hurry up and get it done hazardous attitude

During Hurricane Sandy in 2012, when thousands of linemen headed to the East Coast to work long hours in inclement weather, workers tended to remain on high alert when it came to their safety and health. Often, Boyd said, routine tasks pose the biggest threats to line workers. Boyd started Fallen Linemen in February 2013 and has helped raise more than $40,000 to support families who have lost loved ones to the profession. Mike Boyd is all too familiar with the dangers of line work. “Their whole world has been turned upside down.”Īt any given moment, utility workers must deal with one or more occupational hazards.Īccording to OSHA, these hazards include: “They kiss their spouse goodbye in the morning and say, ‘See you tonight,’ and they never do come back home,” Twana McFann, safety program technician with the City of Columbus (OH) Department of Public Utilities, said in an interview with Safety+Health. According to Fallen Linemen – an organization created to memorialize linemen who have lost their lives at work – 44 line workers died because of on-the-job incidents in 2013 and, as of press time, 33 line workers had lost their lives in 2014. “Because, you know what? I would give anything to have Nick walk back through the door one more time.”Įvery year, dozens of utility workers across the country fail to “walk back through the door” after they leave for work. “I said, ‘Look at all these wives they don’t know how lucky they are that their linemen are still coming home,’” Lyndsi told the crowd gathered in the ballroom for the Fallen Linemen Organization conference. Nick, who was taken off life support nine days after the crash, left behind his wife and their two young sons. The truck veered off the highway and into a median, where it overturned multiple times. Nick, a 32-year-old electrical lineman from Pella, IA, was driving his digger-derrick truck back to the shop when its front left tire blew out. 6, 2013, as a result of injuries he sustained after a vehicle rollover incident while on the job. More utility companies are interviewing candidates based on attitude and mental aptitude, not necessarily specific skill sets that can be developed later.Īs Lyndsi Guillien ate breakfast with a friend before a recent speech in New Orleans, a steady stream of utility linemen and their spouses filled a hotel ballroom. Many incidents occur during routine tasks as a result of workers becoming too comfortable and complacent, experts say. Forty-four linemen died in work-related incidents in 2013, according to the Fallen Linemen Organization.

Hurry up and get it done hazardous attitude