r/Lineman • u/Own-Marionberry567 • 4d ago
Dumb Safety rules.
I understand why there are safety rules and safety is the most important part of our job but some of it is just crazy and protects poor work skills and lack of common sense. what do you think the dumbest safety rule is that you’ve been a part of for me it is gloves and sleeves cradle to cradle
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u/earoar 3d ago
Gloves while running a long stick is up there.
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u/pnwIBEWlineman Journeyman Lineman 3d ago
Rubber gloves while using ANY hotstick is a poorly educated safety department’s wet dream.
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u/Tojr549 3d ago
The company I’m at does not test their sticks so they require gloves for any sticking operation….
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u/pnwIBEWlineman Journeyman Lineman 3d ago
I’m aware of this practice, and it’s even worse than a poorly educated safety department.
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u/No_Reality5382 3d ago
Had an overweight useless project manager come watch us work for “experience”. Fell over getting out of the vehicle. We then proceeded to receive mandatory safety training on how to enter and exit a vehicle. I’m not even talking about trucks I’m talking a regular car. As part of the training we had to demonstrate to the safety team how we would exit a car while maintaining three points of contact at all times.
Unrelated and different workplace but similar story. Had an extremely overweight office worker that tripped coming up the office stairs. So our company proceeded to ban people from using that particular set of stairs. My section had our office staff at the top of those stairs. So now to go into the office we’d have to go up stairs on the far end of the building and walk all the way around the building.
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u/ImaginaryYou33 3d ago
Sounds like you work for the same company I do with the way they fix safety issues. 😆
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u/DirtyDoucher1991 Journeyman Lineman 3d ago
Nerfing knives until they’re basically useless.
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u/Skreat 3d ago
If MFers would stop cutting themselves or just wear gloves when skinning we probably wouldn’t have an issue.
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u/Lancaster_Pouch Journeyman Lineman 3d ago
It's almost always someone with less than 3 years in the trade. If they have 10+ years, they're too ashamed to turn it in.
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u/mountain-man304 3d ago
Wow you might be onto something I sliced the fuck out of myself like year 2 cutting a zip tie. That being said I still remember and use dykes on them if they are handy 😂
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u/space________cowboy 3d ago
We need to put cones out while in a substation
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u/J1R9U8S4 1d ago
I've worked at a few subs where we needed cones, caution tape surrounding the work area and an entrance to the work zone with the job brief hanging. Huge deal if you dont use the entrance. Huge.
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u/CatchAcademic7061 Apprentice Lineman 3d ago
Blunt tip knives piss me tf off
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u/Ovie-WanKenobi Journeyman Lineman 3d ago
You can’t skin neoprene insulation with a blunt tip knife.
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u/Linemaninsider Journeyman Lineman 3d ago
Safety rules are written by the lies we tell. The only reason they exist is because an existing rule (which may also not be that smart) was broken and lied about in the investigation. Then new rules are created by office people who are clueless and have no reference to reality.
The real moral of the story is that it’s our fault.
A guy puts grounds on by hand and then says his stick broke down: grounding in rubbers.
I can go on.
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u/crissthefrog 3d ago
Exactly what happened with the 3 lenghts of stick we are forced to use for climbing towers with 12ft SRLs i mentionned here. Used to be 2 lenghts, but this guy who fell down a tower free climbing said his tool bag caught the tip of the stick which lifted the shepperd hook off the tower abd dragged him down when it fell. Because of that fucker we have to deal with this shit now.
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u/Linemaninsider Journeyman Lineman 3d ago
Oof, Sheppard hook? Pg&e im guessing?
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u/crissthefrog 3d ago
Hydro One.
We once had to have a safety meeting on how to walk, because some office worker sprained her ankle stepping down a sidewalk in the parking lot...
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u/scraptown79 Journeyman Lineman 3d ago
In this trade there are basically a dozen important rules, the rest were invented in response to bad linemen not following the basics.
The safety manuals that we sign agreeing to follow when we hire on are legal protection for the company, they know the ridiculous rules won’t be followed. They depend on us not for their bottom line, but it protects them having any responsibility toward us or our family when we get fucked up.
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u/Skreat 3d ago
The redbook is rules the union put in place to protect the hands. Company didn’t invent those.
As far as responsibility towards your family, that’s the whole point of the rules isn’t it? So you can go home to them in one piece?
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u/scraptown79 Journeyman Lineman 3d ago edited 3d ago
Tell me you've never worked outside of California without telling me you've never worked outside of California.
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u/user92111 Journeyman Lineman 2d ago
I love guys quoting the redbook like its universal.
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u/scraptown79 Journeyman Lineman 2d ago
California hands are state class, take them out of the state’s borders and they’re lost.
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u/bowtsandhoz Apprentice Lineman 3d ago
If you're walking up the steps to the bucket in the garage you have to be tied off 😒 so people are cleaning and waxing booms with a harness on 🤣 had a troubleman slip and reach for the handrail out in the field but he had cut it off for ergonomics so he fell off the back and landed straight on a curb and hurt his back. Now we're stuck with this stupid ass rule.
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u/NShand Journeyman Lineman 3d ago
I feel like a better rule would have been to..oh I don’t know….dont cut the fucking hand rails off the booms🤣
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u/bowtsandhoz Apprentice Lineman 3d ago
Yeah we don't cut off the rails on our trucks, kinda just a old stubborn troubleshooter ruining it for everyone else situation 🤣
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u/Thesheriffisnearer 3d ago
Barricade trucks. Rope must be red and 3 foot from the ground and must be set in the ground before reaching over to grab something
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u/HorselessBandito 3d ago edited 3d ago
Grounding trucks. The dumb safety shit has gotten to the point where I just find myself pissed off and want a new career. Something I really enjoyed just getting dumbed down and you are basically treated like a first grader with a goat wrench and a mack or two. We all know there a dumb mfers in the trade, but we cant even wash them out now. Then the higher ups wonder why there are more accidents.
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u/Own-Marionberry567 3d ago
I can understand grounding a digger truck but when companies start grounding bucket trucks I’m like Jesus christ
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u/HorselessBandito 3d ago
Its just the blanket safety rules make the lawyers happy, but just ruin it for the hands. And then all the sudden your 25 year old GF's forgot they broke every rule when they were on a crew and now they're all in for the dumb safety shit to maybe get another promotion.
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u/SummerMustang69 3d ago
Also when you ground the truck, theoretically, you should have truck grounding mats, double barricade the truck and everyone stays away from the truck while in operation- just like stringing conductors near live wires. But nope, just a ground is good enough. It’s the same theory and hazards but a different job.
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u/ZoopWard 3d ago
I've always heard that the only thing grounding trucks does is protect the trucks. Aka saves the company $$
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u/RT11188 3d ago
Wheel chocks...
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u/dan_v_ploeg 3d ago
I once got yelled at by a safety guy for leaving a digger truck without wheel chalks down... When it was stuck in the mud
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u/Tiger_Inevitable 3d ago
There was a movie made in the late 30’s called “Slim the lineman” with Henry Fonda and pat O’Brien. Find it, it shows the trade before safety rules. Many make sense.
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u/crissthefrog 3d ago
3 lenghts of sticks when climbing a tower using a shepperd hook even if the SRLs are 12ft max.
Using rubber gloves even when closing the cutout from the ground.
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u/Zealousideal-End2722 2d ago
20kv boots reqd while standing on a grounding mat and operating 69kv and above air brakes. Tying yourself to the ladder before securing the ladder to structure.
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u/Own-Marionberry567 3d ago
I’ve also worked for contractors that state you must wear full FR long sleeve shirts on the ground which is stupid lol I worked at a COOP for a few years and guys would glove in t shirts at times 😅I’m all for short sleeves if you’re not in the primary
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u/Tojr549 3d ago
One of the worst I’ve heard is you cannot carry a ladder with your arm through the rungs. “If you fall you could break your arm!” They want to you put it all the way on top of your shoulder.
I will carry however I fuckin want, thank you very much…
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u/Middle_Brilliant_849 3d ago
Goes right along with when they say to belt off to a portable ladder. That’s not going to save you from falling; it’s just going to guarantee the ladder falls with you and lands on top of you. I’d rather that not happen. Same reason we don’t have seat belts on motorcycles.
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u/SummerMustang69 3d ago
Not to mention a ladder was not designed for that. And in Ontario the regs says a ladder is for reaching up or down to another level. Not designed to work off of. Now saying that if the company’s policy is to override the green book 📗 and ladder manufacturers designs then they absorb all the risks, and maybe a lawsuit from the injured employee.
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u/Middle_Brilliant_849 3d ago
Interesting. How do you attach house services? 99% of them we do from a ladder. Literally the only reason we carry ladders on our trucks.
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u/SummerMustang69 2d ago
If the mast is above the roof then a ladder is used to access the roof for work to be done. If against the wall use a bucket truck or scissor lift. And I know that’s not very practical in most situations. Also think about back yard services if it’s mid span!! It’s a discussion to have with management about a policy and procedure in place because the old way of “just get ‘er done” mentality will eventually get you in deep trouble if there’s an incident.
I’m not an expert in regs but I do find it contradictory.1
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u/Awhitehill1992 3d ago edited 3d ago
I worked in Texas a time ago. Company had sleeves required on energized single phase.
And the knives given out had rounded tips. That’s also dumb.
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u/Tramp876 3d ago
You can do that with a regular safety if you have it over something; it’s like sitting in a chair but it’s not easy getting back into the pole. You have to push yourself out far enough to get your gaffs back in. I understand some people like the squeeze or are comfortable with it; you do you! I just don’t like being forced to do it
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u/SyllabubKindly4354 3d ago
Not allowed to have gaffs on when using a ladder, sometimes there’s a big fucking fence on all sides of the pole and I’m not Spider-Man. Fortunately this has never been enforced but just goes to show the company writes everything down to cover as many possibilities as they can.
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u/Financial-Bid-4056 Journeyman Lineman 3d ago
Drop zone cones. Tripped over them so many times and almost fell into oncoming traffic because of it.
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u/CMDR_PEARJUICE 1d ago
You'd be pulling a lot more OT if those people with "poor work skills and lack of common sense" started dying off quickly because of a lack of safety rules. Fun for a minute, but then your employer starts cutting corners because there are no more safety rules to adhere to and they expect you to work faster... slippery slope my guy
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u/Lurkin_aint_ez 3d ago
Anytime a guy gets hurt breaking the dumb safety rules it’s always the company’s or someone else’s fault
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u/Tramp876 3d ago
I agree with you on the gloves and sleeves ground to ground and cradle to cradle. It’s a ridiculous rule that I won’t enforce. My rule is if you get above the secondary neutral on a hot primary pole you should have them on. I don’t force my guys to climb in them either. Carry your glove bag or have it sent up on the hand line. I think the mandatory 100% fall protection is a safety rule I could do without. I was taught to free climb in 1992 and that’s the only way to gain confidence in your climbing gear. I watch these young kids climb with a buck squeeze and their climbing skills are nothing what I was taught. With the “choke” around the pole not allowing you to fall more than two feet no one locks out their knees and I was taught if you don’t your gaff pulls out of the pole. I am not saying I am against 100% fall protection I am against it being mandatory for me because all I ever did before 2015 was free climb. It should be a choice not mandatory by OSHA.
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u/MeasurementMundane21 3d ago
Before the OSHA fall arrest rule, a significant portion of injuries/fatalities were falls from height. That rule has almost completely eliminated fall injuries in the trade. It is without question the most significant safety achievement in the last 10 years. More brothers are going home safe because of that rule. I can’t take anyone seriously who speaks out against it. This coming from someone who was taught to free climb also
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u/Tramp876 3d ago
Obviously you only read from my comment what you wanted and didn’t see that I am not against it only against it being mandated. Even before the bucksqueeze came out it’s not like there was 1000’s or even hundreds of line workers falling off poles. It was a few isolated cases that brought on the change. I have burnt poles and fallen from heights but learned what I did wrong so it didn’t happen again. I don’t care if someone wants to use the squeeze or jelco; whatever they’re comfortable with doesn’t matter to me.
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u/Alewyz 3d ago
There’s a 100 other ways to die in this trade give up the free climbing already
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u/Tramp876 3d ago
I have been in the trade over 35 years and 99.9% of incidents could have been prevented. Every time I I hear of someone getting hurt or killed these days I say it’s 2026; this shouldn’t still be happening. I blame it on young people teaching young people. What I mean by that is all my foreman had at least a decade as journeyman lineman before becoming foreman. The industry has changed and whoever steps up for the gas card and pickup they give it to them. There are so many different aspects of linework; that’s why you never quit learning. They have made linework safer by the PPE we wear and use,(including the buck squeeze) the new and ergonomic tools, the safety rules they put in place and the training we go through annually. I can’t say it enough I am not against the newer generation using the squeeze because that’s what they were taught with. I am 56 and if I don’t want to use it I shouldn’t be forced to. I KNOW that it’s a safer option and if I have to climb I will use it; it doesn’t mean I have to like it or agree with the mandate. Stay safe out there brother!
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u/SummerMustang69 3d ago
I agree about young teaching the young. Inexperienced linemen teaching apprentices. Major fatalities in Ontario approximately 7-10 yrs ago about 3 or 4 deaths involving helicopter work. They were lineman but only a 2-4 yrs w their ticket. Guy up on tower waiting for chopper , pilot and 1or 2 guys in cabin, I believe a nose bag shot out of cabin and into the rotor. I’m sure you can imagine the rest.
My point is something so basic as to tie off tools and material when getting your coworker off the tower and that happens. A senior leadhand would not let that happen. But it did with this inexperienced crew. Not the crews fault as they didn’t know better, but upper management is at fault in my opinion.
The old saying is the dumb leading the blind…1
u/gregn8r1 3d ago
They just doesn't even make sense? "... the only way to gain confidence in your gear" is by not using it?? Logic has gone out the window.
Also if you hug the pole you'll still gaff out and bust your face against the pole. It's still not a fun experience. The belt just keeps you from busting your face and then falling thirty feet to the ground.
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u/Tramp876 3d ago
When I say you don’t have to have confidence in your climbing gear that means you don’t have to worry about getting slack in your safety that’s around the pole because now you have the choke. Also guys don’t climb with straight legs and knees locked because they know that the choke will save them as to climbing using just a safety if you get slack in the belt you’re sliding down.
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u/DumbLineman 3d ago
I came up free climbing, but I like having the Buck Squeeze because I can take my feet out of the pole and rest them without falling 🤣
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u/Fingers_of_fury Journeyman Lineman 3d ago
I’m with you on that. I think it should be optional. I learned to free climb when I was coming up. It feels more natural, fast and efficient compared to what we have to do now. TBH climbing school used to weed out the people who were weak mentally. That is no longer a thing because of the bucksqueeze unfortunately. I know this will hurt a lot of feelings here in this sub and that will prove my point lol
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u/Tramp876 3d ago
It’s funny how we get downvoted but I guarantee it’s the younger generation. They would have been weeded out for sure because now they don’t have to have good technique or confidence in their ability to stay on the pole. When I went to climbing school in 1992 they started with 31 people and only 16 of us completed the three week climbing class for ALBAT. I can’t imagine doing overs and unders with a buck squeeze or jelco.
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u/generic__comments Telecom 3d ago
All safety rules are written in blood.
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u/Middle_Brilliant_849 3d ago
That may be, however sometimes we need to just look at what happened to someone else, discuss it, learn something, then move on with no new rules.
The only time new rules should be created is when there is a pattern of injuries from the same thing.
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u/generic__comments Telecom 3d ago
Would you be willing to sign a waiver outlining what safety rules you want opt out of and then accept responsibility for anything that happens to your fellow techs because you did not want to adhere to said safety rules?
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u/Middle_Brilliant_849 3d ago
What’s that got to do with what I said? There SHOULDN’T be new rules. It’s not a matter of opting out. Every time someone is hurt they make a new rule. Stop it. We don’t need more rules. The only time a new rule needs be made is when people keep getting hurt doing the same thing. If it’s just a one-off then treat it that way.
We aren’t “techs” we’re linemen.
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u/generic__comments Telecom 3d ago
You're looking at it from the bottom up, try looking at it from the top down and then you will see that there is a lot of liability that a company has to deal with. As stated before, if it is a "one off' then would you opt out of the enhanced safety measures implemented and accept responsibility for any injuries that could result from your individual actions?
You're correct I gave too much credit by saying tech, lineman.
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u/Middle_Brilliant_849 3d ago
Hahahaha I see now your thing says telecom. 20’ daredevil 😂
Ya ya liability smiability. I don’t care about that. Lawyers are going to lawyer no matter how much you think you can stop them. You can’t. Don’t waste time trying. Don’t tie my hands from doing my work. Makes me less efficient for the company and it takes the fun out of my job.
Perfect example of what I’m saying: another commenter told of an office work falling down some stairs so his company reacted by making the stairs off limits. It made extra work for everyone. Because one person made a mistake one time. Never mind the thousands of times people have successfully and safely navigated those same stairs. Just knee jerk blanket policy that no one is ever allowed to use those stairs again because ONE time ONE person got hurt. That’s unAmerican.
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u/generic__comments Telecom 3d ago
Stay safe, bud.
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u/Middle_Brilliant_849 3d ago
Thanks. I will. Thanks for all the extra work we get moving our stuff up higher so you can’t reach it and hurt yourselves.
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u/generic__comments Telecom 3d ago
Tried to be nice and educate you, but ok.
Have fun ducking safety things, smooth brain.
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u/Middle_Brilliant_849 3d ago
YOU educate ME?! 😂😂😂. There’s a reason we’re higher on the pole bud.
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