Guys,
I have been without a job for a week, as an EC.
I was asked to go out and hook up a 22kV Transformer, with my PPE, that's OK, I don't have a problem with that.
But my Boss asked me to take an Apprentice Electrician (who has only been on the job 3 weeks)to show him the ropes in Line work!.
I said, NO WAY!, where are his Gloves?
"Oh, he shouldn't need them!" I was told by my Boss.
I asked the boy if he had ever climbed a pole, he said no, apparently he was scared of hieghts.
He was then told to {quote}"For Christ sakes Toughen Up Lad!"{end quote} by my Boss.
Personally I have no time for Dinosaurs like this guy!.
Up-shot of it all, it descended into a really nasty argument and I went home, got my car, unloaded my tools out of my van and said see ya later!.
I will not be talked down to, by a guy that has never done any HV work.
Also, how would it look for me if young Lee or me had been killed through not wearing the correct PPE?.
Also, the young fella, wasn't doing a Line Mechanics Apprenticeship, he should not be anywhere near a pole, regardless of wether I am supervising him or not.
I left with my dignity!.

You did the right thing Mike. There have been times in the past where I felt like doing the same thing (although the voltage was far less than 22kv)!

I now feel more emboldened than ever to do so!

Peter

Trumpy, sorry to hear you are out of work. That said I agree with what you did. It is better to leave with your dignity than to allowed anything to have happened to the young lad. Your x boss is certainly not wroth working for. I have always loved how the untrained can tell us how easy something is to do. I hope you find a better job soon. If you were in the USA your the type of man I would want working with me.

Al

A change can be nice. Good Luck!

Peter, Al and twh,
Thanks for the kind words.
I expected something like don't be a darned fool!.
But having thought about it for a minute, I suppose I'm sort of right.
But, the only saving grace out of this whole thing is, I've just been on the phone to the Chief Liney at the local PoCo and I will be starting on Monday as a fulltime LV/HV Faultsman and also assisting Line Crews in Live Glove And Barrier work when required.
Sure I'm probably not going to a lot of Resi and Commercial work, but hey, I can't live on fresh air!.
I suppose I've come full-circle really, from where I started out!.

{Blast, spelling mistakes!}

[This message has been edited by Trumpy (edited 08-31-2004).]

Trumpy, congratulations on the new job. Sounds like a better place for you. The other guys loss.
Al

I figured it was too late for that, and you wouldn't have quit if you didn't want a change. I sure you can think of different ways to handle it, next time, if you want to keep the job.

Congrats on the new job. I think that you did the right thing.

Think about it. If that apprentice had fried himself with you as his supervisor, when the investigation was over it would be your butt in a sling - not the boss's. (They have a funny way of getting amnisia about details when bad things happen.)

Better that you didn't compromise yourself. That apprentice will remember that for a long time. Heck, it may just save his life someday.

Kudos

I agree with Ed... the boss would have made an excuse that put you on the stand, not him.


Good on ya, Mike.

Big Ed,
Yes I agree, even the smallest things at work used to cause a sudden rush of blood to the head and instant total non-recall.
But, at the same time, I don't want to burn my bridges there, because I still have to pull HV and LV fuses for their Electricians and that means going into the shop to get the dreaded Order Number, for services rendered.
The guy is due to retire, but at least my Faults Boss and the other Faultsmen didn't do their time during the time of the Crystal Set and the Screwdriver and wet-finger toolbox.
At least I have guys around me that back me up now and we have a real training system too!.

Just having worked with these guys over the last week or so, I know what is really missing from most EC companies that I work around!.
These guys work around High Voltages all the time, yet it is a given thing, that you have a meeting before a given procedure happens and everyone explains what they are going to do, how far fetched is that?.
Everyone knows what they are going to do and they have an escape plan should something go wrong.
PPE is stated and it must be worn, A Safety Observer ensures this, you don't get into the EWP without it!
With Hot-stick work, the equipment is tested before the work starts.
With Live Glove and Barrier Work the case is the same.
Why the h*ll cant EC's do the same for low voltage stuff?
It's called a Toolbox meeting, it would only take a few minutes, at laest you guys would have an agreement in how the job was to be done!.
It's not Rocket Science!.

Mike, I'm loaned out to a short-term project where we're doing a Management Self-Assessment. I had never heard of such a thing except where management takes a cursory look around to assure themselves they're doing a great job and it usually ends with a letter recommending raises for the top 3 to 5 people. Not so with this one. There apparently is a very systematic method which has been developed by companies and organizations which are of a higher caliber - usually 'best in class' and the method is comprehensive. One element is observing 'evolutions' or more to the point, watching an entire cycle of a process and comparing it to the procedures and policys written to cover the activity in terms of safety, security and efficacy. The first thing we do for every evolution is a pre-brief for two reasons. The first is to ensure that each observer and the participants understand all the safety issues and the entire plan for the process. The second is so the observers don't throw the process out of kilter by their very presence. This whole experience is proving to be a great learning opportunity and allows for a greater understanding of not only what happens but why each step or precaution is integral to the success of the process.

In addition to quitting Iwould write a letter (kind of an exit interview) explaining your reason for lieving and then mail it to the company to the insurance company that provides the liability and workers compensation and also to the authority having jurisdiction, (city, county or other appropriate governing body that has an agency that inforces safe work regulations).
By doing that you would be taking the next step (doing all you could) to protect the new employee from the hazards that he can't possibly be aware of which is mostly a stupid boss.

Whoa Ray!.
If I did a thing like that, I'd probably never work in this town again, once word got around (and it does!).
I'm just glad to be away from there.

Ouch, sorry to hear that there could be such repercussions through out the local industry for bringing safety concerns to light. In an ideal world there would be some sort of reward for the effort, but you are right. Instead many times you place yourself at risk when you speak up. But if you are comfortable with the Company you now work for wouldn't they have respect for you if you did make a report on the previous idiots you worked for.
I can tell you form years of experience that if the company you work for doesn’t have a "Safe Work Practice and Procedures Policy” in place, they are going to loose a lot more money to accidents then they would have spent designing and maintaining one. Many large companies look at the safety records of a contractor before they will issue them a contract even though they might be the lower bid on a project. In general safety is a good reflection of the quality of the work. Sometimes on critical projects, it's better to pay a bit more to insure that the contractor does a safe and quality job, and doesn't go broke on you in the middle of the project.
It sounds like you are with a good outfit now, but I haven't got a clue what your job title means or weather it is a step up or not.

[This message has been edited by Ray97502 (edited 10-04-2004).]