back to the basics,and the cardinal rules of linework.

[reppy007]

ill apoligize for the sometimes long post,this ones a little long too.this one starts off with baseball,most lineman like sports,football,basktball and baseball,some like fishing,but they all have some type of basics,the things you learn first,and sometimes the first things we forget about.when i played ball ,i was an above average baseball player,not great but you spot a player whos dad has spent time with him.teaching him,when i look back,i can see some of the things i should have done.i fielded good,had a better than good arm,had a good bat,but to be honest ,struck out more that i liked,everyone hates to strike out,but there is different ways.by swinging it was bad enough,walk back to the bench,but by watching,and now that walk was a little harder ,at least for me.so oneday i look back,and see where i could have done better,now in practice a kid can hit,some fouls,but he generally is knocking the shit out of the ball,will swing at balls that might be a little high,might be a little low,outside or inside,the same kid in a game becomes nervous,jittery,and now his strike zone has gotten smaller,he gets picky on what to swing at,watching.when you watch you cant get on base ,unless you walk,and if i wanted to walk id be a mailman,now if you swing,at least you have a 50/50 shot. nobody can get anywhere by watching,well sometimes its good ,but sometimes its better to take a chance.even the professionals when in a slump will go back to the basics,with a lineman its a little different,,a guy goes out responding to a trouble call, he sees a clamp that is going bad,so he climbs the pole, for some reason he doesnt see that the case ground is broken,might be because the pole was leaning,and he climbed the hi side of the pole,might be because the transformer was mounted in such a way that the case ground was on the other side,and on the other side of the fence,might have been cause there were vines up against the bottom of the transformer.but it doesnt matter now,he climbed the pole to do his work,this was a good lineman,or apprentice,somehow while up on the pole he gets in contact with the case,and is killed,what do you say? ive been known to look at that possibility,sometimes i havent,sometimes the little things ,nothing big,so maybe ask an apprentice,just what he sees before climbing a pole,he might see something that you havent seen yet,everybody learns that when they are a apprentice,the basics,another thing or word that comes to mind is the cardinal word,and not the st.louis type.but in 24 years ive heard that only once,and that was when i was a helper,a new helper at that.i remember the safety man and the lineman talking about this accident,and the strap-brace,i still didnt know all the materials,but guess i was listening,well this is what they said ,the crew was running a primary bypass,but i dont think with bypass wire ,well the jy in the bucket goes down to get some wire which was ran out on the ground, he then attemps to hang it on the strap-braces,when suddenly he raises the other hand,streching?some reason,he contacts 7200,and is burned,hes in the hospital for weeks,then off for months,he lives ,but the guys in the saftey meeting says he broke a cardinal rule,are there many others ,sure they are,so if some of you can give some ,it will be great hearing from you,maybe we can teach the ones that will be taking our place a thing or two,id hate to hear that 20 years down the line another helper saying that he only heard the word cardnial when he watched the world series.i hate it when you type in lineman on yahoo,or google and come up with a football player,it doesnt bother me now,we all know a football lineman doesnt know shit about linework
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[bren guzzi]

That was a nice "NOVEL" you make some valid points though. Just rember that we are all still learning some know it all ,set in their way types think they. Are Gods not to be Questioned. Their the fookers that will get ya killed. I'm a linesman thirty tears (and has been at a few work mates funerals). A GOOD LINESMAN is always learning an open to "sugestions" . I'm alive today coz of a little comment from an aprentice, years ago. The day you think you know it all is the day you become dangerous. ( BE YOUR BROTHERS KEEPER). :)

[reppy007]

That was a nice "NOVEL" you make some valid points though. Just rember that we are all still learning some know it all ,set in their way types think they. Are Gods not to be Questioned. Their the fookers that will get ya killed. I'm a linesman thirty tears (and has been at a few work mates funerals). A GOOD LINESMAN is always learning an open to "sugestions" . I'm alive today coz of a little comment from an aprentice, years ago. The day you think you know it all is the day you become dangerous. ( BE YOUR BROTHERS KEEPER). :)
thats a good point,some guys think that way ,have been ,always will,nobody knows it all,when i see a good lineman.there is always someone before hi,the guy that might have taught him,some guy he knows,even maybe he learned something from this web-site,but no lineman was born with this ,i have learned from apprentices,maybe some lineman taught him,or maybe a trick,who knows,shit if a helper can teach me something thats good too,so basically when you see a good one ,he picked some of it up from a good lineman,but on the flipside of that ,when you see a bad one,he also picked that up from a bad lineman,ive seen people talk about shitty lineman,but why would you talk about him,hes only been on your crew for 8 months,so that would indicate the lineman ,isnt correcting him,or hes picking up that habit from the lineman.as a helper i remember the older apprentices telling me to go get a guy wire splice, - pickle, i didnt know much,but it was the auto-matic type,well after giving it to them they send me after the anderson gun,i went and got it,,,,,,,,,,,,,,they laughed,i didnt,but i learned something that day

[reppy007]

That was a nice "NOVEL" you make some valid points though. Just rember that we are all still learning some know it all ,set in their way types think they. Are Gods not to be Questioned. Their the fookers that will get ya killed. I'm a linesman thirty tears (and has been at a few work mates funerals). A GOOD LINESMAN is always learning an open to "sugestions" . I'm alive today coz of a little comment from an aprentice, years ago. The day you think you know it all is the day you become dangerous. ( BE YOUR BROTHERS KEEPER). :)
thats a good point,some guys think that way ,have been ,always will,nobody knows it all,when i see a good lineman.there is always someone before hi,the guy that might have taught him,some guy he knows,even maybe he learned something from this web-site,but no lineman was born with this ,i have learned from apprentices,maybe some lineman taught him,or maybe a trick,who knows,shit if a helper can teach me something thats good too,so basically when you see a good one ,he picked some of it up from a good lineman,but on the flipside of that ,when you see a bad one,he also picked that up from a bad lineman,ive seen people talk about shitty lineman,but why would you talk about him,hes only been on your crew for 8 months,so that would indicate the lineman ,isnt correcting him,or hes picking up that habit from the lineman.as a helper i remember the older apprentices telling me to go get a guy wire splice, - pickle, i didnt know much,but it was the auto-matic type,well after giving it to them they send me after the anderson gun,i went and got it,,,,,,,,,,,,,,they laughed,i didnt,but i learned something that day

[bren guzzi]

Mind you us linesmen are stroppy bastards. An take a lot of changing. I rember when thet made it compulsory to be attached at all times when on a mast. The old guys fought tooth an nail against it. I rem when they made it a sackable offence to be up a mast without a helmet . (Rem my old chargehands words " what the f..k can fall on my head up here unless it falls out of an aeroplane..... WTF ). Over the years things have got much better. We all had it rough in "our day"- was drilling a hole in a pole to hang a transformer(old rusty hand drill) my charge hand was above me on the pole shouting as usual. I wasn't drilling quick enough for him so (and I swear this is trus) he pissed down on top of me. Now a days that would be "bollying in the work place etc etc. Thenmost guys laughed. When I complained to the site foreman "he told me to toughen the f..k up. Well I toughend up. And a few years latter when the same chargehand made a "big mistake " on a job. I stood up to him stopped the job on saftey grounds and probably saved 2 maybe 3 lives. Never grassed on him but he knew then I had come of age. I prefer to run a job on mutual respect an equality.... LEAD BY EXAMPLE......... ( Shut up Bren ffs rambling old fool). :)

[bren guzzi]

Not too long ago. 15 or 20 years ago national grid UK. No helmets and only attach harnes when you get to work position to free up other hand.

[Bowline]

Great picture Bren.... Thanks for your positive input to the site!!!

[crazylegs]

All the best foreman I haved worked for are guys who create an environment that a young lineman isn't afraid to speak up have some input and ask questions. The shity ones want to be able to tell the junior guys what to do every step of the way and keep them in the dark so they don't second guess their methods.

[reppy007]

All the best foreman I haved worked for are guys who create an environment that a young lineman isn't afraid to speak up have some input and ask questions. The shity ones want to be able to tell the junior guys what to do every step of the way and keep them in the dark so they don't second guess their methods.

best foreman or lineman? witch is it,we know its the lineman,theres been,is,and always will be that type,i and most of us have seen it.the best thing to do is to learn as much as you can,and be patient and that might take awhile,seems to me that your with a shitty one now,cause if not you wouldnt be stating that,funny how an asshole can ruin people or ruin a great trade,good luck.

[crazylegs]

When I says foreman i mean line crew foreman and all our forman are lineman most of our managers are old lineman too but that is changing. The shitty line crew foreman were shitty lineman too. Respect is something you earn weather your a grunt or a foreman and who is going to respect a shitty lineman, not another lineman!