What is PIKE thinking??

[IBEW?]

To the Previous Poster : I have been following this story for awhile. Here's my question. WHY... would you; or anyone else on here for that matter, create another or multiple accounts here on Powerlineman.com ; just to hide who you are ? Are you scared for your job ? Worried your fellow workers will harass you? I'm in the UNION, so I'm not. And why would you list yourself as IBEW for a username if you are a NON-UNION lineman ? Just wondering.

Eric Elder
Journeyman Lineman
KCP&L
IBEW Local # 1464
(PROUD TO BE UNION !!! )

to start i didn't investigate the username just thought it seemed appropriate
so it is my only account. now that being said i am very impressed with your willingness to promote yourself and your collective group hope this helps to clear up some things

[tramp67]

I've gloved 7200 off the pole quite a lot. It was allowed in the safety rules, both for the contractor I was working for, as well as the utility whose property we were working on. It isn't an OSHA thing, it varies by utility and by state. Same for gloving out of a bucket, 34.5kv is allowed in many parts of the country, some areas you can't glove over 4kv.

[BigClive]

Gloving any voltage above secondary off a pole is relying entirely on the integrity of your gloves. Given the level of abrasion they get on a daily basis, it's almost inevitable that a pair will fail at some point between routine glove tests.

I think anyone who gloves high voltage from a pole without a second form of isolation is probably getting off on the adrenaline hit or being a company "hero".

I get the feeling Pike has a lot of company hero's.

The company hero's may now flame me.

[blockhead]

We have a policy that states NO ONE can work an energized line from the pole for any reason!!! We can work secondary voltage as long as it is not more than 240 volts. We also have to wear gloves AND sleeves to do this from the pole. My opinion is that I want everyone to go home from work the same way they arrived that morning and I will do what ever it takes to get that done!!!!! I value my employees and the work they do. I also look at it like this, dont ask someone to do something you wouldnt do yourself!!!!! Pike needs OSHA to come in and shut them down for a while and wake them up to reality!!!!

[west coast hand]

Not suprised to hear pike gloving 7.6 off the pole when i was down in texas for ike i watched a pike crew set a pot in HOT 12kv with a setting chain and you wonder why we call you RATS.Go to the ibew and do the apprenticship and learn to do linework the right way and you will be better off....but pike's a dam good company acorrding to some people on here????????????????????

[blockhead]

Not suprised to hear pike gloving 7.6 off the pole when i was down in texas for ike i watched a pike crew set a pot in HOT 12kv with a setting chain and you wonder why we call you RATS.Go to the ibew and do the apprenticship and learn to do linework the right way and you will be better off....but pike's a dam good company acorrding to some people on here????????????????????

I agree with the apprenticeship program!!! All need to attend one whether it is IBEW or another four year apprenticeship program. My dad retired from an R.E.M.C. after putting in 37 years there. He also worked as a contractor for seven years before the co-op. I worked for contractors also before going to work for a municiple owned electric utility. I dont know how familiar you are with a contractor by the name of GAYLOR but they do send their people to H.E.A.T.S. That is Hoosier Energy Apprenticeship Training and Safety for the IBEW's and anyone else that wants to be a part of it. They are excellent people and are all retired linemen from the co-op's. It is a four year apprenticeship along with 8000 hrs of OJT. I have seen Pike in action and dont agree with the majority of what they do.

[topgroove]

Electric Company lineman diesPolice Investigate Lineman's Deathgneumann@sbgnet.com Questions remain over the death of an electrical lineman in Flomaton yesterday. The man's employer says his death seems to be the result of a generator that was hooked up improperly. 41 year-old Ronnie Adams, Junior of Georgia was found slumped over by his co-workers on this street yesterday. He was here as an employee of Pike Electric of North Carolina. His employer says an improperly hooked up generator likely backfed and electrocuted Adams...but Flomaton officials say that's merely speculation at this point. Mayor Dewey Bondurant/Flomaton: "They're not even sure it was a generator. They're not even sure of that. People are getting the wrong information. There were generators hooked up all down that street...and so...they don't know." Flomaton Police are conducting an investigation...along with the Madison County Sheriff's Office, while OSHA and Pike Electric are conducting their own independent investigations. I guess if you work for pike its not uncommon to find a co-worker slumped over dead.

[topgroove]

Sunday, October 09, 2005 This story burns some linemen(I wrote the following story for the 10/7/2005 online edition of ENR magazine.)With Proposed Fines of $127,000, OSHA Targets Pike ElectricFederal safety officials have tagged Mount Airy, N.C.-based Pike Electric Corp. as a repeat violator of safety regulations, proposing fines of $127,000 against the contractor. The proposed fines came after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently cited the company for using defective equipment and failing to use safe practices at four of Pike’s jobsites in Florida and Georgia. The alleged violations involved four jobsites, three of which saw workers sustain serious injuries, says Benjamin Ross, OSHA’s assistant regional administrator for enforcement programs. OSHA officials say they are trying to get their point across that safety procedures must be followed. "Whenever OSHA fines in excess of $100,000, we consider that a significant enforcement action. These cases are an indication that we are very serious about getting Pike’s attention," says Cindy Laseter, regional administrator of OSHA’s Atlanta office. The company may contest the proposed fines. "It’s too early for us to have much of a comment and we’re working on our response [to OSHA] right now," says Barney Ratliff, vice-president for Pike Electric.The alleged violations occurred during a three-month period from March to June, and OSHA issued the citations last month.In a March 24 accident at a Sunrise, Fla., a journeyman lineman sustained serious electrical burns that required the amputation of both his feet and one arm. The lineman was in an aerial basket, drilling holes in a concrete pole, when an exposed screw head on the boom came in contact with energized lines, causing an electrical current to flow through him, claims OSHA.OSHA’s Ft. Lauderdale-area office cited Pike, and proposed a $35,000 penalty, for allowing employees to work too close to power lines. Pike had been cited previously for a similar violation. Two citations also were issued for allegedly using inappropriate equipment to move energized distribution lines and for failing to provide and assure that workers used proper tools and protective equipment. Those citations include proposed penalties totaling $12,000. OSHA claims that a similarly dangerous situation occurred with Pike workers on March 30, along U.S. Highway 80, near Tybee Island, Ga. At that time an OSHA inspector from the Savannah office saw workers in two aerial baskets that OSHA claims were too near to power lines. OSHA issued a repeat citation to Pike for allowing equipment and personnel to come within the minimum approach distance of energized lines and for failing to provide workers with adequate protective equipment. The citation carries with it a proposed penalty of $35,000. A second citation with a $5,000 proposed penalty was issued for using defective personal protective equipment while working on energized power lines. On May 13, another serious accident, this time at a Melbourne, Fla., residential project, resulted in a Pike employee’s hands being severely burned. The accident occurred when the worker, allegedly working in an aerial basket without proper protective equipment, came in contact with an energized overhead distribution line. The Tampa OSHA office issued a repeat citation with a proposed penalty of $35,000. On June 28, the Ft. Lauderdale area office initiated an inspection at a Hobe Sound, Fla., job site, after an employee sustained second and third degree burns in an accident there. OSHA cited the company for permitting an employee to work without flame retardant clothing in an area where flash fires or electrical arcing were known to occur. The agency proposed a $5,000 penalty. Pike Electric has 15 days to contest the OSHA citations and proposed penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. http://enr.ecnext.com/freescripts/co...ar051007posted by Jonathan Barnes at 5:56

[thrasher]

If a company has and follows the proper rules the fact that some idiot homeowner hooks up a generator with a double male plug to the dryer receptacle will Not kill someone. Since 1998 (During Hurricane Floyd restoration) our Coop has on four seperate occasions found lines backfed by homeowners generators. The rule is isolate, TEST, and ground or treat it as energized. In all four of these cases when we tested we found the line still hot (just not at 7200 volts). Twice we ran down where the generator was and pulled the meter. Twice we did the work hot and then threw in the fuse/recloser against the generator. Not saying the second technique is proper procedure but at that point after hurricane Isabel we no longer cared.

[topgroove]

that's the difference between us and pike Thrasher. were trained to test and follow procedure. I love it when I find an improperly hooked up generator. Game on baby. those poor kids at pike don't have a chance.