After over 100yrs, PG&E will no longer allow free climbing of poles. Double safeties will be required after June 20th. We are in the middle of what we call "Transformation" (reorg) and the company decided that the cost of falls dictates this.........
The new hiring policy gets the smart kids who have no idea how to use a wrench, let alone how to climb.
As an employee, and a shareholder, I'm trully dissappointed in my company....................

IT WOULD NOT SURPRISE ME IF ALL UTILITIES GO THIS ROUTE IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS

SEEMS AS THOUGH CORPORATE GREED AND INSURANCE COSTS ARE DICTATING HOW WE DO OUR JOBS.....AND NOT TO MENTION OSHA............THINK IT IS RELATED TO FEMA???????

OSHA THAT IS

Its sad, But I think your right. Not only in our industry, bu t others also. I have a friend that works in a numatics company, and none of the employees are allowed to smoke at work, at home, or anywhere else. They even test for nicotine. I think thats going a little too far.

Free climbing has been a thing of the past for about 8+ years probably closer to 10 here in Ontario . We were all given " Posi Belt" pole straps and retractable lanyards and pretty well told to use them or be prepared to pay the fines. This year we were told that "posi belt" is not the way to go and we are in the process of refitting all the climbers with new belts .
We are very fortunate in one respect because our contract states that the company will supply all safety gear and this falls under that clause. Thanks IBEW 339. So every climber now gets a new setup complete with body belt {back saver or regular full floating}, bolt bag , tool pouch, retractable lanyard and pole choker 4 pole strap to the tune of $1000 per unit. We have 16 splicers on our crew , one will retire within 14 months . In the next 5 to 6 years 12 more splicers will follow him. We all have bucket vans so we are not really climbing that much anymore.
Yea it really sucks to have to go from free climbing to a law that states you have to be belted in @ anything over 3m or 10 ft. But since we have gone to that rule we have not had a single climber injured from falling off a pole . We have 60 plus climbers , if you include Installers and lineman working out of our shop, who climb daily.
It does make sense spending that kind of cash for new climbing gear if you look at the cost of retraining an injured man . Insurance costs now for injured workers dictates what we wear and do during the day .
So lets all put on our "new" climbing gear and bitch about it over a beer, but be thankful that we are healthy enough to enjoy that ice cold beer because of the "goofy " rules.

It's all about insurance costs. The other part of this is that if you don't have a belt with a built in backsaver, you will be given a gut strap. They don't want anyone to fall out of their belt.
When this is implimented, if you're caught not using this the first time, you get a letter in your file. The second time is termination, no questions asked.

It's a shame for sure. I started out hitchhiking and when I learned to free climb I loved it. Like you said DT, it's all about insurance costs.

Our company is soon going to a 100% safetied in policy,and has bought all the linemen Bucksqueeze safety straps. It just takes more time to get up a pole......but we get payed by the hour

I HEAR YA JACKIE.......KINDA LIKE OUR NEW TRUCKS.......GOVERNED TO 65 MPH-----THAT MAKES EM A 'MONEY MAKER',,,,,,,TAKES LONGER TO GET THERE AND GET BACK.......SO I MAKE MORE MONEY

if i couldnt free climb, i wouldnt know what to do. im just disapointed that its being outlawed everywhere so quicly

Most companies blame safety on this instead of the real reasons(lack of training, etc.). Same goes for cutting truck speeds down. They dont want the blame so they pass the buck on the real workers. The CEO wants his bonus, and he/she will stop at nothing to make sure they get it. They dont care if your kids eat or not.


Just a quick question, how many of you have actually met the CEO or your company or any of your past companies?

I've personally never met one.....

I love free climbing. Dont hitch hike that good but could if I had to. I have meet the CEO of Aquila, MR. F-ing RICK GREEN. Cant believe ohow they can look you in the eyes and everthing that comes out their mouth is a lie.

There has been a lot of discussion in Florida bout the mandatory buckqueeze. Some like, some don't. They keep giving the guys more and more to do and it gives them less time to actually get the work done yet they don't add any employees.

I HAVE MET SEVERAL OF THE CEO'S OF ENTERGY--FORMER AND PRESENT-AND AM ON A FIRST NAME BASIS WITH THE PRESIDENT OF ENTERGY/ARKANSAS---BECAUSE HE INSISTS THAT HIS NAME IS HUGH,....NOT MR. MCDONALD----------HE SAYS HE SHOULD BE CALLING US MISTER, BECAUSE MOST OF US ARE OLDER THAN HE IS I CALL HIM MISTER, OUT OF RESPECT FOR HIS TITLE.......... HE IS A NICE GUY, BUT HE IS JUST ANOTHER PUPPETEER IN THE CORPORATE WORLD, AS MOST ARE---NOT CUTTING HIM DOWN, IT IS JUST THE NATURE OF HIS POSITION.................IT'S LIKE THAT IN ALL MAJOR CORPORATIONS

AS FAR AS THE TRUCK SPEEDS, IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SAFETY.......IT IS A COST CUTTING MEASURE HERE.....DROP THE HP AND CHANGE THE GEAR RATIO'S FOR FUEL ECONOMY-----------THAT'S FLOPPED BIG TIME-------------THE OLD TRUCK WAS 5 1/2 YEARS OLD WHEN IT WAS CHANGED OUT, AND GOT 8+ MPG-----------THE NEW ONE IS BARELY GETTING 5 MPG AND THE COST OF DIESEL IS $2.86---FILLED UP AGAIN TODAY, $150.75, AND THE MILEAGE WAS 4.8 AND I HAVE FILLED UP 4 TMES SINCE LAST TUESDAY MORNING.....WITH THE OLD TRUCK, IT'D BE MORE LIKE 2 TIMES

They cut us down to 57 at Pike because they didnt want us driving too fast. Gas wasnt an issue then...

Luckily for us we are driving old Red Simpson equip. and they haven't been cut down yet. But all other Pike trucks have. A trip to Miami from Shelbyville, TN and then to Gulfport and back home makes for some long slow roads when we had the old yeller's. Pike reasoning is that the slower the truck, the less likely you will swearve in and out of traffic by passing outhers. "SAFETY ISSUE" we all know how that goes.

Dont forget they pay to take the A/C off the truck too....They will run RSI in the ground....Sad too, I liked RSI.

It was the great rogue scholar, author and philosopher Mark Twain that wrote,

"It is outrageous to make a man drink milk, because a baby can't chew a steak."

Those words speak volumes when it comes to dictated, across the board safety issues.

Thats right!

Well, we all new this was coming sooner or later. The saddest fact of this whole thing is that the junior men that are coming up the ranks are so spoiled by the safety rules that they will never become truly seasoned lineman. A good J-man is 99% comfortable in his belt, being able to maneuver around the pole with little difficulty. When you implement all these safety factors, one can never become truly comfortable on the structure. I am not saying that safety rules are not needed. But they should be implemented from the field, not the management table over drinks and a dinner. But at the rate we are going with all the paperwork, schooling, and safety rules, we as a trade will look like the boy in the bubble.

Pretty soon helicopters will be dangling non-conductive lines to the base of the poles for climbers to safety onto.....