safety awareness

[joelineman]

it wont let me pm you duckhunter

[reppy007]

it wont let me pm you duckhunter

his inbox might be full

[duckhunter]

it wont let me pm you duckhunter

Don't feel alone, I just tried to PM you and it didn't go through. My box was less than 1/3 full so I think there is an issue with the site, I'll pass it on to those behind the big curtain. So I can get some stuff to you.

[joelineman]

ok thanks ill be looking forward to your input

[copperlineman]

im a journeyman lineman in the northeast area. i have seen a serious decline in safety focus. so now i am trying to come up with a product for companies to use to encourage daily safety awareness. is it unethical for me too want to use the stories of those who have been in accidents and have seen safety shortcomings to motivate linemen to take safety seriously. i want to remind those in our industry that conplaisancy is unacceptable. if anyone has any opinions please share
them.

It's not unethical to use accidents by others to get a point across. I begin all my safety meetings with a "Fatality Report", taken off the OSHA web-site. (I'm not a suit, I got my degree in lineology (journeymans card) over 40 years ago) The link is on the home page, right side, about half way down the page. You will have to scan through the fatalities and find those relating to linework, but it's worth the time.
There's not a lot of information on the site, but you can usually get an idea of what was happening when the accident occured. For example, I found a trend where there has been about 18 fatalities while setting poles or contacting an energized truck in the last two years. That gives us a chance to review the rules and procedures of cover-up and staying away from a truck while the boom is near energized equipment while setting poles or any other time the boom is in the air.
I've heard a saying once; "we have to learn from the mistakes by others because we don't have time to make them all ourselves."

[birdog37]

I heard the same saying only a little different.Learn from other peoples mistakes because you will never live long enough to make them all yourself.

[55lineman]

linework seems to be changing for the worse in leaps and bounds. Project manangers are coming in with absolutely no line experience but with a college degree. Apprentices are turning into foreman in weeks instead of years...... and many into gfs shortly after that. How many times have we seen showups full of 20 something foreman. Im not saying they cant do the job, but they are missing the eye for trouble that only comes from experience. Many safety rules are based on the belief that if we put rubber, fall restraint, and fr on it it should be ok. Most safety rules seem to be the result of repeated mistakes. Until the contractors or utilities change some of their practices of "grooming" apprentices or young lineman, im afraid many of our safety trends will continue. Fact of the matter is that the journyman in the air needs to stop work and point out these errors in judgement like no cover or people leaning on the truck etc. All the safety rules or tools in the world wont help if we dont police our own crews.

[reppy007]

linework seems to be changing for the worse in leaps and bounds. Project manangers are coming in with absolutely no line experience but with a college degree. Apprentices are turning into foreman in weeks instead of years...... and many into gfs shortly after that. How many times have we seen showups full of 20 something foreman. Im not saying they cant do the job, but they are missing the eye for trouble that only comes from experience. Many safety rules are based on the belief that if we put rubber, fall restraint, and fr on it it should be ok. Most safety rules seem to be the result of repeated mistakes. Until the contractors or utilities change some of their practices of "grooming" apprentices or young lineman, im afraid many of our safety trends will continue. Fact of the matter is that the journyman in the air needs to stop work and point out these errors in judgement like no cover or people leaning on the truck etc. All the safety rules or tools in the world wont help if we dont police our own crews.

Thats very true,and not hard at all....when I was younger,usually it was a lineman in the air that told me to get off the truck.....and if you wasnt watching what they were doing,they would change that too.

[Linelady]

That is the most true thing I have heard. We all say these Linemen are our brothers, it is time to be your brothers keeper. Step up, open your mouth, and save your brothers life.

linework seems to be changing for the worse in leaps and bounds. Project manangers are coming in with absolutely no line experience but with a college degree. Apprentices are turning into foreman in weeks instead of years...... and many into gfs shortly after that. How many times have we seen showups full of 20 something foreman. Im not saying they cant do the job, but they are missing the eye for trouble that only comes from experience. Many safety rules are based on the belief that if we put rubber, fall restraint, and fr on it it should be ok. Most safety rules seem to be the result of repeated mistakes. Until the contractors or utilities change some of their practices of "grooming" apprentices or young lineman, im afraid many of our safety trends will continue. Fact of the matter is that the journyman in the air needs to stop work and point out these errors in judgement like no cover or people leaning on the truck etc. All the safety rules or tools in the world wont help if we dont police our own crews.

[reppy007]

Linelady ....tell it like it is....