Groundie killed today

[Urbicide]

ABC Trees Services? White trucks and chippers? A year ago this past summer I used to see around 6 to 8 trucks doing clearance work for Duke Energy while on my way to and from my woodlot. They had a fatality when a bucket truck toppled over due to the out riggers not being properly extended. Oh, by the way, the crews were 100% Mexican To me it seems that ABC Tree may be up to something with it's hiring practices My condolences to the deceased and his family. When I was an electrical apprentice I had thought about becoming a lineman. After seeing a safety demonstration of the power contained in those overhead lines and the potential destruction of the human body I said "na".

 

[clearance]

What a pity, insulated booms should be mandatory!

The upper boom is insulated, the lower boom never is, on any truck I have ever seen or ran. The knuckle is not insulated, only part of the upper stick is.

 

[hornett22]

check out their website.

ABC Trees Services? White trucks and chippers? A year ago this past summer I used to see around 6 to 8 trucks doing clearance work for Duke Energy while on my way to and from my woodlot. They had a fatality when a bucket truck toppled over due to the out riggers not being properly extended. Oh, by the way, the crews were 100% Mexican To me it seems that ABC Tree may be up to something with it's hiring practices My condolences to the deceased and his family. When I was an electrical apprentice I had thought about becoming a lineman. After seeing a safety demonstration of the power contained in those overhead lines and the potential destruction of the human body I said "na".

they are owned by women of mexican decent.not that old either,pretty impressive.the are big,seem to take care of their equipment.they do seem to have a lot of accidents though.

 

[jmcguiretree]

Clearance- All lower booms of the trucks at my co are insulated.In the middle of the lower boom there is a short section that connects the two steel portions together which makes them insulated. Check it out.

 

[Dadatwins]

Clearance- All lower booms of the trucks at my co are insulated.In the middle of the lower boom there is a short section that connects the two steel portions together which makes them insulated. Check it out.

This is true on most tree bucket trucks, top boom insulates to operator, bottom insulates the ground workers. The idea is that if the knuckle contacts the wire the current will not flow up or down. Unfortunately sometimes the truck is not properly maintained with grease and chip buildup inside the boom, or not grounded properly with wooden blocks under the riggers etc. that the truck gets juiced.

 

[ropensaddle]

The upper boom is insulated, the lower boom never is, on any truck I have ever seen or ran. The knuckle is not insulated, only part of the upper stick is.

Mine is and most newer units have
a lower insert to insulate but we grounded our trucks by hammering
in a tee shaped ground rod and using a hot line jumper this gives
extra protection but is still not foolproof! Condolences to all concerned
and to the one posting about bunk equipment so true I asked for a
simple buck strap at the last large outfit I worked for, manager laughs
and did not know what I meant, finally he says you mean a chicken strap?
I said call it what you want, I would rather be a live chicken than a dead
jack ass. It is funny how the big corporations spend as little as they can
on safe equipment I have been put in some **** and now own my equipment
it is the best I could afford!

 

[ropensaddle]

This is true on most tree bucket trucks, top boom insulates to operator, bottom insulates the ground workers. The idea is that if the knuckle contacts the wire the current will not flow up or down. Unfortunately sometimes the truck is not properly maintained with grease and chip buildup inside the boom, or not grounded properly with wooden blocks under the riggers etc. that the truck gets juiced.

Having performed many Hypot tests on booms cleaning them
inspecting them at least weekly is a good idea we had a truck
fail after being power washed and was due to birds nesting
in the insert area! This nest was built over one weekend!!

 

[alpha115]

Trying to obtain the news cast to allow me to use it as an educational tool. Can or has anybody ever managed to get one of these newscasts and save it on there computer?

Help would be appreciated

 

[Sassafras]

Prayers to the family!! That is sad.

Our bucket has the isolation sleeve you are talking about. But be careful The 75ft reach elevators put the isolation sleeve over most lines. Although we do not specifically do line clearance we work around them from time to time.
Once while reaching full extension ( i warned my ground guys to get away from the truck knowing what could happen) over the line elevator up pole sawwing got the boom moving enough to contact the line, as quickly as i could react to move away four small fires had occured at the outriggger pads and one of the guys (about 20 to 25ft away said he felt static, arm hair standing up and such) no damage no injury Lesson learned.

 

[Canyonbc]

Prayers to the family, friends and god bless be safe.

 

[monkeywood]

Does anyone do this?

Fire companys that operate airel devices will jump on and jump off of the truck. That way (in theory i guess) they don't complete the circuit. The truck will also have a platform for the pump operator to stand on. I don't understand enough about electricity or boom trucks to know if this is a viable practice. Does anyone employ this technique?

 

[jmcguiretree]

We are taught to either shuffle your feet closely together as you aproach the truck or to leap from foot to foot keeping only on foot on the ground at a time to avoid getting whacked with step voltage.

 

[clearance]

or not grounded properly with wooden blocks under the riggers etc. that the truck gets juiced.

Could you please explain this?

 

[Polar Bear 4/31]

Don"t trust a driven ground rod to save you! AB Chance co. has a training video, that shows driven ground rods being launched out of the ground during periods of high fault current. Grounding the truck is ONLY to trip the circut as quickly as possible. Any work within the primary area will also require disabling the recloser on the circut.
If the boom is in the primary area, STAY OFF the truck! If you are on the truck STAY ON the truck, this will put you in an equipotential zone if the truck becomes energized. This means that if the truck becomes energized, you will be at the same potential so there will be no current flow though you. This is the same princible that allows crews to barehand transmission.

 

[Dadatwins]

Could you please explain this?

I would say it depends on the companies policy for working around the lines. I was taught that the outriggers should be on wooden blocks and the truck should be grounded to a rod or pole stake in the ground. This is not a guarantee, other factors including the boom fiberglass integrity, bucket liner, and cleanliness all factors. Not sure if there are an actual standard for setting up a bucket truck around wires, will need a lineman for that question.

 

[Polar Bear 4/31]

1926.955(a)(6)(i)

Unless using suitable protective equipment for the voltage involved, employees standing on the ground shall avoid contacting equipment or machinery working adjacent to energized lines or equipment.

1926.955(a)(6)(ii)

Lifting equipment shall be bonded to an effective ground or it shall be considered energized and barricaded when utilized near energized equipment or lines.

A driven ground rod is standard for most utilities, but is not effective in real life. The best ground will be the system neutral, since it goes back to the station grid.


Some utilities require placing an insulated rubber mat and a pair of rubber gloves at the steps of the truck for use in the event of an emergency. Another method is to place a condutive mat, that is bonded to the truck, between the barrier and the truck so someone can touch the truck while in the primary area.
One other thing, don't use a bucket without a lower boom insert in the primary area.

Remember the ground is just to trip the circut as quickly as possible.

 

[Polar Bear 4/31]

BTW I am a lineman, if you have questions I WILL get you the answer.

 

[Canyonbc]

I give any lineman, line clearing crew anything to work in trees, then next to power...

Major Props...

God Bless the family.

 

[fedots]

Warning !!!!!

This unit (as I am told) was a 60/70 elevator truck. it is a 60 foot boom with a 10 foot elevator at the base. YES it is insulated at the upper and lower boom. BUT lower boom can raise up 10 more feet putting lower boom insulator ABOVE the primary wires energising the truck if you put boom in wires. PLEASE pass the word it is an extra danger everybody most pay attention too!!!!!!!!!