only jumpers we have are grounds. We are first responders, not a "crew"...

Pootnaigle
07-28-2008, 09:02 PM
That red flag is not for the benefit of the lineman its to let any Passing supervisor know exactly where the zone starts. Now they are suddenly qualified to rat on you for not having it up or being above it without the benefits of your gloves. Every lineman knows when he is working around something hot be it secondary or primary............ By having you do this a meter reader supervisor is suddenly qualified to audit your job.

tramp67
08-19-2008, 11:25 PM
So primary to the concrete pole. I wonder what actuall current flowed. If the concrete was dry then it would still have sustained a modest current, but not necessarily enough to cause serious physical injury. It would almost certainly have been enough to put his heart into fibrillation.

I'm not even going to say the rest......

Ironically if they do issue them to the workers then threads like this will be less frequent.

FYI, not sure if you have concrete poles in the UK, or if they are constructed the same way, but many of the concrete poles over here are made of prestressed concrete, which involves imbedding steel cables or rods under tension in the concrete. This keeps the concrete in a constant state of compression, which is where concrete has its' strength. This prestressed concrete thus is a very good conductor of electricity.
Been off the site for some time, missed your posts, Big Clive!

tramp67
08-19-2008, 11:39 PM
[QUOTE=Trbl639;46076][/COL

I'm old school........brought up with gloves and sleeves.........so I wear em all the time!!!!!

Your statement about old lineman making the rules of yesterday, and the pencil pushers of today making em now..........HoW True!! I Agree 1000%!!!!!

My preference and belief too, gloves AND sleeves all the time. Boy, you should have seen the ruckus I caused when I was working in Florida and insisted on having a set of sleeves!!! "If you wear them, then they'll make all of us wear them", my GF told me. Well, I'd rather go home every night with my brothers pissed off at me for a while than stay on their good side and go away in the big zippered bag....;)

BigClive
08-20-2008, 05:22 AM
Been off the site for some time, missed your posts, Big Clive!

Working away from home for a while. Only get online briefly in the morning.

I'm currently doing the power and lighting (installation and maintenance) on the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

I'm not sure when they introduced the all-female marching groups in super short tartan mini-skirts and white bootees, but they're ummm..... Interesting. :rolleyes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFmuP2tAscs

Here's the whole show in time lapse from the webcam.... Yeah, lots of rain and fog this year!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTQE7Y0Obxk