Bucket Truck Self Rescue

[old lineman]

At CL&P still using Sky-Genie been using it since the sixty's. About 5 years ago tried to have discussion on getting newer system but that would have taken some thought and a little money. best I could get them to do was a little retraining. A big problem nobody wants to admit is most all the harness's don't have a loop in the front at the chest position, in order to use the genie you have to put a couple of loops from around the waist level together and with the older larger linemen the center of balance is to low and you tend to get feet up head down if you don't pay attention. The biggest problem is that nobody ever checks the devices and after being in a canvas bag in the bucket all year and all weather the aluminum sleeve gets oxidized and the shackle get rusty, stopped some of that by vacuum sealing the whole kit then putting it into the bag.

That's a cultural deficiency.

If the company doesn't purchase harnesses with anterior hook up provision then they need to specify to the purchasing department to get with it.
Your not out of business in the meantime.
Detach your 5' lanyard from the anchorage pass the safety snap through both leg straps and snap it back onto itself.
Pass the fall line behind your chest strap (this will help keep you more erect). Attach the fall line to the lanyard and your ready to descend.
My advise would be to do this multiple ways until you find the arrangement that you like and go with it.
Get on management to get with the times and provide the proper harnesses. Which should also be flame resistant.
The Old Lineman

[old lineman]

We used Sky Genies for trouble alone also. Every year to qualify for pole top rescue we also did bucket rescue and a Sky Genie decent from 15-20 feet, for training purposes. When cell phones got more popular we just have the guy who's stuck call for assistance and another crew comes to get em down.

On paper that works. How about a trouble call on the weekend when your the only truck called out.

What would you do if the temperature was really cold and no one could get there for an hour or more.
What if this happened (as it has before) where the truck started on fire.
I personally recall two incidents where it did.
One guy jumped into a tree and saved himeself the other called 911 for the fire dept. and told the to look for the smoke (a rural area). They got there as the fire was dieing down.
The corpse was in the bucket.
Better rethink your strategy.
The Old Lineman

[lewy]

We practice bucket evacuation and bucket rescue. When it comes to bucket evacuation our first choice would be to wait for a second truck then go bucket to bucket, but if that was not an option we would use our bucket evacuation. Either way we would have a man on the ground, I think it is just plain dumb to be working in the air without a man on the ground.

[bren guzzi]

Self rescue its like learning C.P.R. And working alone.
We never work alone at height. It sounds a dumb idea to me.

The only reason your working alone at height is because your company thinks your expendable.

It's cheaper to have one guy AND THAT'S THE ONLY REASON YOU ARE OUT THERE ALONE.

Let me put it this way ............if it was cheaper to have two guys out working together then that's what your company would want ..

The answer to that is " threaten them that if you get injured while working alone you will sue thier asses. I WOULD REFUSE TO WORK AT HEIGHT ALONE. its wrong ..and you all know its wrong. So. W.T.F. are you doing it for. ....??????????????????

Grow some ...and SAY NO.

[rob8210]

I totally agree , never work alone. If there are so many things that can happen , there is no way a fella stranded in a bucket could get help quick enough. I never work alone. I actually had it happen , once , where a foreman set me up to relocate some primary , then he went some where else. As soon as I realized he was gone I came down. He was really mad when he got back, but tough. Sometimes you just gotta stand your ground. Besides, whats the family gonna do after winning the lawsuit, your still just as dead. By the way we have a controlled descent device in all our trucks and we carry a throw line long enough to hit the ground. Never work in less than a 2 man crew. I am part of a 12 man construction crew, there is always one of our guys handy

[T-Man]

On paper that works. How about a trouble call on the weekend when your the only truck called out.

What would you do if the temperature was really cold and no one could get there for an hour or more.
What if this happened (as it has before) where the truck started on fire.
I personally recall two incidents where it did.
One guy jumped into a tree and saved himeself the other called 911 for the fire dept. and told the to look for the smoke (a rural area). They got there as the fire was dieing down.
The corpse was in the bucket.
Better rethink your strategy.
The Old Lineman

We never had a weekend where there was only one trouble shooter on the property, and within 20 min. We had a man aloft system, where you would tell dispatch you were going up to make a repair, close a fuse etc. They would set a timer and in 15 min if you didn't call back on the radio they sent the nearest man looking for you. Now a days they do almost everything with a second man. When we did have sky Genies we did work alone and we were trained to do the work alone. It was the way of the world back then. it was our responsibility to work safely and get the job done. It's good to have a second man and I can remember plenty of times I wanted someone standing by in case something went wrong. if I thought a second man was a good idea they would send one, I may have to wait a while but they would send one. Maybe it sounds crazy today but it was what it was back then. I'm not bragging just from a different time than the folks working now.

[busman]

All,

Thanks for the good discussion.

As an electrician, I don't usually have a lot of choice about working alone, hence the reason for my question. A lot of the work I do is way back on private property, so having someone chance by is not a guarantee.

Our local trouble trucks are one person (Dominion Power) and if I see them working alone, I'll stop and ask if they want an observer. They usually are happy to take me up on it. Obviously, my involvement in an emergency would be limited to calling 911. If I felt it was necessary and the bucket was not in contact with anything, I might lower it from the lower controls.

Thanks again for the insight.

Mark

[reppy007]

In a perfect world I dont see anything wrong with working alone...yes,it can and is done,but if and when you need another trained person there is no subsitute....I would have to think back and remember the times that another person would have been of great help.Theres been many.maybe I lucked out a few times...right off the bat I can name a few times another man would have helped.We had one guy fall from the highest step while getting into a double bucket,fell square on his back on a thanksgiving day,landed on the cement.I once broke a piece of a mif arm while opening a switch that didnt have a loadbreak,the disconnect either opened or the highside broke due to the strain.....been years since that happened....that other guy helped me put out the grass fire that spreaded really fast.I understand that its effecient and all to have a one man....But is having another man going to break the utilities pockets....I dont think so.

[lightman]

I've worked alone, in a bucket truck, for most of my career. I try to remember to take both my cell phone and hand held radio. We have no company approved rescue equipment for men who work alone. We do CPR, pole top rescue, and bucket rescue, as required, but nothing for a lone worker.

As far as working alone being dumb, I can't argue with ya, its just the way it is and has always been. I've been called to rescue a few guys, and made a call or two myself. Thankfully, all of these were just truck problems. You're right about it being cold or stormy, but it is just the way it is. My service area is in the rural, too! I guess a fellow could remove the hook from the winch line, unwrap it from the drum, and climb down. Lightman

[stulittle]

Self rescue its like learning C.P.R. And working alone.
We never work alone at height. It sounds a dumb idea to me.

The only reason your working alone at height is because your company thinks your expendable.

It's cheaper to have one guy AND THAT'S THE ONLY REASON YOU ARE OUT THERE ALONE.

Let me put it this way ............if it was cheaper to have two guys out working together then that's what your company would want ..

The answer to that is " threaten them that if you get injured while working alone you will sue thier asses. I WOULD REFUSE TO WORK AT HEIGHT ALONE. its wrong ..and you all know its wrong. So. W.T.F. are you doing it for. ....??????????????????

Grow some ...and SAY NO.

My previous employer always mandated two men (minimum) for working at height, but then decided not to teach the "occasional climbers" rescue.... They could climb in pairs or one of them and a rigger (all riggers were rescue trained) - I argued and argued that one.

Equally every member of field staff had to do first aid including CPR "because they lone worked on remote sites" - Now 10 years on, with 5 cardiac arrests (one successful resus) under my belt I'm still trying to see how the hell the patient could have given himself CPR.

I'm certain most of these rules are written by people who have never seen the real world !!!!

Now I call the shots , the "access team" do all the high or confined space work, they are properly kitted, trained and refreshed. Everyone has first aid but there's not supposed to be any lone working on anything live but I won't say the guys don't do it

Stu