Electricity Today T&D Magazine

Line-construction contractors can do their best to train the management, offer safety training and equipment and trust the foremen who are appointed to a job, but it is an inherently dangerous business. Despite all the safeguards, some new linemen say this is what some foremen tell them about safety procedures: “That’s the way you may have learned it in training, but this is how it’s done on the job...”
Training is designed to keep linemen safe. But is that training and equipment being put to proper use? The answer varies depending on the job and the foreman—more so than the...

Cranes, aerials and bucket trucks are common sights in construction zones and among maintenance crews around our cities. What better way to hoist materials to high places or to move workers closer to the task?
When your crew includes an above-ground operator in a bucket or cab, they’re linked to ground activity via a dedicated spotter. A spotter’s job is to free up the operator to focus on what they’re doing, uninterrupted from jobsite distractions. Here are five ways to improve communication between these two.

1. KEEP COMMANDS SIMPLE

The fewer commands being used, the better. Whether it’s OSHA’s standard...