what the heck!

[reppy007]

Ummmmmmmmmmm I have mixed emotions on the sleeve issue/ They are big time hot and uncomfortable and they can cause folks to take short cuts, resulting in some serious prollems. They cut off all air circulation to the upper body and in 100 degree heat that can dehydrate you quick fast and inna hurry.I beleive in some instances they are warrented but often the rules are so inflexibale that they become mandatory in all multiphase applications.Spacing and clearances should be considered when making them mandatory.Wearing the dern things for simple stuff isnt ever warrented in My opinion.

I agree,there are times when they should be worn and times that they shouldnt,like the rubber glove rule,that being said here we dont have sleeves,or with the utility Ive never seen them.The contractors are susposed to use them,but they dont.While in Flordia,we used them often on overhead in Miami,they were strict there,even in that heat,but not so strict on urd.Some people like the ruber glove ground to ground rule....here theres no such thing,and it wouldnt fly anyway.I cant see it,but thats just me....If I have a lineman that doesnt know when to put on his gloves,I cant see where making him go from ground to ground would help much.I once talked to a guy in Arizonia about a job,I asked about sleeves,he said they were required,I told the gent no thanks,he didnt need me and I didnt need any sleeves....not in that heat anyway.

[Lineman North Florida]

The only time I have ever worn sleeves is when we used to do a lot of bakerboard work, I don't wear sleeves out of the bucket and have never felt like I needed them, that's what guts and pigs and blankets are for. There is no substitution for proper training and if trained properly you can do hot work without sleeves as long as proper cover-up is used, sleeves are a false sense of security for a lot of young guys and are used by lots of company's to forfeit proper training. To the original poster and don't take this the wrong way, do you know enough about linework to determine that these guys are working unsafe or is this sleeve deal the main thing that rubs you wrong. How many years of experience do you have? Just curious.

[kooman]

when i started we didnt have sleeves so i was taught to cover the s#%t out of everything and watch your elbows and arms. We all got issued our sleeves about 7 years ago and our rules state that either its covered very well or if there is a chance an elbow could contact something energized then you should have sleeves on. I have went through several young guys who have been trained to sleeve everything, which is fine, but most of them have became so used to sleeves that if they would ever have to work without them they would have serious problems with their elbows and such. I do alot of work both with and without sleeves, and myself i prefer without, but i have been trained without and have worked many years without so i am alot more carefull as to whats going on with my arms and my gover up practices.

[birdog37]

For me its a rule,there paying me to do it,if the rule states it,ya do it.Its a sign of the integrity of the lineman your working with especially if you bring it up and they continue to break a rule.One leads to another,and another.Well now you have your own rules so to speak.I refused to go along with the norm on the one crew I worked on and I was wrongfully terminated.Simply put lets get rid of him and we don't have to pay to retrain.The documentation I kept turned out to be an ace in the hole so to speak.If you choose to not blend in like my foreman told me when I asked him why he was doing what he was doing and he said you had it made all you had to do was blend in,well I chose not to.My recommendation is to bid out and find some guys and or a company that believes in training.I mean continuing training for Journeyman lineman.Your in a tough spot and I would not wish it on anyone especially for what my family and I have been threw.I will say thou,when you have been wronged,you will get it back two fold.The guys I work with at my new job are great,safe,and believe in going home the same way they came to work.There are some great Journeyman lineman out there,to become one of them means following the d.m rules.Simply put what there doing.Its a SHORT CUT.Best of luck on your Journey.

[kooman]

i completly agree with the whole if its a rule thing, and you are 100% correct about if i break one rule, why not another and another and another, i have seen it too many times.

For me its a rule,there paying me to do it,if the rule states it,ya do it.Its a sign of the integrity of the lineman your working with especially if you bring it up and they continue to break a rule.One leads to another,and another.Well now you have your own rules so to speak.I refused to go along with the norm on the one crew I worked on and I was wrongfully terminated.Simply put lets get rid of him and we don't have to pay to retrain.The documentation I kept turned out to be an ace in the hole so to speak.If you choose to not blend in like my foreman told me when I asked him why he was doing what he was doing and he said you had it made all you had to do was blend in,well I chose not to.My recommendation is to bid out and find some guys and or a company that believes in training.I mean continuing training for Journeyman lineman.Your in a tough spot and I would not wish it on anyone especially for what my family and I have been threw.I will say thou,when you have been wronged,you will get it back two fold.The guys I work with at my new job are great,safe,and believe in going home the same way they came to work.There are some great Journeyman lineman out there,to become one of them means following the d.m rules.Simply put what there doing.Its a SHORT CUT.Best of luck on your Journey.

[birdog37]

Same here Mr Kooman Its really sad that no matter where ya go line work can really vary.Lineman start interpreting the rules the way they see them. Our rules clearly state gloves and sleeves,fire retardant shirt(cat 8 @ least).Since there has been so many flash accidents we have to where them along with a bubble helmet and the shotgun needs to be longer than 6 ft. when pulling or switching URD that's energized.It is not an issue if you've been trained to work in the zone without sleeves but if your rules state you need them,where em.Company's may try to make an example out of you.Why take the chance?Most importantly it maybe a rule.

[rustyhook39]

Well I have a couple years in linework as summer help, groundman, and apprentice now. My main issues are the lack of cover up, no sleeves, and my supervisor being a bull in a china shop. My guys are new too 12kv they are used too 4kv and they took alot of short cuts with it, then also when they are workin they dont work with confidence, which personally gets me nervous, thats why I am gettin on the safety issue. Then they ticked me off by throwing the guts and blankets on the ground in the dirt. Today I personally pulled each one out in the shop and wiped them out and ordered some rubber goods cleaner since we have never had any.

[kooman]

not taking care of the tools and equipment that helps everyone go home at night is just stupid, anyone who throws guts on the ground on my crew would have their ass ate out in a matter of seconds. Sounds to me like you are doing the right thing and you have the right attitude and that is great to see in the younger guys. Just remember one thing, sometimes you can only take care of one person during the day and that persone must be you! Keep doing what you are doing and dont let theese jokers that you work with bring you down.

[Lineman North Florida]

Well I have a couple years in linework as summer help, groundman, and apprentice now. My main issues are the lack of cover up, no sleeves, and my supervisor being a bull in a china shop. My guys are new too 12kv they are used too 4kv and they took alot of short cuts with it, then also when they are workin they dont work with confidence, which personally gets me nervous, thats why I am gettin on the safety issue. Then they ticked me off by throwing the guts and blankets on the ground in the dirt. Today I personally pulled each one out in the shop and wiped them out and ordered some rubber goods cleaner since we have never had any.

Throwing the rubber goods in the dirt is poor business on their part and does show a lack of proper training, I never saw in your post whether wearing rubber sleeves was a safety rule where you are or not, if it is a written safety rule the lineman should be wearing them and setting a good example for you. I just wanted you to realize that sleeves and rubber booties and what ever else someone in an office somewhere can force on you is not a substitute for good training, there are many good lineman out there working everyday without sleeves and rubber booties or rubber helmets etc, etc, who have worked their entire career without all that stuff, bottom line you gotta know when to use it and in this trade some catch on quicker than others. Good luck.

[rustyhook39]

My goal is to stay safety minded and learn as much as I can the right way. But i do keep an eye on everyone bottom line is I know I dont know it all but I trust my life to only me.