Journeyman nearly dies from new fall protection.

[HighVoltageAddict]

What is the first thing you learned as an apprentice? If you can't climb find another trade. You're done!
In the Northwest we pride ourselves on being able to do any and all line work out of the hooks that can be done in a bucket. And we're **** good at it!
This April, a utility mandated 100% fall protection while climbing. They gave employees 1 hour to choose 1 of 3 fall restraint belts being demo'd to use as mandated by the company to improved climbing safety. NO formal training was given on any of the rigs we were forced to use. Yet we were still forced to use them or we would be terminated. Might I add that we have had NO falling incidents in YEARS.
One week ago one of my fellow journeyman was using his new "safe" fall restraint while performing pole top rescue. He had his new fall restraint belt properly attached to the pole while performing this exercise. He rescued the dummy and was stepping around the pole to reattach the dummy for the next Journeyman to rescue. As he stepped around the pole. His belt did not slide with him and caused him to loose his gaff. He turned upside down in his belt and this "safe" fall restraint belt not only hindered his movement on the pole causing him to gaff out but also did not choke the pole as designed. The belt skidded down the pole with the weight the journeyman until his back hit the ground. He suffered 5 broken vertebrea and spinal cord injury. Dr's say he was lucky to survive and he'll be unable to walk for at least a year. He was going to retire at the first of the year but decided to wait a couple more months. Now the company sends him out with a broken spine after 30+ years in the the line trade and NEVER ANY climbing incidents wearing a conventional climbing belt!
When has safety gone too far? When a company mandates new equipment for safety without any formal training? When they just "know" this **** is safer and they won't have to pay out as much for insurance? I'm disgusted by where this trade is headed. We know our jobs! We work safe to protect our brothers and ourselves! The hazards of the trade keep our heads clear and our minds on the task. All real Journeyman know that the hazards are what keep our minds on safety. The company makes these decisions without regard to the big picture. I DON'T want a Journeyman on the pole with me, moving a hot phase, when he's there because he's afraid of falling and is relying on his fall restraint belt! He's NOT up to the task. That is just the type of person we'll be shuttling through our appreticeship programs. Those who "know" their safe because they "can't" fall! What else are we sacrificing for the sake of "safety"?? What happens when their fall restraint fails, when they never truely learn to climb and their belt doesn't catch them?
This journeyman will spend the rest of his life in pain for crap shoved on us, without training, and that doesn't work as designed.
If you have to wear fall restraint belts Get intimately familiar with them. Use them in a safe place and work with them until you know EXACTLY how to adjust them and climb properly with them so you don't end up like this excellent journeyman. Oh, and good luck trying to spin around a pole and work in the proper position when both of your hands are busy holding a hot phase, mac or jumper. Because the belt will not move with you and you'll have to let go of the true danger to address the FAKE "safe" fall restraint belt go get it to move with you.
Be safe my brothers. This trade is hazardous and our companies are making it MORE hazardous with their "safety" products all the time. Safety and wellness are in the mind and soul of the true Journeyman!

[Lineman North Florida]

First, sorry to hear of your co-workers accident, prayers go out to the man and his family. You are correct it seems like something new every month to supposedly help make our work safer, we haven't gone to fall restraint while climbing but it is coming, I can still remember when we had to go to full body harnesses to work out of the bucket, every time I turned around I was tangled up or when I went to get out of the bucket my lanyard would get hung up on something and hang me all up, I stayed aggravated about it and that doesn't help you keep your head where it needs to be while doing hotwork. I wish I knew the answer.

[T-Man]

Sorry to hear of the guys injuries and prayers go out to him and his family'

Fall arresst is an interesting subject. Someone thought he could build a better mouse trap. Now with about 8 or 10 different styles of fall arrest on the market for pole climbers. Companies needed to get on that page because if one of their workers fell from a pole after fall arrest was available in the industry, a slick lawyer could sue the berries off a company because they didn't have their people in the latest safety devices.

I get all that. But I don't get how a company could jump on the fall arrest band wagon and not think there needed to be some training to go along with it. . .That would let the lawyers back in the door to do their deeds IMO. . .

Just before I retired, the outfit I worked for took about 6 months to tryout a bunch of different fall arrest. They settled on the Bucksqueeze. None of the climbers on the property were thrilled with the idea. My partner came up with a whole intense day of training. Starting in the classroom going over the new tool and how it was to be used with demonstrations and videos by the maker. He even compared it to other brands and showed why the squeeze was the choice. There was an afternoon of climbing and more discussion. Everyone was in on the training and from that point on used the gear. Now all new hires get the same training and are in the squeeze from day one. It's becoming second nature. I never had to use one and would put up a fuss if I had to, because I see the misery in them, but such is the way.

[TRAMPLINEMAN]

Somehow, this will get turned around on this guy to being his fault.

[gumbo]

Somehow, this will get turned around on this guy to being his fault.It usually does. I'll bet the first thing they did was give him a piss test before they X-rayed him.

[Berserk13]

**** near the same thing happened to me, they came in one day issued use all fall protection (Unlike you guys we did not even have a choice in what type we used) signed a paper stating we got it. The saftey guy didn't even put it on the pole to show us anything and was on his way.. A couple weeks later we were on storm I had climbed all day without the dang thing cause no one was around then an inspector came by so I had to throw it on, got up to the telephone and while trying to adjust the thing I hit dirt. Didn't even slow me down, was being used in the right order.. I mean come on.