what warnings do you recieve when a circuit is being heated up

[reppy007]

Guess the one shot thread triggered this post,but anyway what types of warnings do you guys recieve when a circuit is about to become hot again,or tried? Here we have a distinctive sound that appears over the radio and the dispatchers might even announce it,Im actually surprised that I havent heard much about injuries due to a circuit becoming energized. During a storm with circuits locking out left and right,fuses being blown/refused,guys getting out of the vehicles and returning to them and the hundreds of other things that happen,its a wonder how this seems to work well or the guys are traind pretty well. Most all our trouble calls and orders are given out on a computer,the radio can be silent at times,sure there is a few calls notifying the other guy to call him by phone,but with the exception of emergencies and circuit lock-outs they are basically quiet.......its kind of amazing that a utility,contractors and crews from other areas dont get lost in the maze of outages that occur,and that grounds arent being blown away..............what kind of info do you guys recieve if any,we all know that you cant just sit by a radio during a bad storm or has times changed that much?

[lewy]

This is all part of our work protection code. We have to apply for a work permit from system, then sign onto it after isolation, before we can apply grounds & begin work. When our work is complete the holder of the work permit must give a final surrender to system before the line can be energized. It is the responsibility of the holder to ensure all grounds are off & his crew is clear before he surrenders his work permit. After that the line can be energized at anytime.

[rob8210]

During a normal work day when work procedures are followed routinely there is very little chance of someone getting hurt when energizing a line. Now Reppy was referring to storm work when everything is generally mass confusion. Especially with big storms and lots of extra help called in for who knows where. Its a wonder that more men aren't hurt in these situations. You could be working on a section of line and operations could have sent another crew to work downstream of you without you knowing it. That means we have to rely on system operators . That goes against my training, and I have seen and heard enough screw ups by operators. My training rules, I still double check everything an operator tells me.

[lewy]

For us & more so during trouble we always apply our tags at all of the open points & make system aware (following our work protection code) if you just open switches & make repairs with out telling anyone or don't apply any tags (not following a work protection code) you are asking for trouble. System has to know who is holding work protection on a piece of line & it is up to the crew leaders to also get work protection to work on a piece of line.

[Capt Bly]

I've had the miss fortune of heating up one set of grounds in my career.Sence that day I triple check all ground locations, and tell every crew member to Stay CLEAR

[reppy007]

Good reply Rob,yea during a storm there can be tons of confusion,and thats good to check what the operators/dispatchers are telling you.There can be a circuit that was recently switched around,and even if you have lamberts/maps it wont show,thats excactly what I was refering to............all the circuits being knocked out during a large storm & the pressure the operators must have to get the circuit back on.

[rob8210]

I wasn't on the job but a guy I worked with once got the line heated up on him, fortunately his partner heard over the radio when the operator said he was livening up the breaker and had just enough time to yell to this guy to get clear (he was hands on in rubber gloves), saved his arse. I have had many friends that were operators, but in the confusion that comes with major storm damage you have to look out for yourself, people make mistakes. Recently we had a crew switch out some line for a job and they didn't realize that they killed the power to a school for most of the day, they blindly followed the switching order and didn't check it over on a map. Foreman wined it was operations fault but he still should have checked it out.

[Pootnaigle]

Ummmm the way we dunnit was every lineman and serviceman was assigned a substation and every thing coming outta that sub was controlled by them.It was our job to assign the work to the incoming crews and keep trrack of where they were and the progress made. Every ocb had the line and load side disconnects opened and tagged. If the operators closed an OCB it couldnt affect anyone until those were closed.WE kept track of every assignment and what was opened to promise them a de-energized circuit. Us being familiar with the different feeds and ties maintained a safe working enviornment for the people out making repairs . WE also kept in contact with one another to see what progress had been made on adjacent feeders and no normally open points were ever closed. It may sound complicated but it actually worked out pretty well. Once the trunks were energized crews could work behind opened and tagged fuses until the last customer was on. this of course was on a devastating hurricane restoration and servicemen and linemen from our area only numbered about 20

[lewy]

It is because of all the possible confusion & multiple crews that proper work practices & following your work protection code is so important. If you require a breaker or remotely controlled switch the breaker should be racked out, remotely controlled switches should be de-coupled, all open points properly tagged, lines grounded before any work is done & keeping the controlling authority informed. A switching error dropping customers is one thing pulling someone else tag without permission or relying on them without applying proper work protection is just dangerous work practices.

[reppy007]

Had a circuit lockout a few years back just right outside of S.Houston service center during a storm,I was a one man screwing around the back side of the center....saw the circuit operate and walked up near the downed line to see what size of wire was involved....all of a sudden the dispatchers made it hot.....really pretty at night watching that 336 dancing......this was about 600 or 700 feet from their control room,where the dispatchers were. I say dispatchers but there is actually another control center that overlooks and oks a circuit being energized.