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  1. Default Hiring Practices at your utility for Pre Employment

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    Hello I was wondering if i could get some information in regards to anyone's company or utility in regards to hiring lineman and Journeyman Lineman. I am looking for references to doing a physical and written assessment. Currently we are in the process of developing these practices at my utility however HR is balking at the idea claiming we do not want to have a "pass or fail" associated with the outcomes. To give you some context we have 5 different competencies (Hurtman under 4 mins, strength lifting above 50 pounds , 50 question general knowledge test, "hot work" scenario, and proper climbing technique. That said we are trying to show this is pretty routine amongst most major utility's to verify the condition of the applicant and skills. What is the rest of the industry experiencing and perhaps i could get some contact info to arrange a phone call or reference for our next meeting with HR. Thank you in advance I look forward to hearing from anyone and hopefully this is in the correct forum.

  2. #2

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    Before I retired we would give a written test, there were certain questions that were designated as safety questions and if you missed any of them that eliminated you from going any further in the process, we would not usually set a pass or fail score until after the test, due to the fact that you might have an older lineman who probably knew the work but wasn't good with written test, at that point we would offer the ones that made the cutoff an opportunity for a field skills test which would consist of changing out an insulator on a 3 phase line out of a bucket truck, then a downed line on a 2 phase lateral, we would tell them it was a trouble call show us how you would go about putting it back up, one pole would be considered rear lot while the take off pole was on the street, roughly 95% would get in the bucket truck and install grounds and then climb the pole and sag everything on the rear lot pole instead of stepping up the rear lot pole 15' and sleeving the wire and then going back to the bucket truck to put everything in the air, but you get to see the way each man goes about doing a job and how he thinks , you see if he uses cover , does he use grounds, all the while understanding that there are a lot of right ways to get a job done safely. We also would have them troubleshoot an underground loop and make up an elbow on a #2 piece of URD cable, hope this helps.

  3. #3

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    People like you come on here and make 1 post asking questions or for help with something and then a week later you still haven't checked back in.Why waste your time?

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    I appreciate your response i apologize for not responding right away i lost the password and couldn't recover it immediately. I find this really helpful and look forward to hearing more responses. How long have you been retired?

  5. #5

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    6 months, we hired a group of apprentices in the months prior to my retirement, it has gotten very hard to hire QUALIFIED lineman especially if you aren't willing to pay top dollar, and the outfit that I retired from didn't get it.

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    yikes! that seems to be about what we are seeing on our end as well. In a diminishing industry with incredible demand you would think society would understand. You can not fast track experience much less get someone "qualified" and competent to do the job.

  7. Default

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    Quote Originally Posted by Lineman North Florida View Post
    Before I retired we would give a written test, there were certain questions that were designated as safety questions and if you missed any of them that eliminated you from going any further in the process, we would not usually set a pass or fail score until after the test, due to the fact that you might have an older lineman who probably knew the work but wasn't good with written test, at that point we would offer the ones that made the cutoff an opportunity for a field skills test which would consist of changing out an insulator on a 3 phase line out of a bucket truck, then a downed line on a 2 phase lateral, we would tell them it was a trouble call show us how you would go about putting it back up, one pole would be considered rear lot while the take off pole was on the street, roughly 95% would get in the bucket truck and install grounds and then climb the pole and sag everything on the rear lot pole instead of stepping up the rear lot pole 15' and sleeving the wire and then going back to the bucket truck to put everything in the air, but you get to see the way each man goes about doing a job and how he thinks , you see if he uses cover , does he use grounds, all the while understanding that there are a lot of right ways to get a job done safely. We also would have them troubleshoot an underground loop and make up an elbow on a #2 piece of URD cable, hope this helps.
    Before retirement, a written test was given to candidates for a lineman position. Safety questions were designated, and missing any of them eliminated the candidate from further consideration. A pass or fail score was not set until after the test, as older linemen who knew the work but struggled with written tests were given an opportunity for a field skills test. The field skills test consisted of changing out an insulator on a 3 phase line out of a bucket truck, and troubleshooting a downed line on a 2 phase lateral. Candidates were observed for their use of safety measures, problem-solving skills and the way they approached the job. Roughly 95% of candidates passed the field skills test. Additionally, they were also required to troubleshoot an underground loop and make up an elbow on a #2 piece of URD cable.


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