A Program of the IBEW Local 1245 Safety Committee
The primary purpose of this web page is to serve as a safety awareness tool for our members as well as others in the industry to share experiences that could have resulted in a reportable/recordable injury or property damage, but due to either the experience and/or the luck of the individual(s), no harm or damage occurred.
A near-miss or close call is a “second chance” or a “gift” and it is up to the individual who got the second chance to pass the information along so that everybody benefits from it. The next person walking down the same path may not be as fortunate. A near-miss that goes unreported is a wasted experience that could possibly have saved a life someday.
The near-miss could be the result of equipment failure, hardware failure, or unintentionally not following established safety rules.
All near-miss reports will be posted to this web page as received, with only minor editing if required for clarity or to maintain anonymity. It is important to note that the use of company computers for anything other than company business could result in disciplinary action so we strongly encourage the use of members’ personal computers when submitting anything to the Safety Committee.
Please click here to submit your Close Call Report.
You can also download the Close Call Reporting form here. Completed forms can be emailed to MFA1@ibew1245.com.
The following archive of near-misses on the job is compiled by date, with the most recent entries listed first.
Posted 5-7-20
A climb crew was working out in the field and they got to a tree. The foreman was doing his 360 walking around the tree looking up to see what the tree needed to be trim, when he heard the sound of a rattlesnake. He jumped away from the rattlesnake. He was close, like 2 feet. He did not get bitten, it was just a close call.
Una cuadrilla de escaladores estaba trabajando en el campo. Llegaron a un árbol y el capataz estaba haciendo su inspección 360, caminando alrededor del árbol y mirando hacia arriba para ver cuáles ramas había que recortar. En ese momento escuchó el sonido de una serpiente cascabel y saltó para alejarse de la serpiente. Él había estado a unos 2 pies (un poco más de medio metro) de la serpiente, pero no lo mordió. Fue solamente un accidente potencial.
Posted 5-7-20
Climber was roping out a large oak tree when the crotch that he was using for his rigging started to split because the tree was partially dead and due to the shock loading while letting the limbs down. The climber stopped and tied a clove hitch around the tree near the split and was able to make it safe to finish the tree removal.
El escalador estaba cortando un gran roble cuando la horquilla que estaba utilizando para atar las sogas se comenzó a quebrar porque el árbol estaba parcialmente muerto y también debido a la carga de choque mientras se bajaban las ramas. El escalador se detuvo y ató un ballestrinque alrededor del árbol cerca de la parte quebrada y logró que terminar de remover el árbol se pudiera hacer de manera segura.
Posted 5-7-20
I was throwing a large limb in the wood chipper when it twisted and hit me in the back, twisting me around. It caused my body to turn and it was pulling me back by my stomach. Luckily someone was right there and hit the emergency release saving my life.
Estaba lanzando una rama grande en la astilladora, y la rama se torció y me pegó en la espalda y me hizo voltear. Hizo que mi cuerpo girara y me estaba halando hacia atrás por el estómago. Afortunadamente había alguien allí mismo que apretó el desbloqueo de emergencia y me salvó la vida.
Posted 5-1-20
Crew traveled about 17 miles to job site stopping twice to check and tighten load straps and reposition TX while traveling through rough rural roads. Crew set up at the jobsite and were in process of setting TX from a single axel trailer to the ground. In the process of removing the straps and preparing to position the boom from the stow position to lift the TX. Both Lineman and apprentices released the remaining strap that secured the 300kva TX to the trailer. This created a shift in the weight in the load on the trailer due to a 5-degree slope in the terrain where the trailer was positioned. With the shift in weight of the TX not being centered anymore, the weight caused the of the TX the tip over the back of the trailer hitting the deck. No Oil was spilled and no injuries occurred as all ground personnel were out of the bight and to the sides of the trailer.
Posted 2-13-19
Customer flashed gun while GSR was on site. Customer intoxicated while carrying gun. GSR did not bring attention to the weapon and quickly finished up work while engaging in conversation with customer. GSR moved to truck and heard the gun cock which alerted GSR to drive away as quick as he could. Account flagged, do not go to this premise without police escort.
Posted 2-13-19
Customer verbally abusive and threatening towards GSR. Call supervisor before going to this address and should get police escort.
Contributing factors: Personality Conflicts
Posted 2-13-19
Customer confronted GSR and threatened GSR. Customer grabbed glasses off GSR’S face and walked away. Mountain View police department has been advised and en route. Do not go to this address without police escort.
Contributing factors: Personality Conflicts
Posted 1-29-19
It was early in the morning and it was raining. We were driving on a dirt road that we had driven on several times in dry conditions. Our lift truck started sliding sideways until we slowed down from 30 mph to 10 mph. It was definitely a close call, we could have ended at the bottom of a very steep hill.
Era temprano en la mañana y estaba lloviendo. Estábamos conduciendo por un camino de tierra por el que habíamos pasado varias veces cuando la carretera estaba seca. Nuestra grúa se comenzó a deslizar de lado hasta que bajamos la velocidad de 30 mph a 10 mph. Fue sin duda un accidente potencial. El camión podría haber terminado al pie de una colina muy empinada.
Posted 1-29-19
The crew had gotten stuck in the mud. Once they returned to the main road, they inspected the vehicle and found a rock lodged between the tires. Had they not done a walk around, the rock could have been dislodged and struck someone else on the road.
La cuadrilla se había quedado atascada en el barro. Cuando regresaron a la carretera principal, inspeccionaron el vehículo y encontraron una roca alojada entre los neumáticos. Si no hubieran hecho la caminata de inspección alrededor del vehículo, la roca podría haber saltado y golpeado a alguien en la carretera.
Posted 1-29-19
A tree trimmer was working a dead oak tree from a 67’ bucket truck. He chose a rigging point that should have been strong enough, but it was rotten. When attempting to lower a piece, the spar broke about 20’ below and landed on the upper boom, throwing the tree trimmer out of the bucket and lifting the rear tires off the ground about 2’. Nobody was injured in this incident.
Un podador estaba trabajando en un roble muerto desde una grúa con cesta de 67 pies (20 metros). Eligió un punto de apoyo que parecía ser lo suficientemente fuerte, pero estaba podrido. Cuanto intentó bajar un trozo, la rama se rompió unos 20 pies (6 metros) más abajo y aterrizó en la pluma superior. La fuerza lanzó al podador de árboles fuera de la cesta e hizo que las ruedas posteriores se levantaran en el aire a unos 2 pies (60 cm) del suelo. Nadie resultó herido en el incidente.
Posted 1-29-19
A car traveling toward us went over a puddle and lost control and came over to our side. We were able to stop. The other car stopped on our side of the road and was able to proceed.
Un automóvil que viajaba en dirección contraria a la nuestra, pasó por un charco y perdió el control y se pasó a nuestro lado. Pudimos detener nuestro vehículo. El otro coche se detuvo en nuestro lado de la carretera y luego siguió su camino.
Posted 1-29-19
A two-men crew was clearing vertical secondary lines. The climber cut a branch and it landed on the secondaries, causing them to arc. When the lines separated, the branch fell off. There were no outages or injuries.
Una cuadrilla estaba despejando líneas secundarias. El escalador cortó una rama que cayó sobre las líneas secundarias y produjo un arco eléctrico. Cuando las líneas se separaron, la rama cayó al suelo. No hubo interrupción de energía ni heridos.
Posted 1-29-19
A foreman was roping limbs on a silk oak. An overhang limb hit the lines. There was no power outage.
Un capataz estaba trabajando en un árbol amarrando ramas en un roble. Una rama colgante pegó de las líneas. No hubo interrupción de energía.
Posted 1-29-19
A crew left a large limb they had cut on the tree. It could have fallen and hit a pedestrian.
Una cuadrilla dejó en el árbol una gran rama que habían cortado. Podría haber caído y golpeado a un peatón.
Posted 11-2-18
When merging into a road with curves, you must check both sides. I almost hit a car. You must merge with speed to be able to move ahead safely.
Al ingresar a una carretera con curvas, se debe revisar bien ambos lados porque casi le pegué a un carro. Hay que entrar con velocidad para poder avanzar con más seguridad.
Contributing factors:
- Taking shortcuts / Tomar atajos
- Hazardous attitude toward task / Actitud peligrosa frente a la tarea a realizar
Posted 11-2-18
When cutting down trees and throwing the logs on the hill side, make sure they are safely placed. A worker was cutting brush and a log fell on his legs. Fortunately, we saw him and were able to cut the log and free him using the chainsaw. He didn’t get hurt.
Cuando se está talando y se tiran los troncos en las laderas, hay que dejarlos bien seguros. Uno de los compañeros que estaba cortando maleza le cayó un tronco encima de las piernas. Afortunadamente varios compañeros lo vimos y con las motosierras lo cortamos y se lo pudimos quitar. No se lesionó.
Posted 11-2-18
A worker was pulling the logs with the machine, but the rope got stuck and his hands almost got caught in the machine.
Una persona estaba halando los troncos con la máquina, pero la cuerda se atascó y casi se atora las manos en la máquina.
Posted 11-2-18
I was doing traffic control and a driver almost ran over me because he was on the phone.
Estaba controlando el tráfico y un conductor casi me atropelló porque él venía en el teléfono
Posted 11-2-18
The worker was trimming from the basket and threw the branch too far to the street. It almost hit a passing car.
El podador estaba podando arriba en la canasta y lanzó la rama muy lejos hacia la calle. Casi le pegó a un carro que iba pasando.
Contributing factors:
- Changes, departure from routine / Cambios, trabajo diferente de la rutina
- Hazardous attitude toward task / Actitud peligrosa frente a la tarea a realizar
Posted 11-2-18
A trimmer was removing a tree. The tree was about 40″ (1 m) wide. The trimmer was using a big chainsaw. As he was cutting, he slipped with the chainsaw still powered on and almost cut the leg or some other part of his body.
Un podador de árboles estaba removiendo un árbol. El árbol tenía unos 40” (1 metro) de ancho. El podador estaba usando una motosierra grande. Cuando estaba cortando, se resbaló con la motosierra prendida y casi se corta la pierna o alguna parte de su cuerpo.
Contributing factors:
- Unexpected equipment conditions / Equipo en condiciones inesperadas
Posted 11-2-18
I was climbing a tree tied with my rope. When I reached the crotch, I changed my ropes. When I walked on the branch, it broke. I was swinging but I didn’t hurt myself and I didn’t touch the line.
Estaba trepando un árbol amarrado con mi soga. Cuando llegué a donde estaba la horquilla, cambié mis sogas. Cuando caminé la rama, se quebró. Quedé colgado, pero no me golpeé ni toqué la línea.
Contributing factors:
- Complacency/Overconfidence / Falta de atención/Exceso de confianza
Posted 11-2-18
While chipping, a branch got caught on my vest and pulled me, but the chipper had and emergency lever and I was able to stop it.
Mientras estaba astillando, una rama se atoró en mi chaleco y me haló, pero la astilladora tenía palanca de emergencia y se pudo detener.
Posted 11-2-18
A group of workers were angry and started yelling about their disagreement. One of them insulted another, but the foremen didn’t hear anything. This was not good, since it could have gotten much worse.
Unos trabajadores se enojaron y empezaron a levantar la voz por desacuerdos. Uno insultó al otro y no pasó a oído de los capataces y eso fue malo porque podría haber pasado a mayores.
Contributing factors:
- Distractions, Interruptions / Distracciones, Interrupciones
- Personality Conflicts / Conflictos de personalidades
- Hazardous attitude toward task / Actitud peligrosa frente a la tarea a realizar
Posted 8-8-18
I was feeding branches to the chipper on the correct side but a branch pulled me against the chipper. I was able to stop the roller.
Yo estaba alimentando ramas a la astilladora en el lado correcto, pero una rama me haló contra la astilladora. Tuve tiempo de detener el rodillo.
Posted 8-8-18
I was making cuts up on the tree and a branch passed close to my left eye although I was wearing my safety glasses.
Estaba haciendo cortes arriba en el árbol y una rama me pasó cerca del ojo izquierdo, aunque yo llevaba mis gafas de seguridad.
Posted 8-8-18
I was driving on a two lane road coming out of a residential street. I had picked up speed to about 35 miles an hour when I approached the next street a driver in a small car ran through a stop sign from another side street and stopped in my lane. I could tell he was just running the stop because he thought it was clear but I could not stop in time not to hit him on his driver’s side of the car. I made a maneuver to go around him from behind and luckily no one was pulling up to the stop sign or I would have hit him. He drove on like it was nothing.
Estaba conduciendo en una carretera de dos carriles, saliendo de una calle residencial. Iba a unas 35 millas por hora, y cuando me acercaba a la próxima calle, un conductor en un auto pequeño se saltó una señal de pare (stop) de otra calle y se detuvo en mi carril. Yo sabía que se había saltado la señal de pare porque él pensaba que el camino estaba despejado, pero yo no me podía detener a tiempo para no chocar su carro en el lado del conductor. Hice una maniobra para esquivarlo por atrás y afortunadamente no había ningún carro saliendo del aviso de pare, de lo contrario lo hubiera chocado. El siguió su camino como si nada.
Posted 8-8-18
I was working on a removal and my guy was getting the saw ready and warming up the saw. He had his chaps on and was standing there not looking at the saw. The blade started to spin and caught the corner of his shirt sticking out of the chaps, pulling the saw toward his leg. Close call and no injury.
Estaba trabajando en una extracción y mi compañero estaba preparando y calentando la sierra. Tenía puestas sus chaparreras y estaba parado sin mirar la sierra. La cuchilla comenzó a girar y se atascó en la esquina de la camisa que sobresalía de las chaparreras, y haló la sierra hacia su pierna. Fue un accidente potencial sin lesiones
Posted 8-8-18
I was climbing a tree using my flip line. Got to the highest and best crotch I tied away from the power line. I proceeded to trim the tree away from the power lines. I was about 15 feet lower than my tie in and went out on a limb to reach above to trim. The branch I walked on broke and I swung back into the trunk of the tree. The branch missed secondaries and fence and I was able to not slam into main trunk.
Estaba trepando un árbol usando mi soga de seguridad. Llegué hasta la mejor y más alta horquilla para amarrarme lejos de la línea de transmisión. Comencé a podar el árbol lejos de las líneas de transmisión. Estaba a unos 4.5 m (15 pies) más abajo de mi punto de amarre y subí a una rama para poder alcanzar las ramas de arriba que quería podar. La rama por la que caminaba se quebró y la soga me columpió hasta el tronco del árbol. La rama no golpeó las líneas secundarias ni la valla y logré no golpearme contra el tronco principal.
Posted 8-8-18
A crew was working on a narrow street that had a downhill grade. They had put out the cones and signs when a car coming too fast went through the cones sending them flying. The foreman was fueling his chainsaw near the chipper and he almost got hit by a cone.
Una cuadrilla estaba trabajando en una calle estrecha con una pendiente en descenso. Habían colocado los conos y los avisos, pero un carro venía demasiado rápido, pasó por los conos y los conos salieron volando. El capataz estaba agregando combustible a su motosierra cerca de la astilladora y casi fue golpeado por uno de los conos
Posted 8-8-18
An employee was working in the hills and he slipped down the hill and barely grabbed onto a small tree as he was going down. There was a drop off of 20 ft. if he hadn’t stopped himself.
Un empleado estaba trabajando en las colinas y se resbaló cuesta abajo. Apenas se pudo agarrar de un pequeño árbol mientras caía. Si no se hubiera agarrado del árbol para detenerse, hubiera caído 6 metros (20 pies).
Posted 8-8-18
A climber was bucking up a large oak branch on the ground. When he made the cut the branch rolled hitting his shoulder and flipped his hard hat off. Close call to the face but he is good, no one got hurt.
Un escalador estaba despedazando una gran rama de roble en el suelo. Cuando hizo el corte, la rama rodó, le pegó en el hombro y le tumbó el casco. Fue un accidente potencial que casi le hirió en la cara, pero no hubo ninguna lesión.
Posted 8-8-18
Two bucket crews were working to trim from power lines. One foreman tried making a speed cut when his chain got stuck and the branch fell and hit one of the 12kV power lines. We stopped work and had a quick meeting to talk about what happened. No damage, just a close call.
Dos cuadrillas estaban trabajando en sus canastas podando ramas alrededor de unas líneas de transmisión. Un capataz intentó hacer un corte rápido pero su cadena se atascó y la rama cayó y golpeó una de las líneas de transmisión de 12kV. Suspendimos el trabajo y tuvimos una breve reunión para hablar sobre lo que sucedió. No hubo ningún daño, solo fue un accidente potencial.
Posted 8-8-18
I was heading to the yard at the end of the day and saw another lift truck going down the road with his boom 2 ft. in the air. I got his attention and got him to stop and cradle his boom.
Yo iba hacia el patio al final del día y vi otra grúa bajando por la carretera con su pluma elevada a 0.6 m (2 pies). Logré que me prestara atención y lo hice detenerse para que bajara la pluma.
Posted 8-8-18
A foreman was using another foreman’s lift truck. The upper deck headache rack was covered in hydraulic oil. He slipped and almost fell off the deck.
Un capataz estaba usando la grúa de otro capataz. La rejilla estaba cubierta de aceite hidráulico. Se resbaló y casi se cayó de la cubierta.
Posted 8-8-18
While was picking up a Road Work Ahead sign the climber bent down to fold up the sign and a rattlesnake was curled up in the shade at the base of the sign.
Mientras recogía el aviso de “Road Work Ahead”, el escalador se inclinó para doblar el aviso y una serpiente cascabel estaba enrollada en la sombra, en la base del aviso.
Posted 4-27-18
I was working with another crew in a bucket doing hot trees, minutes before this happened I told co-workers on the ground to stay away from the bucket and chipper when we get close to the lines. I was under the power line and the foreman flipped the boom to reach part of the tree so when he tried to move bucket lower instead of going down he went up and got in contact with the primaries.
Estaba trabajando con otra cuadrilla en árboles en caliente en una cesta. Unos minutos antes de que esto sucediera le dije a mis compañeros que estaban en tierra que se mantuvieran alejados de la cesta y de la astilladora cuando nos acercáramos a las líneas. Yo estaba debajo de las líneas eléctricas y el capataz cambió la dirección de la pluma para poder alcanzar una sección del árbol, de manera que cuando yo intenté mover la cesta hacia abajo, en vez de descender él subió e hizo contacto con las líneas primarias.
Posted 4-27-18
I was trying to go over a fence. When I put the ladder against the fence on the other side I put my weight on the ladder and it slipped. I hit my head on the wall with my hard hat and I was hanging down with my other leg on the fence. I didn’t get hurt but make sure ladder is secure when climbing on ladder.
Estaba tratando de pasar por encima de una valla. Cuando recosté la escalera contra la valla del otro lado, coloqué mi peso sobre la escalera, y la escalera se resbaló. Pegué la cabeza con el casco puesto contra la pared, y me quedé colgando con la otra pierna sobre la valla. No me lesioné, pero hay que verificar que la escalera está segura antes de trepar por ella.
Posted 4-27-18
When setting up the bucket truck I made a bad outrigger placement in soft ground. This could have caused a tip over. Make sure to check ground firmness before extending rigger, very important!
Al instalar el camión cesta, coloqué mal un estabilizador sobre un terreno suave. Esto podría haber causado que el camión se volcara. Asegúrese de comprobar la firmeza del terreno antes de extender la plataforma de la grúa, ¡Es muy importante!
Posted 4-27-18
Did not have a truck that the defroster works and have to leave early to go to the job. It’s hard to see out the window and I am driving and waiting and driving until the window clears up. Scary!
No tenía un camión con un desempañador que funcionara y tenía que salir temprano para llegar al sitio de trabajo. Era difícil ver a través del vidrio, y estaba manejando, esperando y manejando hasta que el vidrio se despejara para poder ver bien. ¡Que susto!
Posted 4-27-18
Tree trimmer was removing a large limb away from the power lines. He was roping off and cutting large chunks of wood about 5 ft. lengths. On the last piece of wood to remove he warns the crew to beware that the piece is long, heavy and very slick and to stay away just in case. Sure enough the rope came undone and the piece landed where the rest of the wood was landed. The rope came undone because the cutter did not secure it tight enough or he did not cut a notch to hold the rope in place.
Un podador de árboles estaba alejando una gran rama de las líneas eléctricas. Estaba atando y cortando grandes trozos de madera de aproximadamente 5 pies de largo. Al remover la última pieza de madera, le advirtió a la cuadrilla que el trozo era largo, pesado y muy resbaladizo, y que se apartaran por si acaso. Ciertamente la soga se soltó y el trozo cayó donde habían caído el resto de la madera. La soga se soltó porque la persona haciendo el corte no lo apretó lo suficiente o no cortó una muesca en la madera para sujetar la cuerda en su sitio.
Posted 4-27-18
Crew was working on routine work after storm work and crew was traveling up an icy road on a 3-degree slope. The truck started to slide back down the slope firmly coming to a stop in a ditch about 4 inches away from a power pole and the home owner’s fence.
La cuadrilla estaba haciendo un trabajo de rutina después de ejecutar trabajos relacionados con la tormenta, y la cuadrilla estaba viajando sobre una carretera congelada con una inclinación de 3 grados. El camión comenzó a deslizarse hacia atrás y se detuvo en una zanja, a unas 4 pulgadas de distancia de un poste eléctrico y de la valla de la casa.
Posted 4-27-18
A tree trimmer was working on a tree that called for a side trim and a service clear. Tree trimmer noticed a large branch rubbing on the service line so a call was made to the power company. When the troubleman arrived he had the tree trimmer help run the rope to re-route the service line. The lineman disconnected the service drop from the house to re-routed it. While re-routing the tree trimmer was cutting branches and the service was pulled up and hit the handsaw. No injuries or damage, bad communication.
Un podador de árboles estaba trabajando en un árbol que requería una poda lateral y un despeje para el servicio. El podador de árboles observó que una rama grande estaba rozando la línea de servicio, de modo que se llamó a la compañía de energía eléctrica. Cuando el trabajador de la compañía eléctrica llegó, le pidió ayuda al podador de árboles para usar una soga para re-dirigir la línea de servicio. El trabajador desconectó la línea de la casa para re-direccionarla. Mientras tanto, el podador de árboles estaba cortando ramas y la línea de servicio se soltó y golpeó el serrucho. No hubo lesiones ni daños, mala comunicación.
Posted 4-27-18
On a snowy day a car driver came up fast behind a work truck. The crew pulled over to let the car go by. The driver of the car then called in the number of the work truck to the company saying the work truck “brake checked” the car driver, which was not the case. He braked as he slowed to pull over.
En un día nevado, un automovilista se acercaba rápidamente detrás de un camión de trabajo. La cuadrilla se hizo a un lado para dejar pasar el automóvil. El conductor del automóvil llamó a la compañía usando el número de teléfono escrito en el camión, y dijo que el camión frenó a propósito para molestar al conductor, lo cual no era cierto. El conductor del camión frenó mientras bajaba la velocidad para poder hacerse a un lado.
Posted 4-27-18
A four-person crew working in a back yard did a job briefing before starting work. Crew members started to climb and the foreman was in the tree also. The foreman stepped on a dead branch and it broke. He was attached properly and did not fall, all was good.
Una cuadrilla de cuatro personas estaba trabajando en un patio trasero. Tuvieron una reunión informativa sobre el trabajo a realizar antes de comenzar. Los miembros de la cuadrilla comenzaron a trepar y el capataz también estaba en el árbol. El capataz pisó una rama muerta y se rompió. Él estaba bien amarrado y no se cayó, todo resultó bien.
Posted 4-27-18
A company truck broke down so another truck was brought to replace it from another yard. The replacement truck was inspected before taking it out and it was found that the rod holding the bucket to the truck was missing. Always inspect before you take it out!
Un camión de la compañía se accidentó, por lo que se trajo un camión de otro patio para sustituirlo. Se inspeccionó el camión de reemplazo antes de usarlo y se comprobó que faltaba la vara que une la cesta con el camión. ¡Siempre hay que inspeccionar el equipo antes de usarlo!
Posted 4-27-18
A crew member put his gear bag on the bumper of the truck and forgot about it. The crew left the yard and was driving down the road when the bag fell out on the road and just missed a parked car.
Un miembro de la cuadrilla colocó la bolsa con su equipo sobre el parachoques del camión y se olvidó de ella. La cuadrilla salió del patio y conduciendo por la carretera la bolsa cayó sobre el camino y casi golpeó un carro que estaba estacionado.
Posted 4-27-18
A crew member picked up a chock block and did not secure it right and the chock fell out onto the road, just missing a car window.
Un miembro de la cuadrilla colocó un bloque de cuña, pero no lo aseguró bien. El bloque de cuña se salió hacia la carretera y casi golpeó la ventana de un automóvil.
Posted 4-27-18
A crew member was using a blower and had a set of head phones on and was not paying attention to cars driving by. He was almost hit by a car.
Un miembro de la cuadrilla estaba usando un soplador de hojas, tenía puestos unos auriculares y no le estaba prestando atención a los automóviles que pasaban. Un automóvil casi lo golpeó.
Posted 4-27-18
I was passenger in a boom truck coming down a blind mountain corner when a speeding car was in our lane. Luckily the foreman reacted fast and turned toward the mountain or there would have been a collision. The person driving the car stayed in our lane ever after the incident.
Yo estaba de pasajero en un camión pluma que estaba descendiendo por la montaña en una curva ciega y de repente un automóvil a alta velocidad apareció en nuestro carril. Afortunadamente, el capataz reaccionó rápido y dirigió el camión hacia la montaña o habría habido una colisión. La persona que conducía el coche se quedó en nuestro carril aún después del incidente.
Posted 4-27-18
A climber was pulling a chainsaw up a tree while the saw was running. A branch disengaged the hand brake and the saw went into full throttle right below the climber’s feet.
Un escalador estaba halando una motosierra para subirla a un árbol mientras la sierra estaba encendida. Una rama desacopló el freno de mano y la sierra pasó a aceleración total justo debajo de los pies del escalador.
Posted 4-27-18
Trimming for routine work in the back yard of a residence, my climber and I were both climbing trees but prior to doing so we established our drop zone with cones. Assuming everything was safe to perform our tasks we started trimming and dropping limbs when out of nowhere a customer showed up, trespassing our drop zone area and almost got struck by one of the dropped limbs. Lesson learned never assume people understand what the drop zone is for.
Podando durante un trabajo rutinario en el patio trasero de una residencia, mi escalador y yo estábamos trepando árboles, pero antes de hacerlo, habíamos demarcado con conos nuestra zona de caída de ramas. Asumimos que todo estaba seguro y podíamos ejecutar nuestras tareas. Comenzamos a podar y lanzar ramas cuando de la nada apareció un cliente que atravesó nuestra zona de caída y casi fue golpeado por una de las ramas que dejábamos caer. La lección que aprendimos es nunca asumir que la gente entiende para qué sirve una zona de caída.
Posted 4-27-18
Pulling a branch under a log the branch broke and came back and smacked the guy in his safety glasses. No injury and glasses made the difference-wear them!
Estábamos tirando de una rama debajo de un tronco, la rama se rompió, rebotó y golpeó al trabajador en sus gafas de seguridad. No hubo lesiones y los lentes marcaron la diferencia. ¡Úsenlos!
Posted 4-27-18
Cutting on a downed tree the saw tip came in contact with a limb and kicked back. The cutter was using proper cutting techniques and the brake hit his wrist and stopped the chain.
Al cortar un árbol derribado, la punta de la sierra entró en contacto con una rama y dio un contragolpe. El cortador estaba usando las técnicas adecuadas de corte y el freno le pegó en la muñeca y detuvo la cadena.
Posted 4-27-18
NOTE: This is an accident, not a Close Call, but caused no reportable injury: The tree had been topped before and the top two limbs were overhangs with no tie-in and no way to rig the limbs. Limbs were only 3 ft. past the first phase and about 6” above. I tried to cut and push the limbs one at a time but both made contact with a phase resulting in two separate electric shocks.
NOTA: Esto es un accidente, no un Accidente Potencial, pero el tipo de lesión fue tal que no fue necesario informar sobre ella: Al árbol se le había cortado previamente el tope y las dos ramas superiores estaban por encima de las líneas, sin sogas, ni había ninguna manera de manipular las ramas. Las ramas estaban solo a 3 pies después de la primera fase, y unos 6 pies por encima. Traté de cortar y empujar las ramas una por una, pero ambas hicieron contacto con una fase, ocasionando dos choques eléctricos separados.
Posted 4-27-18
On a call out after normal work hours two two-man crews were called out to remove tree limbs disconnected and lying on the house drop. The foreman was setting his line to climb the tree and as he was pulling the line through when a dead snag broke and fell to the ground. As this was happening the homeowner came out to see the work and the limb about 1” x 2 ft long landed about a foot away from the homeowner.
En una llamada después de las horas normales de trabajo, llamaron a dos cuadrillas de dos hombres para retirar ramas desconectadas que estaban sobre la línea de alimentación de una casa. El capataz estaba colocándose su soga para subir al árbol y mientras estaba tirando de la soga, una rama muerta se rompió y cayó al suelo. Mientras esto sucedía, el dueño de la casa salió a ver el trabajo y la rama, de alrededor de 1″ x 2 pies de largo, cayó a un pie del lugar donde estaba el dueño de la casa.
Posted 4-27-18
I was climbing a 52 DBH redwood tree at about 80 ft. high. I was tied in with my climb line and as I trimmed one side I walked on a limb to prune the tips, set my flip line on the limb about chest height so I could get comfortable to use my pole pruner. Before I started the limb which my flip line was attached snapped and I swung a couple of feet in my harness. The limb that failed was green and about fist size.
Estaba subiendo una secoya de 52 DAP a unos 80 pies de altura. Estaba atado con mi línea de ascensión y mientras recortaba un lado, caminé sobre una rama para podar las puntas. Coloqué mi soga de seguridad sobre la rama, a la altura del pecho, para poder estar cómodo al utilizar mi podador de pértiga. Antes de empezar, la rama a la que estaba atada mi soga de seguridad se quebró y me quedé colgando oscilando en mi arnés. La rama que se quebró era una rama verde y del tamaño de un puño.
Posted 4-27-18
Working on a road doing traffic control and two buckets up working. A guy in one bucket was cutting with a chainsaw using one hand. The chainsaw kicked back and almost hit him in the face. That was a close call. The supervisor and area manager were there and saw it and didn’t say anything, even the guy in the bucket continued chain saw use with only one hand.
Estaba trabajando en una carretera controlando el tráfico y había dos cestas trabajando en el aire. Uno de los trabajadores en la cesta estaba haciendo cortes con una motosierra con una sola mano. La motosierra dio un contragolpe y casi le pegó en la cara. Eso fue un accidente potencial. El supervisor y el gerente de la zona estaban allí y vieron lo que sucedió y no dijeron nada. Incluso el trabajador en la cesta continuó usando la motosierra con una sola mano.
Posted 4-27-18
Working with another crew I had to wait for another lift truck to move so I could pass by. The other driver started to back up to let me by but the climber did not get out of the cab to direct the driver back. As he was backing I had to sound my horn because he was backing into a fence which avoided a backing accident. The climber should have gotten out of the truck to spot for the driver.
Mientras trabajaba con otra cuadrilla, tuve que esperar que otro camión grúa se moviera para que yo pudiera pasar. El otro conductor comenzó a retroceder para dejarme pasar, pero el escalador no se bajó del camión para dirigir al conductor mientras retrocedía. Mientras él retrocedía tuve que tocar mi bocina porque el camión estaba a punto de golpear una valla, lo que evitó un accidente. El escalador debería haberse bajado del camión para ayudar al conductor a ver los obstáculos.
Posted 4-27-18
While I was driving my lift down a driveway to trim some trees my climber yelled out to stop. There was a service drop across the driveway I could net see because of the fog that morning. If my climber was not spotting for me I would have hit the service drop.
Mientras conducía mi camión grúa en un camino de acceso para recortar unos árboles, mi escalador me gritó para que me detuviera. Había una línea eléctrica de alimentación que atravesaba el camino y yo no la había podido ver debido a la neblina que había esa mañana. Si el escalador no me hubiera estado dirigiendo, yo hubiera golpeado la línea de alimentación.
Posted 4-27-18
A climber got shocked on a guy wire while in the tree. The power company was called to find out why and we found that a broken insulator made the pole top hot from the primaries and made the guy hot too. This is a dangerous condition because there can be enough voltage to kill someone if they are in a tree and touch an energized piece of equipment.
Un escalador recibió un choque eléctrico de un cable de guarda mientras estaba sobre un árbol. Se llamó a la compañía de energía eléctrica para averiguar por qué y se descubrió que un aislador roto hizo que el poste estuviera electrificado por las líneas primarias, por lo que el cable de guarda también estaba electrificado. Esta es una condición peligrosa, porque puede haber tensión suficiente para matar a alguien que esté en un árbol y toque una pieza de equipo energizada.
Posted 4-27-18
NOTE: This is an accident, not a Close Call, caused no reportable injury but property was damaged: A climber tied a felling rope around a tree and when the rope was pulled tight the phone line was pulled off of the house.
NOTA: Este es un accidente, no un Accidente Potencial, no hubo lesiones que había que informar, pero hubo daños a la propiedad: Un escalador ató una soga para tumbar el árbol alrededor de un árbol y cuando se haló la soga, se haló también el cable telefónico de la casa.
Posted 4-27-18
Crew was felling dead trees, weather was breezy and raining. They put ropes in the trees pulling with the side where the power lines were when a sudden gust of wind came up as a tree was falling. We pushed the tree enough to hit the wire by the top of the tree. No damage to the wires.
La cuadrilla estaba talando árboles muertos, había brisa y estaba lloviendo. Colocaron las sogas en los árboles y halaron del lado donde estaban las líneas eléctricas, cuando surgió una ráfaga de viento repentina al mismo tiempo que estaba cayendo un árbol. Empujamos el árbol lo suficiente para que solo el tope pegara con los cables. No hubo ningún daño a los cables.
Posted 4-27-18
I was observing another climber chunk down a tree. He had forgotten to make a cut on the front side of the chunk to prevent the tree from peeling. I warned him to make the cut before it was too late.
Estaba observando a otro escalador que estaba cortando un árbol en pedazos. Se le había olvidado hacer un corte en la parte delantera del pedazo para evitar que el árbol no se resbalara de la soga. Le avisé que hiciera el corte antes de que fuera demasiado tarde.
Posted 4-27-18
I had cut through the tail end of my climb line and disconnected it before it was too late. I had the ground crew send up a new climb line.
Tuve que cortar el extremo de mi soga de escalar y desconectarla antes de que fuera demasiado tarde. Le pedí a la cuadrilla de tierra que me enviara una nueva soga de escalar.
Posted 4-27-18
We were three foreman doing traffic control and had the road divided up into two lanes so we didn’t have to stop traffic. Traffic was going fine but we didn’t see a service line going across the road hanging low. I told the foreman to put the line higher. A big truck came by and passed inches away from the service line.
Tres capataces estábamos controlando el tráfico y habíamos dividido la carretera en dos carriles para no tener que detener el tráfico. El tráfico iba bien pero no vimos una línea de servicio que atravesaba la carretera y que estaba colgando a una baja altura. Le dije al capataz que pusiera la línea más alta. Un gran camión llegó y pasó a unos pocos centímetros de la línea de servicio.
Posted 2-22-18
I was removing a tree and it was raining. I was working on the boom under the primary lines. I asked the climber for the pruner so I could reach the limbs, but I couldn’t reach them, so I kept the pruner in the bucket. I went over the lines and I forgot the pruner was hanging from the bucket. I noticed because I felt the primary lines pulling on the pruner. I got sacred but fortunately nothing happened. Never hang a pruner on the bucket.
Estaba removiendo un árbol y ese día estaba lloviendo. Estaba trabajando con el camión pluma debajo de las primarias. Le pedí las tijeras de podar al escalador para alcanzar unas ramas. No pude alcanzar las ramas y decidí colocarlas en la cesta. Pasé por encima de las líneas primarias y se me había olvidado que tenía las tijeras de podar colgando de la cesta. Me di cuenta cuando sentí que las líneas primarias estaban halando las tijeras de podar. Me asusté, pero afortunadamente no pasó nada. Nunca se debe colgar las Tijeras de podar de la cesta.
Posted 2-22-18
Communication is important to make the work safer, and if you don’t feel safe, you shouldn’t do the work. This happens with some people who don’t understand how to do the work. This morning an accident almost happened.
La comunicación es importante para hacer más seguro el trabajo y si no se siente seguro, no debe hacerlo. Esto pasa con personas que no entienden cómo hacer el trabajo. Hoy en la mañana casi pasó un accidente.
Posted 2-22-18
To avoid accidents, there should be communication with the foreman, and proper use of blocks and signs.
Debe haber comunicación con el capataz para evitar accidentes, y el uso adecuado de bloques y señalización.
Posted 2-22-18
Issue with knots. One day I was with a co-worker who used a clove-hitch knot. When he cut the knot, the limb didn’t stop. There was no damage because we had a danger zone and a drop line. This had happened to me a long time ago but I have never trusted this kind of knot.
Incidente acerca de los nudos. Un día trabajando con un compañero de trabajo él hizo un nudo de ballestrinque (clove-hitch) y al cortar el nudo el tronco no se detuvo. No causó ningún daño porque teníamos cobertura de zona de peligro y una soga de seguridad. A mí me había pasado hace mucho tiempo, pero yo nunca he confiado en ese nudo.
Posted 2-22-18
I slipped out of a tree when it was wet because the tree was slippery, luckily I had my safety on. Had to watch out for snakes in tall weeds in orchards.
Me resbalé de un árbol que estaba mojado porque el árbol estaba resbaladizo. Afortunadamente tenía mi soga de seguridad. Tuve que estar atento a las serpientes en la maleza y los huertos
Posted 2-22-18
Don’t use equipment that doesn’t have ALL safety features functional. We were forced to use a chipper that had one of the safety features broken due to lack of equipment.
No utilice equipos a menos que TODOS sus elementos de seguridad estén funcionando bien. Nos vimos obligados a utilizar una trituradora que tenía uno de sus elementos de seguridad roto por la falta de equipo.
Posted 2-22-18
One day I was taking the wheel chocks off the tires of the vehicle and when I took one off the tire moved and almost got my hand.
Un día estaba retirando las cuñas de los neumáticos del vehículo y cuando saqué una, el neumático se movió y casi me atrapó la mano.
Posted 2-22-18
I have cut my flip line 3 times in one year. I have always made sure to be 100% tied in. My personal advice is always pay attention to flip lines and ropes and do not be in a hurry. 200% tie-in always works!!
He cortado mi soga de seguridad 3 veces en un año. Siempre me he asegurado de estar 100% atado. Mi consejo personal es que siempre se debe prestar atención a las sogas de seguridad y a las cuerdas, y no hacer las cosas apurado. Estar atado 200% ¡siempre funciona!
Posted 2-22-18
Extend cones on your traffic set-up. I have had many cars not paying attention and drivers see the cones way too late. That’s what happens when work area is small. Give lots of room with cones to warn drivers. Pay attention to your surroundings all the time.
Extienda los conos de tráfico en un área suficientemente grande. He visto muchos automóviles que no prestan atención y los conductores ven los conos cuando ya es demasiado tarde. Esto sucede cuando la zona de trabajo es muy pequeña. Coloque los conos a una distancia suficientemente grande para poder advertir a los conductores sobre la zona de trabajo. Preste atención a su entorno siempre.
Posted 2-22-18
We had several trucks working together and the truck behind us the climber did not see the bucket and was putting pressure on a limb. I saw the truck shake and the climber was out of the bucket. He got ejected from the bucket and his harness stopped him, scared us all. Just a reminder to use full body harness properly.
Había varios camiones trabajando al mismo tiempo y el camión que estaba detrás de nosotros estaba colocando presión sobre una rama y no vio la cesta con el escalador. Vi cómo el camión se sacudía y el escalador fue expulsado de la cesta, pero su arnés lo detuvo. Nos asustó a todos. Solo un recordatorio para usar el arnés de cuerpo completo correctamente.
Posted 2-22-18
Me and my foreman were working on walnut trees and prior to the work it had rained making the trees super slippery. As I was climbing the walnut tree had I not been tied in I would have fallen out of the tree.
Mi capataz y yo estábamos trabajando en unos nogales y antes del trabajo había llovido, por lo que los árboles estaban muy resbaladizos. Al trepar el nogal, si no hubiera estado atado me hubiera caído del árbol.
Posted 2-22-18
Our crew just finished dropping an R4 so me and my groundsman went to go de-limb the tree. While I was de-limbing a huge oak tree fell over just where I was working. I went to go see what had happened the tree had a huge crack straight down the tree meaning the R4 must have hit the oak causing it to crack.
Nuestra cuadrilla estaba tumbando un R4, así que mi operador de tierra y yo comenzamos a coartar las ramas del árbol. Cuando estaba cortando las ramas, un enorme roble cayó justo donde yo trabajaba. Fui a ver qué había sucedido y el árbol tenía una enorme grieta que atravesaba todo el árbol. Es decir que el R4 debe haber golpeado el roble causando su quiebre.
Posted 2-22-18
I was walking down a hill and stepped on a piece of sheet metal that was under a cover of pine needles. I slipped and almost stabbed myself with my gaff around my neck or head area.
Estaba bajando por una colina y piséun trozo de chapa que estaba debajo de una cubierta de agujas de pino. Me resbalé y casi me clavé las espuelas que tenía colgando del cuello.
Posted 2-22-18
I was removing a large black oak and when I made an undercut the saw snagged on the chain teeth and kicked the saw out of my hand. Luckily it swung away and I was able to grab the saw again. I thought the undercut was deep enough (it was not) and I was tied into the top of the tree and I was flipped into the limb I was cutting. The limb was approximately 17” in diameter. When I made the top cut the top ripped, pulling me against the tree.
Estaba removiendo un gran roble negro y cuando hice un corte direccional, la sierra se enganché en los dientes de la cadena y me arrebató la sierra de la mano. Afortunadamente giró hacia afuera y pude agarrar la sierra de nuevo. Pensé que el corte direccional era suficientemente profundo (no lo era). Yo estaba atado a la parte superior del árbol y caí sobre la rama que estaba cortando. La rama tenía un diámetro de aproximadamente 43 cm (17 pulg.). Cuando hice el corte, la parte superior del árbol se rompió y me tiró contra el árbol.
Posted 2-22-18
I was throwing brush down from the bucket and doing things right. Another employee stepped under the bucket and did not tell me he was going under the tree. He was almost hit and 3 way communication was not being used.
Estaba lanzando ramas desde la cesta, siguiendo el procedimiento correcto. Otro empleado se colocó debajo de la cesta y no me dijo que iba a estar debajo del árbol. Las ramas casi lo golpearon, no se utilizó la comunicación de 3 vías.
Posted 2-22-18
We were pulling on a rope attached to a redwood tree. The climber had already made the pie cut and was doing the back cut when the rope came off the tree. The climber made the wrong rope tie and caused the close call.
Estábamos tirando de una cuerda atada a un árbol de secoya. El escalador ya había hecho el corte de ángulo y estaba haciendo el corte tipo cuña cuando la soga se desprendió del árbol. El escalador había hecho mal el nudo y resultó en un accidente potencial.
Posted 2-22-18
A trimmer was making a cut that was too close to his body and cutting a limb that was too heavy to control. The limb started coming his way so he pushed the limb with one hand while holding the chainsaw with the other hand. When he pried the chainsaw out he did it too quickly and the chainsaw hit his thigh. The result was torn pants but luckily no cut, so obviously the chainsaw was still running.
Un podador estaba haciendo un corte demasiado cerca de su cuerpo y cortando una rama que era demasiado pesada para poderla controlar. La rama se estaba acercando hacia él, así que la empujó con una mano mientras sujetaba la motosierra con la otra mano. Cuando extrajo la motosierra de la rama lo hizo demasiado rápido la motosierra lo golpeó en el muslo. El resultado fue que se le rasgaron los pantalones, pero afortunadamente no se cortó, es decir que la motosierra todavía estaba en marcha cuando la extrajo.
Posted 2-22-18
While we were chipping in a horse pasture a piece of wire got hung up in the brush and pulled free before it went into the chipped. Luckily this happened because the wire was entangled in the climber’s feet. Close call was more attention needs to be payed when chipping brush around loose wires.
Mientras estábamos astillado en una zona de pastos de caballos, un trozo de alambre se atascó en las ramas y se soltó antes de entrar en la astilladora. Afortunadamente así fue, porque el alambre estaba enredado en los pies del escalador. El accidente potencial fue porque debe prestarse más atención al astillar las ramas cuando hay alambres sueltos cerca.
Posted 2-22-18
My crew was all set up and working in a walnut orchard. Everything was going good when the boss showed up with no hard hat. I stopped the work and told him to get out of our work area. He signed our job briefing.
Mi cuadrilla estaba lista y trabajando en un huerto de nogales. Todo iba bien hasta que el jefe apareció sin su casco. Suspendí el trabajo y le dije que saliera de nuestra zona de trabajo. El firmó nuestro informe de trabajo.
Posted 2-22-18
Co-worker started climbing with spurs and safety line. When he was 3 ft. off the ground his spurs slipped and he fell to the ground. The good thing was he was only 3 ft. off the ground.
Un compañero empezó a subir con las espuelas y la línea de seguridad. Cuando estaba a una altura de 90 cm (3 pies) del suelo, sus espuelas resbalaron y cayó al suelo. Afortunadamente solo estaba a una altura de 90 cm (3 pies).
Posted 2-22-18
I saw a feller dropping a large tree when the saw got pinched. The tree was falling and the feller did not escape when needed, he was trying to pull the saw out. When the tree fell it shot the saw about 20 ft. into the air! The saw could have killed him. Use the escape route.
Vi un talador derribar un árbol grande cuando la sierra se atascó. El árbol estaba cayendo y el talador no utilizó la ruta de escape cuando debía haberlo hecho porque estaba tratando de sacar la sierra. Cuando el árbol cayó, ¡la sierra voló unos 6 metros (20 pies) en el aire! La sierra lo hubiera podido matar. Hay que utilizar la ruta de escape.
Posted 2-22-18
Employee was up cutting a limb and almost slapped the primary together. The cutter should have pruned the tips back and then chainsaw the limb. Taking shortcuts caused the close call.
Un empleado estaba cortando una rama y casi unió las líneas primarias. El podador ha debido cortar primero las puntas y luego cortar la rama con una sierra. El accidente potencial fue porque se tomaron atajos.
Posted 10-31-17
Helmet knocked off
I was lifting branches from the ground and one of the branches was dry. When the branch fell it broke, and a trunk hit me in the head and knocked my helmet off.
Estaba levantando las ramas del suelo y una de las ramas estaba seca. Cuando cayó, se quebró y un tronco me pegó en la cabeza y me tiró el casco.
Posted 10-31-17
Basket turned over
A basket turned over because we hadn’t checked it. The basket wasn’t locked in place. It should have been noticed before the pin got loose.
Una canasta se dio vuelta porque no la revisamos. La canasta no tenía colocado el seguro. Se podría haber visto antes de que se saliera el pin.
Contributing factors:
- Complacency/Overconfidence / Falta de atención/Exceso de confianza
- Hazardous attitude toward task / Actitud peligrosa frente a la tarea a realizar
- Unexpected equipment conditions / Equipo en condiciones inesperadas
Posted 10-31-17
Comply with safety standards
All safety is important in order to have better production and more productivity. This is good for the company and for me as well. One must comply with the safety standards both in the truck with the cones and the fire equipment. If everything is correct we can all work safely. If we communicate before starting work in any area, all our work will turn out correctly and we will go back home relaxed and happy.
Todas las formas de seguridad son importantes para tener mejor producción y rendir mucho más. Esto es bueno para la compañía y para mí también. Hay que cumplir con las normas de seguridad tanto en el camión con los conos y el equipo de incendio. Si todo está correcto, todos podemos trabajar de manera segura. Estando en comunicación antes de empezar en cualquier área todo nuestro trabajo va a salir correctamente y regresaremos tranquilos y felices a nuestros hogares
Posted 10-31-17
Driving up mountain
A truck almost turned over because the supervisor was pressuring me to drive the crane up the mountain. The ground was uneven and at one point the back tires were up on the air.
Un camión casi se volteó porque el supervisor me presionaba para meter el camión de canasta en la sierra. El terreno estaba disparejo y hubo un momento que se levantaron las llantas de atrás.
Contributing factors:
- Time pressure, in a hurry / Presionado por tiempo, con prisa.
- Complacency/Overconfidence / Falta de atención/Exceso de confianza
- Hazardous attitude toward task / Actitud peligrosa frente a la tarea a realizar
Posted 10-31-17
Clothes in chipper
I was using a chipper and one branch got stuck. It tore my clothes because I wasn’t careful.I wasn’t paying attention while using the chipper and the hopper turned over.
Una vez estaba utilizando una astilladora y una rama se enganchó. Me rasgó la ropa por no tener cuidado.
Cuando estaba usando la astilladora no puse atención y se me volcó la tolva.
Contributing factors:
- Complacency/Overconfidence / Falta de atención/Exceso de confianza
- Hazardous attitude toward task / Actitud peligrosa frente a la tarea a realizar
Posted 10-31-17
In the cone zone
There was traffic and all the signs were well placed. However, someone still entered the working area and a branch almost hit him.
Había tráfico y tenía toda la señalización bien colocada. Sin embargo, una persona se pasó al área de trabajo y casi le golpeó una rama.
Contributing factors:
- Distractions, Interruptions / Distracciones, Interrupciones
Posted 10-31-17
From the bottom up
You have to be careful when trimming branches. Sometimes we are not careful and start trimming from the bottom up which is not correct because we can harm our eyes.
Hay que tener cuidado al podar las ramas. A veces no tenemos cuidado y trabajamos podando de abajo hacia arriba lo cual no es correcto porque podemos dañarnos los ojos.
Contributing factors:
- Time pressure, in a hurry / Presionado por tiempo, con prisa.
- Unclear roles, goals, responsibilities / Falta de claridad sobre las funciones, objetivos y responsabilidades
- Changes, departure from routine / Cambios, trabajo diferente de la rutina
- Hazardous attitude toward task / Actitud peligrosa frente a la tarea a realizar
Posted 10-31-17
Safety measures matter
Sometimes we trust our skills too much and we forget to follow safety measures. For example, we forget to tie ourselves to climb trees. There danger of falling is always there, even if the trees are small.
A veces por tener mucha confianza en nuestro trabajo nos olvidamos de la seguridad, y por ejemplo no nos amarramos para trepar los árboles. Uno se puede caer, aunque los árboles sean pequeños.
Contributing factors:
- Changes, departure from routine / Cambios, trabajo diferente de la rutina
- Complacency/Overconfidence / Falta de atención/Exceso de confianza
- Taking shortcuts / Tomar atajos
- Hazardous attitude toward task / Actitud peligrosa frente a la tarea a realizar
Posted 10-31-17
Bad knot
While removing a tree the worker tied a knot but didn’t do it correctly. While cutting, the trunk flipped over and the knot came undone. The trunk fell all the way down. Fortunately, no one was injured.
En una ocasión removiendo un árbol, la persona hizo un nudo, pero no hizo la media vuelta al final. Al cortar, el tronco dio una vuelta y el amarre se deshizo. El tronco se fue hasta abajo. Afortunadamente nadie se lastimó.
Contributing factors:
- Changes, departure from routine / Cambios, trabajo diferente de la rutina
- Complacency/Overconfidence / Falta de atención/Exceso de confianza
- Unfamiliar with task (training) / No está familiarizado con la tarea (capacitación)
Posted 10-31-17
Second tie
We were cutting a tree and we had a tie in the tree top, but it was over a line. The climber on the tree called for a second tie to pull it back because it was on the overhang. The back tie was very strong and too low and the tree fell forward. It didn’t go toward the lines, but we almost dropped it.
En una ocasión cortando un árbol teníamos un amarre en la parte alta del árbol, pero estaba sobre una línea. El que estaba en el árbol pidió un segundo amarre para jalarlo hacia atrás porque estaba en el voladizo. El amarre de atrás estaba muy fuerte y muy abajo y el árbol se fue para adelante. No se fue hacia las líneas, pero por poco se nos cae.
Contributing factors:
- Unclear roles, goals, responsibilities / Falta de claridad sobre las funciones, objetivos y responsabilidades
- Changes, departure from routine / Cambios, trabajo diferente de la rutina
- Complacency/Overconfidence / Falta de atención/Exceso de confianza
Posted 10-31-17
Avoid large cuts
When we climb trees aligned toward the lines we should never take the risk of making large cuts. A coworker told me to do a single cut and that it would be enough. I listened to him and the branch almost hit the lines. Before making a single cut, it is best to talk to your partner and explain that it is better to cut the branch in pieces, it is safer.
Cuando escalamos árboles alineados hacia las líneas nunca debemos arriesgarnos de hacer cortes grandes. A mí personalmente me pasó que otro compañero me dijo que hiciera un solo corte y que sería suficiente. Por hacerle caso, la rama casi se me va hacia las líneas. Antes de hacer un solo corte es mejor conversar con su compañero y explicarle que es mejor cortar por piezas, es más seguro.
Contributing factors:
- Changes, departure from routine / Cambios, trabajo diferente de la rutina
- Complacency/Overconfidence / Falta de atención/Exceso de confianza
- Taking shortcuts / Tomar atajos
- Personality Conflicts / Conflictos de personalidades
- Hazardous attitude toward task / Actitud peligrosa frente a la tarea a realizar
- Communications barriers / Barreras comunicacionales
Posted 10-31-17
Look out for dry trees
We must never hang from a rope if we are not sure that we are totally secured to the tree, because dry trees can break when least expected.
Nunca debemos colgarnos de la soga si no estamos seguros de que estamos totalmente bien amarrados del árbol, porque los árboles secos se pueden quebrar en el momento menos esperado.
Contributing factors:
- Complacency/Overconfidence / Falta de atención/Exceso de confianza
- Hazardous attitude toward task / Actitud peligrosa frente a la tarea a realizar
Posted 10-30-17
Hood popped
You have to be careful with the hood of the truck. When checking the engine oil make sure you close the hood properly, otherwise it may result in an accident. I was going at 45 miles per hour when the hood popped open. I could have caused an accident, but fortunately I was able to stop at the side of the road to close it. You have to check the truck and make sure all is in order.
Hay que tener cuidado con el capó del camión porque al chequear el aceite del motor y no tener cuidado de cerrarlo bien puede resultar un accidente. Me pasó a mí. Iba a una velocidad de 45 millas por hora cuando se abrió el capó. Pude haber ocasionado un accidente, pero afortunadamente me pude parar en la orilla de la carretera para cerrarlo. Hay que chequear bien el camión y verificar que todo está bien.
Contributing factors:
- Changes, departure from routine / Cambios, trabajo diferente de la rutina
- Complacency/Overconfidence / Falta de atención/Exceso de confianza
- Unexpected equipment conditions / Equipo en condiciones inesperadas
Posted 10-30-17
Bad knot
We cut a branch over the lines, we tied the branch, but the knot was not done right. It got undone and the branch fell to one side of the lines because I didn’t make sure that the knot was done correctly.
Cortamos una rama arriba de las líneas, amarramos la rama, pero el nudo no estaba bien. Se desamarró y la rama cayó a un lado de las líneas por no asegurarme de que el nudo estaba bien.
Contributing factors:
- Taking shortcuts / Tomar atajos
- Unfamiliar with task (training) / No está familiarizado con la tarea (capacitación)
- Hazardous attitude toward task / Actitud peligrosa frente a la tarea a realizar
Posted 10-30-17
Half rotten
We were cutting the last trunk and in the last cut it turned out that the trunk was half rotten. We had just begun to cut with a chainsaw when the trunk fell next to my coworker.
Estábamos cortando el último tronco y en el último corte resultó que el tronco tenía la mitad podrida. Apenas comenzamos a cortar con la motosierra el tronco cayó a un lado del compañero.
Contributing factor:
- Changes, departure from routine / Cambios, trabajo diferente de la rutina
Posted 10-30-17
In a rush
The climber trimmed the branches without noticing that there was someone in the drop zone, he wanted to finish the job quickly.
El escalador cortó las ramas sin fijarse que había alguien en la zona de caída de las ramas, quería terminar el trabajo rápidamente.
- Time pressure, in a hurry / Presionado por tiempo, con prisa.
- Hazardous attitude toward task / Actitud peligrosa frente a la tarea a realizar
- Traffic Control/Work zone not established / Control de tráfico/Zona de trabajo no demarcada
Posted 10-30-17
Eyes on the assistant
The driver climbed into the truck and the assistant got between the truck and the chipper. The driver started driving without seeing or knowing where his assistant was. He could have hurt or even killed him.
El chofer se subió al camión y el ayudante se metió entre el camión y la astilladora. El chofer arrancó sin ver ni saber dónde estaba el ayudante con el peligro de lastimar o hasta matar al ayudante.
Contributing factors:
- Time pressure, in a hurry / Presionado por tiempo, con prisa.
- Changes, departure from routine / Cambios, trabajo diferente de la rutina
- Complacency/Overconfidence / Falta de atención/Exceso de confianza
- Hazardous attitude toward task / Actitud peligrosa frente a la tarea a realizar
Posted 10-30-17
Too close to oncoming car
I was going to start using the chipper. I didn’t pay attention and stood on the side of the traffic. A car drove close to me and it could have hit me and resulted in an accident, but fortunately it just scared me.
Yo iba a empezar a usar la astilladora. No puse atención y me coloqué del lado del tráfico. Un carro me pasó cerca y pudo haberme llevado de lado y tener un accidente, pero afortunadamente solo fue un susto.
Contributing factors:
- Complacency/Overconfidence / Falta de atención/Exceso de confianza
- Unfamiliar with task (training) / No está familiarizado con la tarea (capacitación)
- Hazardous attitude toward task / Actitud peligrosa frente a la tarea a realizar
- Traffic Control/Work zone not established / Control de tráfico/Zona de trabajo no demarcada
Post 10-30-17
No communication
A trunk almost hit me. There was no communication.
Un tronco por poco me pegó. No hubo comunicación.
Post 10-30-17
Cut off in traffic
I was driving on the road in my work truck and all of a sudden there was traffic in an exit. People in their cars were desperate to move forward. Suddenly a car cut off in front of us but I was able to brake quickly and stop.
Estaba manejando en la carretera en mi camión de trabajo y de repente había tráfico en una salida y las personas en sus carros estaban desesperadas por avanzar. De repente un carro se atravesó, pero pude frenar rápidamente y parar.
Posted 10-30-17
Climbers below
We were working on HWY 236 in the 100-ft. truck. The climbers were below us. They knew that we were throwing branches to the street in our drop area of 25 feet, but all of a sudden, we threw a branch and one of them got into our area without warning. The branch almost hit him. Luckily it was only close call.
Estábamos trabajando en la carretera HWY 236 en la grúa de 30.5 m (100 pies). Los escaladores estaban abajo. Ellos sabían que estábamos tirando ramas a la calle en nuestra zona de 25 pies, pero de repente tiramos una rama y uno de ellos se metió en nuestra zona sin avisar y por muy poco esa rama casi lo golpea. Por suerte solo fue un accidente potencial.
Contributing factors:
- Complacency/Overconfidence / Falta de atención/Exceso de confianza
- Hazardous attitude toward task / Actitud peligrosa frente a la tarea a realizar
Posted 10-30-17
Watch for thorns
You have to be careful when climbing down trees and watch out for thorns that may stick to your legs.
Cuando se baja uno del árbol hay que tener cuidado con los picos que se pueden trabar en tus piernas
Posted 10-30-17
Chipping from the side
We must be careful to never use the chipper while in front of it, but always from the side, so we are protected from the shredder.
Debemos tener cuidado de nunca usar la astilladora de frente si no de lado para estar protegidos del molino de la astilladora.
Posted 10-30-17
Cyclist in the drop zone
I was cutting branches while on the crane and a cyclist passed over the area without paying attention to the safety cones. The important thing is to I was able to see him so I didn’t throw the branches. My co-worker also noticed him. The man did not respect the signals but fortunately nothing happened.
Podando sobre la grúa y un ciclista pasó sobre la zona violando los conos de seguridad. Lo importante es que alcancé a verlo y no tiré las ramas. Mi compañero también se dio cuenta. El hombre no respetó la señalización, pero afortunadamente no pasó nada grave.
Posted 10-30-17
Co-worker obstructing view
Driving on Highway 1, my coworker was blocking the mirror view. I was trying to change lanes, but I didn’t have good visibility. The cars honked at us. The coworker also has to pay attention while we are driving.
Manejando sobre HWY 1 mi compañero estaba bloqueando el espejo. Íbamos a cambiar de carril, pero no tenía buena visibilidad. Otros carros tocaron la corneta. El compañero debe estar atento también en el manejo.
Contributing Factors:
- Distractions, Interruptions / Distracciones, Interrupciones
- Hazardous attitude toward task / Actitud peligrosa frente a la tarea a realizar
Posted 10-30-17
Walking on the branch
We were climbing a tree and were walking on the branch to cut it. In that moment the branch broke and I almost fell but fortunately we were securely tied.
Estábamos escalando un árbol y estábamos caminando la rama para cortarla y en ese momento la rama se desprendió del árbol y casi me caí, pero afortunadamente estábamos bien amarrados.
Posted 10-30-17
Already rotten
We arrived to check on a tree and we began to inspect it. When we moved the tree, it fell by itself because it was rotten. We were about to start climbing it.
Llegamos a chequear un árbol y lo empezamos a revisar. Al mover el árbol, el árbol cayó por sí solo lo porque estaba podrido de la pata. Ya íbamos a empezar a escalarlo.
Posted 10-30-17
Other side
I was removing an 80-ft. oak tree. I cut the top but I didn’t tie it, thinking that it was going to fall to the side I had planned, but it fell to the opposite side.
Estaba removiendo un roble de 24 m (80 pies) y al cortar el tope no la amarré pensando que se iba al lado que yo pensaba, pero cayó hacia el lado opuesto
Posted 10-30-17
Caught up
I was cutting a branch and didn’t notice that it got caught in another branch and hit the lines. It shook the lines but it didn’t result in a power outage.
Estaba cortando una rama y no me fijé que se atoró en la otra rama y pegó en las líneas. Las movió, pero no resultó en un apagón
Posted 10-30-17
Kill the line
I had to work on seven trees that were close to the secondary lines. I decided to ask to kill the line for increased safety.
Me dieron 7 árboles entre las líneas secundarias para trabajar, pero decidí pedir que cortaran la electricidad para mayor seguridad
Posted 10-30-17
School Zone
We were working near a school. We had everything in order, cones, signs, but even so parents with their children were still going through our area, until we decided to stop all to avoid accidents.
Estábamos trabajando cerca de una escuela. Teníamos todo en orden, conos, señalización, pero aun así pasaban los padres con los niños hasta que decidimos detener todo para evitar accidentes
Posted 10-30-17
Tree trunk fell too close
I was helping to pull a log, but the trunk fell closer than what I thought. I should have been pulling from farther away.
Estaba ayudando a jalar un tronco, pero el tronco cayó más cerca de lo que pensé. Debería haber estado jalando desde más lejos.
Contributing factors:
- Complacency/Overconfidence / Falta de atención/Exceso de confianza
- Hazardous attitude toward task / Actitud peligrosa frente a la tarea a realizar
Posted 10-30-17
Chipper not correctly connected to truck
I didn’t connect the chipper to the truck properly, and after driving for about a mile I stopped and connected correctly. This could have been an accident.
No conecté la astilladora al camión correctamente, pero una milla después paré y la conecté bien. Esto hubiera podido ser un accidente.
Contributing Factors: Time pressure, in a hurry. Presionado por tiempo, con prisa
Posted 10-30-17
Truck on the move
I saw that a worker started the truck and began to drive towards where I was standing. Fortunately, I was alert and I was able to dodge the truck and avoid being ran over.
Vi que un trabajador arrancó un camión y comenzó a manejar hacia donde yo estaba. Como yo estaba alerta pude esquivarlo y evitar que me atropellara
Contributing Factors: Hazardous attitude towards task. Actitud peligrosa frente a la tarea a realizar
Posted 10-30-17
Snap did not lock
I was climbing a big tree, and one of the many times when you have to lock your snap I didn’t notice that the snap had not locked. I was scared because I was high up. I had to make sure that the snap was locked properly.
Estaba escalando un árbol grande y en una de esas veces cuando me amarré el mosquetón, no me fijé que el mosquetón no cerró y me asusté mucho porque estaba alto. Tuve que asegurarme que el mosquetón estuviera bien cerrado
Contributing Factors: Distractions, in a hurry. Distracciones, Presionado por tiempo, con prisa
Posted 10-30-17
Co-worker in the drop zone
We were working throwing down branches. Suddenly I looked down and I saw there a coworker, I was able to stop before throwing the branch, but I almost hit him.
Estábamos trabajando tirando ramas. De repente miré hacia abajo y al tirar vi que había un compañero. Alcancé a parar antes de tirar la rama, pero por poco le pego.
Contributing Factors: Taking shortcuts, communications barriers. Tomar atajos, Barreras comunicacionales
Posted 10-30-17
Branch flipped
I was working on top of the lines on a large branch. Everything had been planned, but when I cut the branch, it flipped and lost pressure. The branch touched the lines, but fortunately nothing happened.
Estaba trabajando por encima de las líneas, era una rama grande. Estaba todo planeado, pero al cortar la rama se volteó y perdió presión. La rama alcanzó a tocar las líneas, pero no pasó a mayor.
Posted 10-30-17
Kid in the Road
Driving conditions. It was not a school zone. A child suddenly appeared on the road. The good news is I acted quickly and was able to brake in time.
Condiciones de manejo. No estábamos en una zona escolar. De repente vi a un niño. Afortunadamente reaccioné a tiempo y frené.
Posted 10-23-17
Rattlesnake on the trail
Working in the mountains, hiking in and carrying our gear and fire gear. Stepping on an old path I almost stepped on a rattlesnake. The snake did not rattle until it struck my water back pack. If I would have been bitten I would have died. Contributing factors: Carrying a lot of equipment could not watch the trail. Old trail a warning snakes may be around, especially on warm day. Snakes like cover, if surprised will strike.
Estaba trabajando en las montañas, subiendo la montaña y llevando nuestro equipo para trabajar y nuestro equipo de protección contra incendios. Iba caminando por un sendero viejo y casi pisé una serpiente de cascabel. La serpiente no hizo ruido con su cascabel hasta que la golpeé con mi mochila de agua. Si me hubiera mordido yo habría muerto. Factores contribuyentes: Como llevaba un montón de equipo no podía ver el sendero. Advertencia sobre los senderos antiguos: puede haber culebras, especialmente en los días más calurosos. A las serpientes les gusta estar escondidas, atacarán si las sorprenden.
Posted 10-23-17
Limb snapped off
Went out to my first location to trim a large 5 stem oak tree that was very close to the lines. We had a three day weekend ahead and thought oak needed to be trimmed right away to avoid a power outage or fire. After we got there, my climber checked the area and the tree and we did a job briefing. We each climbed up to the limbs we were going to trim and after about 20 minutes we heard a loud snap. The limb behind us had broken off. We saw nothing that would make us think the limb would break. My climber said we better hurry and get done. Contributing factors: In a hurry because of time pressure we put on ourselves. Maybe didn’t look at the limb that broke close enough. Confident we were working safe so we thought we were safe.
Fui a mi primera ubicación para podar un roble grande con 5 troncos que estaba muy cerca de las líneas. Teníamos por delante un fin de semana de tres días y pensamos que teníamos que podar el roble inmediatamente para evitar un corte de energía o un incendio. Después de llegar al lugar, mi escalador revisó la zona y el árbol e hicimos una reunión informativa sobre lo que había que hacer. Cada uno de nosotros subió por las ramas que íbamos a podar y después de unos 20 minutos escuchamos un fuerte chasquido. La rama detrás de nosotros se había roto. No habíamos visto ninguna indicación que nos hiciera pensar que la rama se rompería. Mi escalador dijo que mejor nos apuráramos para terminar. Factores contribuyentes: Estábamos apurados debido a la presión de tiempo que nos impusimos nosotros mismos. Quizás no inspeccionamos con suficiente cuidado la rama que se quebró. Confiamos en que estábamos trabajando de manera segura, así que pensamos que estábamos a salvo.
Posted 10-23-17
Wind blew limb towards lines
Working over the lines I was cutting some small limbs with my pole pruners. It was windy and I cut a 7” limb and a blast of wind caught the limb and it blew toward the power lines. The limb flew over the lines and onto the street. Could have landed on the power lines and caused an outage or hit a passing car on the street. Contributing factor: Did not anticipate that the wind would blow the limb so didn’t secure the limb or try to control it.
Estaba trabajando por encima de la líneas eléctricas, cortando algunas ramas pequeñas con mi podadora de pértiga. Había mucho viento y corté una rama de 18 cm (7 pulgadas) y una ráfaga de viento se llevó la rama hacia las líneas eléctricas. La rama voló sobre las líneas y cayó en la calle. Podría haber caído sobre las líneas eléctricas y provocar un apagón o caer sobre un automóvil que pasara por la calle. Factores contribuyentes: No pensé que el viento se podía llevar la rama, así que no la amarré ni traté de controlarla.
Posted 10-23-17
Angry Drivers
Watch for distracted drivers, traffic stopping in the intersection or traffic control area. Watch out when cones and signs are out on the job site, people get angry when they drive through and you have to watch your back and the crew members’ backs.
Es un accidente potencial los conductores distraídos, los autos parados en la intersección y en la zona de control de tráfico. Tenga cuidado cuando hay conos y señalización en el lugar de trabajo, la gente se enoja cuando conducen por esas zonas, y tienes que cuidar tu espalda y las de los miembros de la cuadrilla.
Posted 10-23-17
Chippers without break bars
Chippers that don’t have break bars are a danger to use because they throw out the end of the long branches. Even if you have glasses and helmet it can still hurt you by striking your face.
Las astilladoras que no tienen barras para romper ramas son un peligro porque expulsan los extremos de las ramas largas. Incluso si usted usa gafas y casco estos aún pueden lastimarle al golpear su rostro
Posted 10-23-17
Walkies and traffic control
Our yards in Monterey don’t have walkie-talkies for flaggers. In Felton a supervisor brings his own personal radios. The close call was when I was flagging I told the person on the other end to send his traffic through, but a car did not stop on my side. Luckily I had the walkie-talkie to tell my partner on the other side to immediately stop his side before an accident happened.
Nuestros patios en Monterey no tienen walkie-talkies para las personas encargas de usar las banderas para controlar el tráfico. En Felton un supervisor trae sus propios radios. El accidente potencial sucedió cuando al usar las banderas para controlar el tráfico le dije a la persona en el otro extremo que dejara pasar el tráfico pero un auto que estaba de mi lado no se detuvo. Afortunadamente yo tenía un walkie-talkie para decirle a mi compañero en el otro extremo que detuviera el tráfico inmediatamente antes de que ocurriera un accidente.
Posted 10-23-17
Chipper training
I was chipping with the fast gas-powered chipper that does not have a brake, and a big branch I had put in has a couple of spikes on it. The branch went in so fast a spike grabbed my glove and took it off in a second.
Do not operate a chipper if you have no experience. Use safety glasses before you chip brush. Get proper training and safety PPE before you use the chipper, a mistake can kill you. It’s ok to say you don’t have experience and need training. I see too many people who think they are trained by watching someone else. That’s not training.
Yo estaba cortando astillas con la astilladora rápida que no tiene freno y una gran rama que yo había colocado en la astilladora tenía un par de puntas. La rama entró tan rápido que una punta agarró mi guante y se lo llevó en un segundo.
No opere una astilladora si no tiene experiencia. Use gafas de seguridad antes de usar la astilladora para moler ramas. Obtenga la capacitación adecuada y el equipo de seguridad antes de usar la astilladora, un error lo puede matar. Está bien decir que no tiene experiencia y que necesita capacitación. Veo demasiadas personas que piensan que tienen la capacitación por haber visto a alguien más haciendo ese trabajo. Eso no es tener la capacitación.
Posted 10-23-17
PPE for Chainsaw work
I see workers using chainsaws without using chaps, gloves or glasses. Can’t believe some people don’t think losing an eye or finger does not matter. I tell people to go get the proper safety gear but everyone should do that too. Many don’t but should watch out for others when they see safety violations, it’s worth it.
He visto a trabajadores con motosierra que no usan guantes, gafas ni chaparreras. No puedo creer que algunas personas piensan que perder un ojo o un dedo no importa. Yo le digo a la gente que use el equipo de seguridad adecuado pero todos deberían hacerlo también. Muchos de ellos no lo hacen, pero deberían cuidar a sus compañeros cuando ven violaciones de seguridad, vale la pena.
Posted 10-23-17
Homeowner trimming branches to improve view
One day we were heading up a hill to trim a pine and we see the wires and cross arms moving. I told my foreman that was not normal. My foreman decided to start climbing the tree when the lines started to move again. The foreman came down the tree and we started walking then line when we see a guy up in a tree. He was trimming a tree for a house to clear the view. What he didn’t realize is that they were moving the limbs into the lines. We told them that it wasn’t safe and let the homeowner know what was happening and it wasn’t safe. The homeowner told them to stop it wasn’t safe.
Un día nos dirigíamos hacia una colina para podar un pino y vimos que los cables y los brazos transversales se movían. Le dije a mi supervisor que eso no era normal. Mi capataz decidió comenzar a escalar el árbol cuando las líneas comenzaron a moverse de nuevo. El capataz bajó del árbol y comenzamos a caminar a lo largo de la línea cuando vimos a alguien en un árbol. Estaba podando un árbol para una casa para despejar la vista. Lo que él no sabía es que estaba moviendo las ramas hacia las líneas eléctricas. Le dijimos que no era seguro y que le dijera al propietario lo que estaba sucediendo y que no era una actividad segura. El propietario le dijo que dejara de trabajar que no era seguro.
Posted 10-23-17
Driver ran red light
We were driving down Highway 9 and was at the light at Ben Lomond. As our light turned green someone must have been in a rush and ran the red light. Good thing I saw him and waited for our lane to clear, it’s best to wait a couple of seconds to make sure no one comes rushing through.
Estábamos conduciendo por Highway 9 y estábamos en el semáforo en Ben Lomond. Cuando nuestro semáforo cambió a verde alguien debe haber estado muy apurado y cruzó el semáforo en rojo. Menos mal que yo lo vi y esperamos que se despejara nuestro carril. Es mejor esperar un par de segundos para asegurarse de que nadie cruza apurado.
Posted 10-23-17
Special tools
When we need special tools, we need the PI to go get the tools instead of assuming we can do the job or it is possible without the tool.
Cuando necesitamos herramientas especiales tenemos que solicitar al PI que las busque, en lugar de asumir que podemos hacer el trabajo o que es posible hacerlo sin las herramientas.
Posted 10-23-17
“Headache!”
Working on a highway, two guys in the 100 footer were cutting wood and tossing it in the lane. I was going to clear the wood when I thought it was clear I ran to grab wood out of the lane and heard “headache!” A 3 foot chunk almost took me out.
Trabajando en una autopista, dos trabajadores en la grúa de 100 pies (30.5 m) de altura estaban cortando ramas y arrojándolas al carril. Yo iba a quitar las ramas y cuando pensé que estaba despejado corrí para quitar las ramas del carril cuando escuché “¡dolor de cabeza!”. Una pieza de 1 metro (3 pies) casi me dejó inconsciente.
Posted 10-23-17
Speeding cars on a blind curve
While flagging traffic on a blind curve with 3 signs on each side, and people were still driving like it was the autobahn! We had multiple cars come around the corner hot and lock the brakes up and almost take me out of the lane. If I wasn’t watching, it could have been over. Don’t trust traffic, too unpredictable.
Estaba controlando el tráfico en una curva ciega con 3 señales de cada lado ¡y la gente seguía conduciendo como si fuera una autopista! Hemos tenido varios autos que toman la curva a alta velocidad y tienen que frenar en seco y casi me sacan del carril. Si yo no estuviera poniendo atención, todo habría terminado para mí. No confíe en el tráfico, es demasiado impredecible.
Posted 10-23-17
Ignoring the cone zone
When traffic is heavy on the roads people still speed and do not follow the cone zone. Workers are almost getting hit while doing traffic control with all PPE on and extra cones and signs.
Accidente potencial de tráfico. Cuando hay mucho tráfico en las carreteras las personas continúan a alta velocidad y no obedecen la zona de conos. A pesar de todo el equipo personal de seguridad y los conos y señalización adicionales, los trabajadores encargados del control de tráfico siguen en peligro de ser golpeados por los automóviles.
Posted 10-23-17
Dropping limbs in windy conditions
In the drop zone while dropping limbs when it is windy make sure to communicate with the person above so no cars or structures are getting hit. While dropping logs or limbs make sure everything is clear. A dropped log landed on a pile of brush and almost hit a car. Communicate to stop the job to remove brush so logs have nothing to land on and throw them around.
Cuando hay viento en la zona de caída y mientras se lanzan ramas desde los árboles, asegúrese de comunicarse con la persona que está arriba para que las ramas no caigan sobre los coches o estructuras. Al lanzar ramas o troncos hay que asegurarse de que todo esté despejado. Al lanzar un tronco, este cayó sobre un montón de maleza y casi golpeó un automóvil. Hay que comunicar que hay que detener el trabajo para retirar la maleza para que los troncos no tengan donde rebotar.
Posted 10-23-17
Climbing in snow and rain
I was working in Placerville for 2 months Jan-Feb. It w snowing and raining and I was climbing a wet oak with DBH 15-18” when I slipped and my climb line wasn’t tightened up from talking 5 steps up. Luckily my flip line grabbed a branch because when I stopped I had a spike underneath my neck.
Yo estaba trabajando en Placerville durante 2 meses en enero y febrero. Estaba nevando y lloviendo y yo estaba escalando un roble húmedo con DAP 15-18″ cuando me resbalé y mi línea de ascensión no estaba apretada por haber subido 5 pasos. Afortunadamente mi cuerda de seguridad agarró una rama porque cuando me detuve tenía una punta debajo de mi cuello.
Posted 8-25-17
Trouble With the Knot
A qualified line clearance tree trimmer was performing a side trim on a 14 inch x stem, 45 feet tall oak tree. The QLCTT climbed the tree approximately 20 feet and tied (rigging) the spar back away from the 12kv lines. QLCTT continued up the tree and finished the needed work of the tree. QLCTT tied in at the top of the tree and descended down to where the the tree was tied back. QLCTT instructed the grounds-person to untie the rope that had the spar pulled back, the grounds-person was having trouble untying the knot. The QLCTT told the grounds-person, QLCTT would untie it, and did. The QLCTT unclipped his flip line, to adjust around to the line side of the tree to free up the rope (rigging) out of the crotch. As the QLCTT got the rope freed up from the crotch, then lost his footing, losing contact from the tree. When the QLCTT lost contact from the tree, it changed the tie in purchase, causing the tree to bow into the lines. When the QLCTT realized the tree was in contact with the lines, the QLCTT continued to descend as fast as possible, when the QLCTT reached about a foot off the ground, the QLCTT cut the climb line with his chainsaw to avoid grounding himself. After reaching the ground, everyone asked if the QLCTT was alright, and the QLCTT was.
Posted 8-2-17
A Bad Cut
We were going to remove a ponderosa pine, 120 hgt by 25dbh in the distribution line. We were two crews, one of the foremen decided to climb the tree to put the rope, but when he got half-way there, he decided to tie the rope due to the fact that the tree showed signs of not being safe. When he came down from the tree, we all agreed on which direction we would walk when the tree would begin to fall. But a bad cut changed everything. We tried to pull but it was hard to steer the tree on the direction we wanted it to fall. Suddenly the tree fell in an unexpected direction which put us in a bind because there was not enough space for us to run since there was a stream. There was no other alternative, we leaped into the river, desperate and frightened because the tree was falling . Fortunately no one was injured, but if the stream had been deeper we could have been hurt.
Íbamos a remover un pino ponderosa de 120 pies (36.5 m) de altura por 25dbh en la línea de distribución. Había dos cuadrillas, uno de los capataces decidió trepar el árbol para poner la soga, pero al llegar a la mitad decido amarrarlo de ahí debido a que el árbol presentaba señales de inseguridad. Cuando bajó del árbol todos acordamos para dónde caminaríamos al momento de que el árbol comenzará a caer. Pero un mal corte cambió todo. Por más que jalamos con el camaleón era difícil dirigir la dirección de la caída del árbol. De repente el árbol se desprendió para otra dirección inesperada lo cual nos puso en aprietos porque no había suficiente espacio para correr porque había un arroyo. No hubo otra alternativa, saltamos al río desesperados y asustados porque el árbol caía . Afortunadamente ninguno salió lesionado, pero si el arroyo hubiese sido profundo hubiéramos podido haber salido lastimados de alguna forma.
Posted 8-2-17
Flying Sheath
As every morning, after our safety meeting, we began to inspect the trucks. This time the sheath of the chainsaw was hanging outside the basket. I decided to inspect the crane boom as it was. I raised the boom to its limit, but when I was lowering it there was a sudden movement, and the sheath went flying. But my greatest concern was when I realized that underneath the basket were two of my colleagues, they did not realize what was happening. I was scared and yelled to them “be careful, be careful”. They did not know how to react and everything happened very fast. Fortunately, the sheath fell only three feet away from them. Now I wonder, what would have happened if the sheath had fallen on any of them? Why had I decided not to do this the right way? Why is it that a tragedy can happen in seconds? Sometimes by being irresponsible we make mistakes that can cause great personal damage.
Como todos los días por la mañana después de terminar nuestra reunión de seguridad comenzamos a inspeccionar los camiones. Esta vez la canasta tenía la funda de la motosierra colgada hacia afuera. Decidí inspeccionar la pluma de la grúa así. Levante la pluma hasta su límite, pero cuando la iba bajando ocurrió un violento movimiento, y la funda salió volando. Pero lo más preocupante fue cuando me di cuenta que debajo de la canasta estaban dos de mis compañeros, ellos no se dieron cuenta de lo que estaba pasando. Yo asustado les grite “cuidado, cuidado”. Ellos no supieron cómo reaccionar y todo fue muy rápido. Por suerte, o no sé cómo llamarle a esto, la funda cayó a solo tres pies de ellos. Ahora me pregunto, ¿qué hubiera pasado si la funda hubiera caído sobre alguno de ellos? ¿Por qué decidí no hacer las cosas bien? ¿Por qué en términos de segundo pueden pasar tragedias? A veces por falta de responsabilidad cometemos errores que pueden causar mucho daño personal.
Posted 6-27-17
Got Outside Fall Zone
A two-man crew was working in a Walmart parking lot in the morning. Everything was set up well. The climber was dragging brush but he decided to go outside the cones, and almost got hit by a speeding car. Could have been prevented by not going outside the buffer area of the work site.
Una cuadrilla de dos hombres estaba trabajando en un estacionamiento de Walmart arrastrando las ramas, pero decidió salirse del área demarcada por los conos y casi lo atropelló un carro. Esto se hubiera podido prevenir si no se hubiera salido del área protegida en el sitio de trabajo.
Posted 6-27-17
Homeowner Almost Hit By Limb
Working between parking lot and residential homes, brush was falling in the back yard and homeowner did not know what work was being done. He came out and almost got hit by a limb. Next time, let homeowners know what is being done.
Estábamos trabajando entre un estacionamiento y unas residencias. Estaban cayendo ramas en el patio trasero y el propietario no sabía que estábamos realizando un trabajo. Salió y casi le golpeó una rama. La próxima vez, hay que informar a los propietarios sobre el trabajo que se está haciendo.
Posted 6-27-17
Communication Problem Almost Struck-by
Improper command and response system from climber to groundperson resulted in climber cutting a knob off and almost hitting groundperson in the back. Better three-way communication could have prevented this from happening.
Un sistema incorrecto de mando y respuesta entre el escalador y el operario de tierra ocasionó que el escalador cortara un nudo y casi golpeó al operario de tierra en la espalda. Esto se hubiera podido prevenir con un mejor sistema de comunicación de 3 vías.
Posted 6-27-17
Pulled Toward Chipper Wearing Gauntlet Glove
Gauntlet gloves being worn during the process of chipping brush caused the employee to lose balance and get tugged toward chute. Glove ripped off causing minor abrasion and tweak of wrist. This could have been prevented with proper fitting gloves around the wrist and loose articles of clothing.
Los guantes de protección que se utilizan durante el proceso de astillar ramas hicieron que un empleado perdiera el equilibrio y fuera halado hacia la tolva. El guante se rompió y resultó en una abrasión menor y una torcedura de la muñeca. Esto se hubiera podido evitar usando guantes del ajuste adecuado alrededor de la muñeca y no tener artículos de ropa sueltos.
Posted 6-22-17
Catastrophic Transformer Failure
On 6/20/2017, we had a NEAR HIT when a Troubleman re-set the secondary breaker on an underground Kuhlman Duplex Self Protected (SP) transformer. After re-setting the secondary breaker, the transformer catastrophically failed, sending hot oil and fire into the air. Fortunately this incident did not result in any serious injury to our employee or the public.
The event is currently under investigation; however we want to share what we know at this time. A Troubleman responded to a heat related outage and found an underground Horizontal Kuhlman Duplex SP transformer (square style handhole) with a tripped breaker. The troubleman reset the transformer using all appropriate PPE (hot sick with arc flash shield) and placed the lid back over the transformer. After resetting the transformer, the troubleman was confirming power was on. When he found the power was still off, he began to walk back over to the transformer when the explosion occurred. The lid of the enclosure was not dislodged; however the force of the explosion bent the lid and sent fire and oil into the air. The explosion blew out the side of the transformer.
While we do not know all of the details surrounding this incident, we are taking interim measures to protect employees until we are able to fully understand the nature of the failure. As a result, Kuhlman Duplex SP transformers are not to be reset in the field. The secondary breakers cannot be utilized to reset the transformer, regardless of the style of hand hole (square or round). Should employees encounter a tripped Kuhlman Duplex transformer in the field, they should immediately contact the DO to de-energize the equipment for replacement. Additional information will be provided regarding the operation of secondary breakers on the Kuhlman Duplex SP transformers once the nature of the failure has been determined.
Posted 6-21-17
Exposed Enclosure
Employee was at a job site looking at PM transformer and discovered the primary enclosure immediately in front of it had no bolts on the cover plates. This is a very serious potential hazard as this was in a residential area and someone could’ve easily pulled off a cover and made contact with primary wire.
Posted 6-21-17
Following Too Close
I was driving to a location on Delta Rd, as I was heading south on Sellers Ave another truck was driving too close behind me. The speed limit is 50MPH but I was at45-46 as the road is narrow and full of pot holes. At about 60 yards in front of me another car was pulling out of a rual driveway to head north. That driver at the last second noticed another pickup heading north and swerved into my lane. I slowed downed and tried to avoid but they pulled back into correct lane.
Posted 6-21-17
No Protected Left
While driving back from a field meeting, a wreck occurred before my eyes. It is an intersection that I am always afraid I will get into an MVI. Vehicles traveling southbound on Hazelwood do not have a protected left turn onto Butler Ave. So, vehicles traveling northbound on Hazlewood do not need to come to a stop at Butler Ave. Every time I drive this route and I see that there is another vehicle traveling southbound (against me), I slow down at the intersection for fear of us getting into an accident.
Posted 6-21-17
Look Out for Texting Drivers
While driving into the yard on I-5, a driver in the left lane veered over and came within a few inches of side-swiping me. When I looked over I noticed that the driver was texting while driving with only one hand and their eyes on the device.
Posted 6-21-17
Blinker Confusion
I was heading West on I-80 about 10 miles outside of Sacramento in the 2nd most left lane going approximately 70 MPH. There was a car in the lane to my right that had its left blinker on for an unusually long time. Since it was 5 AM there were almost no cars on the road I assumed he forgot his blinker was on or he already would have changed lanes. However, just to be cautious, I preemptively checked my left hand blind spot to leave an out. As I was within 10′ of him he quickly changed lanes.
Posted 6-21-17
Double Trouble on 101
While traveling southbound on Highway 101 in the middle lane, in the span of 10 seconds two separate cars nearly hit my car while attempting to change lanes into my lane; one from the left side and one from the right. Neither one of them apparently saw my car, or they misjudged the distance that was required. Only the one from the left changed lanes. I had plenty of space in front and rear of my vehicle and I was able to anticipate them merging over and apply the brake safely.
Posted 6-21-17
Hit Guy and Shook Primary
A climber was in a 150’x 54” DBH redwood and was pulling overhangs. Trying to rush at the end of the day he did not pay attention to where the guy wire was, and decided to drop a limb. It hit the guy and shot out and almost hit the guy on the ground and almost took out the power. Contributing factors: Rushing, lack of communication and no established drop zone.
Un escalador estaba sobre una secoya de 45 m (150 pies) de altura y 1.4 m (54 pulg.) de diámetro a la altura del pecho (DBH) y estaba quitando las ramas salientes. Tratando de apresurarse al final del día, no se dio cuenta dónde estaba el cable de amarre y decidió dejar caer una rama. La rama le golpeó y rebotó, casi le pegó al trabajador que estaba en tierra y casi ocasionó una falla eléctrica. Factores que contribuyeron: Estar apurado, falta de comunicación y no había un área definida para la caída de las ramas cortadas.
Posted 6-21-17
Wood in Drop Zone Sent Flying
We were taking down a large pine tree that was about 80’ tall and 24” DBH. The climber hung a rope at approximately 70’ in the tree. He then came down to about 50’ and prepared to top the tree. We were at the end of the 120’ rope to pull the top in the right direction and when the climber topped the tree the top landed on a piece of wood approximately 3” around and 4′ long came flying by us at a high rate of speed but did not hit us.
Estábamos tumbando un gran pino de unos 24 m (80 pies) de altura y 60 cm (24 pulg.) de diámetro a la altura del pecho (DBH). El escalador colgó una cuerda de aproximadamente 21 m (70 pies) en el árbol. Nosotros estábamos al final de una cuerda de 36 m (120 pies), para tirar del tope del árbol en la dirección correcta. Cuando el escalador cortó el tope del árbol, este cayó sobre un trozo de madera de aproximadamente 8 cm (3 pulg.) de diámetro y 1.2 m (4 pies) de largo, que salió volando a alta velocidad hacia donde nosotros estábamos, pero no nos golpeó.
Posted 6-21-17
Good Catch-Kids Trying to Hitch to Cone Rack
I was taking lunch in the truck one day and when lunch was over I drove to the next location through a residential neighborhood. While driving through I saw in my side view mirror a few kids on bikes trying to grab a hold of the cone rack and take a ride. When I noticed that, I slowed down and came to a stop and told them not to do that and what was wrong with them.
Yo estaba almorzando en el camión un día, y después de almorzar, conduje el camión al siguiente lugar de trabajo, pasando por una zona residencial. Mientras conducía, vi a través del espejo lateral a varios niños en bicicletas tratando de agarrarse de la repisa donde están los conos, para que el camión los halara. Cuando me di cuenta, reduje la velocidad y detuve el camión, y les dije que no hicieran eso, y les pregunté cuál era su problema.
Posted 6-21-17
Kids in Drop Zone, Crew Caught it in Time
Working in town on a routine trim. Everything was all set up, signs out and drop zone was set up with cones like we are trained to do. Little did we know some kids were getting out of school. When I was ready to throw down a branch in the hole, I decided to look down and good thing I did because my foreman was on the opposite side of the truck and did not see a 10 year old kid with his bike in the drop zone right where I was going to drop the limb. I whistled to my foreman and there was another child and he was in the drop zone. The foreman walked them out of the drop zone and I still looked before dropping anything else.
Estábamos trabajando en la ciudad en una poda de rutina, todo estaba configurado, se habían colocado los avisos, y el área para la caída de ramas estaba señalada con conos, tal como nos lo han enseñado. Estaba listo para lanzar unas ramas al área designada cuando decidí mirar hacia abajo. Menos mal que lo hice porque mi capataz estaba en el lado opuesto del camión y no había visto a un niño de 10 años en su bicicleta que estaba en el área designada para la caída de ramas, justo donde yo iba a lanzar las ramas. Le silbé al capataz y había otro niño en el área de caída de ramas. El capataz los sacó del área y yo volví a mirar antes de lanzar nada.
Posted 5-2-17
Cutter Almost Hit by Tree Top
An employee was felling a tree with a “belly” in it on an uphill slope. Once the face cut was made he made the back cut. When the tree came over the cutter moved slightly to the left. Due to the belly of the tree once it came over it shot back over the stump about 2 feet from where he was standing and rolled over toward him, barely missing the cutter.
Un empleado estaba cortando un árbol con una protuberancia (“belly”) en una ladera cuesta arriba. Después de hacer el corte transversal, hizo el corte posterior. Cuando el árbol cayó, el cortador se movió un poco a la izquierda. Debido a la protuberancia, al caer el árbol rebotó sobre el tocón que estaba a unos 60 cm (2 pies) de donde estaba el cortador y rodó hacia él, y por poquito golpeó al cortador.
Posted 5-2-17
Top Slammed Tree
We were working out of town helping another division catch up on facility protects and removals. We were working three-man crews because of the nature of the work, we needed the third guy for roping and rigging. The foreman on the crew working the next span was on the top of the tree and he was yelling to the two employees on the ground to take only one wrap and let the tree top down slow because he didn’t want to be shaken out of the tree. When the foreman cut the top both men holding the top slammed up against the tree and one of the men let go of the rope. The weight pulled the other man up to the and the limb fell about 5 feet from him. The climber that let go claimed he had no gloves and could not hold on any longer.
Estábamos trabajando fuera de la ciudad ayudando a otra división a ponerse al día en proyectos de instalaciones y remociones. Estábamos trabajando con cuadrillas de tres personas porque debido al tipo de trabajo necesitábamos una tercera persona para ayudar con las cuerdas de amarre y aparejos. El capataz de la cuadrilla que trabajaba el siguiente tramo estaba en la parte superior del árbol y gritaba a los dos empleados en tierra que solo tomaran un “wrap” y bajaran lentamente el tope del árbol porque no quería caerse si el árbol se sacudía. Cuando el capataz cortó la parte superior, ambos hombres que sostenían la parte superior se estrellaron contra el árbol y uno de los hombres soltó la cuerda. El peso tiró del otro hombre hacia arriba y la rama cayó a unos 1.5 m (5 pies) de él. El escalador que soltó la cuerda declaró que no tenía guantes y no podía aguantar la cuerda por más tiempo.
Posted 3-16-17
Avalanche Zone
Multiple crews were working in a extreme avalanche area during the peak of the January storm. The crews were in the process of fixing a downed 60kv line that was just taken destroyed by trees during a previous avalanche. After about 2-3 hours of snowshoeing and packing in material to fix the downed line, the 4 crews called it for the evening due to unsafe working conditions. Later that evening, another major avalanche took place in the very same location those four crews were working. No one was hurt during this near miss.
Posted 3-16-17
Knuckle Swings Into Traffic
Two linemen were going up in a bucket to clear a tree limb that was on the line. The guys were in a hurry to clear the limb and forgot to watch the knuckle of the boom. The groundman was busy getting chainsaw out and prepped when the knuckle was swinging into two-lane traffic. At that time, a cargo truck was passing. It was so close to hitting the passing truck, that the knuckle scraped the snow off the side of the truck. No one was hurt from near miss.
Posted 3-2-17
Fuse-Level Outage
The event is currently under investigation; however we want to share what we know at this time. The Green Valley 2103 circuit experienced a fuse-level outage due to two separate cases of trouble. Two Crews were dispatched independently, one to each trouble location. Both trouble locations had a common source side device, FUCO 1641.
Full repairs were made at one location, while temporary isolation was performed at the second location. Communication into the Control Center was made at different times by each Crew and resulted in one Crew being given permission to close FUCO 1641 for restoration, while the second Crew called requesting to hold their own clearance from FUCO 1641 to end of line.
FUCO 1641 was closed by the first Crew, energizing conductor. There were no injuries associated with this event. A full review will be conducted – results of which and corrective actions to prevent recurrence will be shared with employees.
Posted 2-13-17
Tree Fell in the Wrong Direction
We were on the mountain, felling dry Class 3 trees. We roped some trees and cut them well, but when we were got to the last tree, we roped it up and we took a break. Then someone from the crew started to sharpen a chainsaw while the others decided to cut the tree. The tree did not fall in the direction where we had it roped, it fell towards the person sharpening the chainsaw. He ran and the tree fell on top of the chainsaw.
El miércoles 20 de noviembre de 2016 estábamos en la montaña tumbando árboles secos Clase 3. Amarramos unos árboles y los cortamos bien pero cuando íbamos a cortar el último árbol lo amarramos y tomamos un descanso. Entonces una persona de la cuadrilla se puso a afilar una motosierra mientras los demás decidimos cortar el árbol. El árbol no cayó hacia donde lo teníamos amarrado, si no que se dirigió hacia donde estaba la persona afilando la motosierra. Él corrió y el árbol cayó encima de la motosierra.
Posted 2-13-17
Blade Almost Cut Finger
I grabbed the pruner head hook from the back box and the rope got caught on the broom and rake. The blade almost cut my finger off if I would have pulled hard. The blade cut my glove instead.
Tomé la podadora de la caja trasera y la cuerda quedó atrapada en la escoba y el rastrillo. Si hubiera tirado fuertemente, la cuchilla casi me hubiera cortado el dedo. En cambio la cuchilla me cortó el guante.
Posted 2-13-17
Pit Bull Attack
Foreman and I walked up to gate for a set appointment. The home owner couldn’t control the Pit Bull. The gate opened and the Pit Bull rushed the gate before we got it closed. The Pit Bull snapped at my finger 3 times before the gate got closed.
El capataz y yo caminamos hasta el portón para fijar una cita. El dueño de la casa no podía controlar su pit bull. El portón se abrió y el pit bull corrió hacia el portón antes de que nosotros pudiéramos cerrarlo. El pit bull intento morderme el dedo 3 veces hasta que por fin pudimos cerrar el portón.
Posted 2-13-17
Could Have Cut Leg with Chainsaw
I was cutting 7 small trees about 6 inches, 17 to 25 feet tall. The trees were right by the chain link fence. I had the chainsaw on a pine and was ready to cut when my foreman told me to put on my chaps. I told him they were easy removals and I didn’t need them and it would take a few minutes to cut down the trees. He told me to put them on anyway in case the GF shows up. I put them on and walked back. I was about done cutting trees down next to the fence and on the next to last tree I clipped the fence and the chain saw kicked back and hit me below the knee and snagged on the chaps. No cut, I said “wow”, what if I didn’t have my chaps on!
Estaba cortando unos 15 cm (6 pulgadas) de 7 pequeños árboles de 5 a 7.5 metros de altura (17 a 25 pies). Los árboles estaban justo junto a la alambrada. Tenía la motosierra sobre un pino y estaba listo para cortar cuando mi capataz me dijo que me pusiera las chaparras. Le dije que la remoción era fácil y que no las necesitaba. Que solo tomaría unos minutos cortar los árboles. Me dijo que me las pusiera de todos modos en caso de que apareciera el Capataz General. Me las puse y regresé. Casi había terminado de cortar los árboles al lado de la valla y en el penúltimo árbol, corté un pedacito de la valla y la cerca de alambre rebotó y me golpeó debajo de la rodilla y se enganchó en las chaparras. No tuve cortaduras y dije “huy!”, ¡qué hubiera pasado si no hubiera tenido puestas las chaparras!
Posted 2-13-17
Loose German Shepherds
Had a work request and we were at the location to climb 5 trees. ACRT comments said we needed to climb over fence to get to trees. Once we got inside the property me and climber walked to trees and two big German Shepherds came running up to us. I told my climber not to panic and to stay still. Once the dogs got up to us they began to smell us and bark. Then two other German Shephard dogs showed up and we really began to worry. Good thing the owner called the dogs and we got out of the property safe. ACRT paperwork said nothing about dogs and there was no contact with the owner before entering the property. Good thing we got out safe!
Recibimos una solicitud de trabajo y fuimos al lugar para trepar 5 árboles. En los comentarios del ACRT decían que debíamos escalar la valla para llegar a los árboles. Ya dentro de la propiedad, el escalador y yo caminamos hacia los árboles y dos grandes perros pastor alemán corrieron hacia nosotros. Le dije a mi escalador que no entrara en pánico y que no se moviera. Cuando los perros se acercaron a nosotros, nos empezaron a oler y ladrar. Luego aparecieron otros dos perros pastor alemán y empezamos a preocuparnos seriamente. Afortunadamente el dueño llamó a los perros y pudimos salir de la propiedad a salvo.
Fue una mala decisión que la información de ACRT no dijera nada sobre los perros, y que no se hizo contacto con el dueño antes de entrar a su propiedad. ¡Menos mal que logramos salir a salvo!
Posted 2-13-17
Near Hit with Large Truck
Employee was traveling on 280 with high winds, in the 2nd lane, with a large truck in front of Employee. The Employee noticed it weaving. Instead of passing, the Employee decided to back off. Half way across bridge, the truck swerved over two lanes. If the Employee had passed, they would have been struck by the truck. Rain and wind are hazardous. Be cautious when driving.
Posted 2-13-17
Hazardous Driving Conditions
Employee was traveling in early morning in the dark on HWY 280. Employee changed lanes and went through a dip in the road containing water. The water came up on the Employee’s windshield and blinded the employee. When the windshield was clear, Employee saw a car that had spun around on the freeway, facing Employee. The 3rd party driver was on the side of the road. As the Employee continued on HWY 280, two more vehicles had spun around in the same fashion from being blinded by water flying out of the ditches. One of the vehicles the Employee observed had hit the median in the middle of the highway. Use caution and appropriate speed
Posted 2-13-17
Operations Traffic Control — Good Catch
On January 30, a Crew was backfilling open trenches. Traffic Control Employees were on site monitoring. Contractor was filling trench up with sand. Contractor pulled forward while releasing sand. Contract driver inched closer to bell hole which contractor did not notice. Traffic Control Crew yelled for driver to stop. Driver stopped and realized they were about to drive into the bell hole. Maintain 360 Degree Awareness of job site, not only in traffic but also what’s going on at the job site. Contractor driver thanked Traffic Control.
Posted 2-13-17
Vehicle Stranded in Ditch
Northern Crew was restoring power in blizzard conditions and found an occupied vehicle stranded in a ditch. The crew pulled the vehicle out of the ditch and the vehicle proceeded to leave the area while still attached to the crew truck, almost pulling the Company Truck into the ditch.
Posted 2-13-17
Wire Down, Good Catch
Spoils Employee identified a wire down in the GC Gas Vaca-Dixon yard near the wet spoils area. The Employee made the area safe by shutting down the wet spoils area and placing caution tape to create a safe zone. Notifications were made to management immediately and Electric Dispatch was called. The Electric Troubleman was onsite within about 30 minutes and made the area safe by removing the wire from the pole. The Troubleman stated that this was a 120v wire feeding a light and was making contact with a metal container. The Troubleman commended the employee for making the area safe. The Supervisor shared incident with the Central Ops – Spoils Employees. This was caused from storm activity the night before so we discussed always being aware of your surroundings and provided Gas and Electric Dispatch numbers in case of future emergencies.
Posted 2-13-17
Active Shooter Threat to Electric Crew- Central Coast
Active shooter last Saturday night. Three person electric crew was restoring power and an angry customer approached them. The customer threatened to shoot the crew and left the area going into one of the homes close by. The crew did not see which house the gunman entered. The crew called police and supervisor and the police stayed with the crew to protect them while completing work.
Posted 2-13-17
Gas Operations Near Hit
A small child was lost in Golden Gate Park and fell in the street. Traffic control employees were able to stop the child from going out into the street and re-united the child with it’s father a half mile away. Traffic control was very aware of their surroundings and acted appropriately and responsibly and most likely saved the child’s life.
Posted 7-27-16
Always Use a Flip Line
On some occasions I have seen that some climbers do not use flip lines all the time while climbing. This can cause temporary or irreparable injury to the worker if he is to fall. Injury or death can be a tragedy to the worker’s family. I remind everyone that it is important to use the flip line when working on small or large trees.
Posted 7-27-16
Check Meter in Secondary Box
Someone installed a check meter in a secondary box that wasn’t intended for that application. To use this meter the Homac bar boots have to be left down and the secondary box connections need to be sealed. The box was filled with water and the water was boiling at 130 degrees! This was a potential cross-phase and shock risk- not a good practice. To prevent this from happening don’t use this type of equipment in a way it’s not intended.
Posted 7-27-16
County Inspector Missed Dangerous Situation
Panel was tagged and ready to energize. Upon opening up panel crew found an aluminum meter ring tucked in behind buss bars sitting on top of insulated hot legs feeding customer side of panel. This panel had already been inspected by county inspector and passed. Recommend to check panel closely before energizing and don’t rely on county inspector to recognize dangerous situation.
Posted 7-27-16
Switches Without Partitions
Was going to hook up rotation meter onto old test switch. These type of switches were not installed with partitions and the test switch had no partitions to separate phases. I clamped on the clip to the first phase and went to hook up the second clip when the first clip laid over and hit the second phase causing a flash across the switch. To prevent this from happening could have hooked up the rotation meter before energizing to make sure it was secure or put some type of cover to stop contact. Also make sure the boot on the lead of the meter phase wire was covering the clip properly. Call for a test switch change out for safety reasons.
Posted 7-27-16
Panel Too High
Went to string 1/0 quad to a 75kva Tx 277/480v. Rung out riser and it checked ok. Panel was at 77″ from ground level, set meter and when refusing the third fuse the panel cross phased. From inspection, pieces of meter ring were found at the bottom of the panel. I think that an aluminum meter ring was behind the meter socket in the back of the panel out of sight. When I installed meter it fell across 2 phases. What could have been done to prevent this was to make thorough inspection of panel before hot up, report panels that are too high, this one was over 6 feet high! Ring out all of the panel for potential fault situation before hotting up. Stand clear of panel when energizing.
Posted 7-27-16
Primary Wire Across Live Slack Span on Road
I was the troubleshooter on a call Saturday at 0800 and was sent to a house with no power. Control Center had a relay at 0315 in the area and when I arrived found a 12kv OH transformer with broken 50A bushing mount cutouts hanging from primary on an alley arm. An AT&T employee flagged me down and reported he found our primary wire down across the road at another location and placed cones 8′ apart. He was concerned because people were driving over the wire and he thought about cutting the wire but wasn’t sure if he should. I had the CC open the feeder immediately to remove the wire from the roadway. My concern is that when feeders relay they should be patrolled right away. This primary wire was lying across a live slack span and on the road for 5.5 hrs!
Posted 7-27-16
Kill All Feeds First
We were doing switching for a car/pole with three possible feeds. We checked open fuses at one location and removed top side jumpers on cut-outs, checked open a switch at the second location and then went to open a neutral east of the switch because it was feeding through to an open delta on the same pole. Should have killed the line at the fuse pole because the opened neutral came off the hot line tap and swung into the hot cutout. Kaboom!! Lesson learned: Kill all of the feeds first, we were trying to keep people in power as long as possible and it was a big mistake.
Contributing factors: Time pressure/in a hurry, Unclear roles/goals/responsibilities, Changes/departure from routine, Complacency/Overconfidence, Taking shortcuts, Hazardous attitude toward task
Posted 7-14-16
Missed Jaw Tabs
Contractor crew set 480v meter but missed the jaw tabs on the right side of the meter base. The tab on the hot side of the meter did not make contact with the neutral jaw because of a plastic tab surrounding the jaw prevented contact. For this reason the meter did not display and I was called to look at the meter. I called a meter tech and de-energized the transformer bank. When the meter was pulled, it almost fell out of the socket and we found the poor installation. The foreman of the contract crew said the meter went in too easy and is usually much harder to install. To prevent this from happening again: Observe position of meter when installing, meter will not be positioned straight up when not seated in meter base jaws correctly. If the meter is not displaying, there is something wrong. Don’t leave until it is corrected. A possible trap was set for someone else.
Contributing factors: Complacency/Overconfidence, Taking shortcuts, Unfamiliar with task (training), Hazardous attitude toward task, Unexpected equipment conditions
Posted 7-14-16
Pole Top Split
While spreading primary 636 mcm AAC with 266 mcm neutral, the top four feet of the pole split out. The pole split enough to kick the quarter brace lag out of the temporary arm. Two wires to the north were spread to a hot arm. While preparing to move the south wires, the pole top split. Temporary spreader arm flipped with the north side falling down due to the weight. Arm flipped till it hit the south wires, which were still clipped in. Installed several split bolts and secured all wires and then installed new pole. Could have inspected pole better before beginning work. Install split bolt below temporary arm to prevent split.
Contributing factors: Changes/departure from routine, complacency/overconfidence, unexpected equipment conditions
Posted 7-14-16
Broken Elbow Probe
A probe on an elbow that was parked “hot” failed when installed into a pad mounted transformer to pick up load on 6 transformers. Flash came out of switch module to case ground and relayed 80A fuses at termination pole. The man at the transformer held the elbow in the clear until we opened up the remaining fuse at the pole.
Broken elbow probe was completely unexpected and had probably taken place at time of installation. Only prevention could have been inspection at time of install or be prepared for possibility while switching.
Contributing factors: Unexpected equipment conditions
Posted 7-14-16
“Coming Hot”
Contractor was installing new switch gear on outside of building and working on existing panel inside of building. At termination pole, which was out of line-of-sight of project, I pulled fuses and hung on fuse pole and lifted high side jumpers. Contractor installed personal grounds on transformer primary side; due to construction there was no place to install at panel. Lock-out tag was placed on door and job proceeded as expected. At 15:30, meter shop arrived to install new CTs and test switch. At 16:30, I told meter tech to tell me when work was done and everyone “all clear”. At this time, I left to go to term pole and prep the pole to fuse in. Sometime later, meter tech came around the corner and said “all clear.” I yelled “coming hot” and close in fuses. A fault occurred and I opened remaining fuses and pulled high side jumpers. At the time of the fault, project manager was about to open pad mounted transformer door to remove secondary grounds. Transformer was inspected for damage and line was fused in without incident.
What could have been done to prevent the incident: Keep responsibility for the job with the project manager and inspect whatever I was energizing myself. This was my fault for not checking transformer and rest of job and relying on meter tech for all clear. Should have meggered transformer before re-energizing line after fault to detect possible fault condition. There was no tailboard when meter tech came on the job.
Contributing factors: Time pressure/in a hurry, Unclear roles/goals/responsibilities, Changes/departure from routine, Complacency/overconfidence, Taking shortcuts, Unfamiliar with task (training), Hazardous attitude toward task, Unexpected equipment conditions, Communications barriers
Posted 7-14-16
Improper Bolts Lead to Hoist Failure
Crew was lifting underground switch off of the trailer with a digger derrick using 5/8″ bolts screwed into the switch case. While lifting the switch, the hoist locked out with the switch about 1″ above the trailer. The switch dropped to the trailer when one bolt bent and the other flew out of the switch case. The switch and the trailer were not damaged. The crew was a four-man crew and they were seven hours into the job. Investigation showed 5/8″ galvanized bolts were not the proper bolts for lifting and failure of the hoist to lift was an indication load was too heavy. A review committee determined that tap and die should have been used to clean the bolt threads and lifting attachments are being ordered for similar loads.
Contributing Factors: Unexpected equipment conditions, unclear roles,/goals/responsibilities, taking shortcuts, complacency/overconfidence
Posted 7-11-16
Broken Wire Lands on Phone Line
While a line crew was removing an hot line clamp connector on energized #6 solid wire, the wire broke, landing on the phone line. There was a flagging crew nearby where the wire went down. The center phase fuse blew and the wire down remained hot due to backfeed. The crew foreman could not get to his truck because it was in the vicinity of the wire down. It was discussed that wire damage cannot always be seen under a hot line tap, but we need to remain aware of the potential for wire to break, especially copper wire.
Contributing factors: Complacency/Overconfidence, unfamiliar with task (training), hazardous attitude toward task, unexpected equipment conditions
Posted 7-11-16
Look Before You Exit Your Vehicle
I was on a trouble call for a report of mylar balloons in the 12kV. The feeder had relayed but came back on, and I pulled up and parked on the side of the road with lights and flashers on. I reached for a handheld flashlight from the back seat and a truck drove by at 35-40 mph and struck my drivers side mirror and kept going without stopping. I recommend checking the mirror for oncoming traffic before getting out. At the time of the incident I was checking for the best position for setting up my truck to check the line. I was in a neighborhood and had no cones out yet and there was no oncoming traffic before. The incident happened at 2345 hrs. on an overtime call and I had been working 17 hrs. previous to the incident.
Contributing factors: Unexpected equipment conditions, Traffic Control/Work zone not established
Posted 7-11-16
Cable Broke on Puller
Using UG equipment, we were pulling in 3 phases of 1000mcm into 850′ of conduit, termination to termination, no boxes in between. Pulled wire all the way through conduit and used digger boom to pull enough wire out of conduit for termination. Roller was approximately 40′ in the air when the cable on the puller broke at the crimp end by the swivel and the wire fell to the ground. No equipment damage and no one was injured. Lesson learned was inspect cable ends for wear or damage.
Contributing factors: departure from routine, overconfidence/complacency, unexpected equipment conditions
Posted 7-11-16
Pulling Eye Detached from Elbow
While plugging in elbows on a URD transformer (padmount), the pulling eye on the elbow completely detached from the back of the elbow. The circuit was 1/0 and the other phase was already plugged in. The pulling eye failed while lifting the elbow to plug it in. Work was being done with a 4 man crew on regular assignment after working for 5 hours. Safety equipment was provided and in use and there was no way to recognize the failure prior to it happening.
Posted 7-11-16
Boring Crew Hit Gas Line
A contractor boring crew that was boring for primary distribution hit a home gas line with a tractor next to a subsurface transformer. Boring crew foreman called the gas company and repairs were made within 2 hours. Boring crew foreman claimed gas was not marked. To prevent incidents such as this one, make sure service is marked. If it’s not marked, don’t dig.
Contributing factors: Time pressure, unclear roles/goals/responsibilities, departure from routine, taking shortcuts, hazardous attitude toward task, communication barriers
Posted 7-8-16
Pole Top Fell
We were a five man crew who showed up on a job location to replace a broken guy stub pole. While we were doing our tailboard we heard cracking and several people yelled “look out” and everybody ran away from the pole as the pole top fell to the ground. The guys were still attached and the break caused 2 circuits of 12kV to shake violently but there was no relay. We didn’t know if the vibration from the trucks pulling up caused the pole to fall. We talked about grabbing the pole with a digger during tailboard, but the pole fell before tailboard was over.
Contributing factors: Complacency/Overconfidence, Unexpected equipment conditions
Posted 7-8-16
Foreman Forgets Climb Line
Foreman was going to climb a big redwood to remove a couple of overhang limbs. The first limb was 45 feet up, and at about 35 feet the groundsman noticed the foreman did not take his climb line. Without the climb line he will not be able to free himself.
Contributing Factors: Distractions/ interruptions and not focusing on task.
El capataz olvidó la cuerda para escalar
El capataz iba a subir una secoya de gran tamaño para quitar unas ramas salientes. La primera rama estaba a una altura de 13.7 m (45 pies) y cuando había trepado hasta una altura de aproximadamente 10.6 m (35 pies) el operario de tierra se dio cuenta que el capataz no tenía una cuerda para escalar. Sin la cuerda para escalar no será capaz de liberarse.
Factores que contribuyeron: Distracciones/ Interrupciones y no centrarse en la tarea.
Posted 7-8-16
Chipper Tire Explodes
A crew noticed a chipper tire was low and asked the GF to look at it. He kicked the tire and said it looked ok but he said he would have a mechanic take a look. The mechanic never looked at it and about two weeks later the chipper tire exploded on the freeway. Crew said it scared them, and they thought a bomb went off. The damage was to the chipper tire rim and wheel well was severely damaged.
Contributing Factors: Complacency/Overconfidence. Unexpected equipment conditions.
El neumático de la astilladora explotó
Una cuadrilla observó que a la llanta de la astilladora le faltaba aire y le pidió al capataz general que la revisara. Él pateó la llanta y dijo que parecía que estaba bien pero que le pediría a un mecánico que le echara un vistazo. El mecánico nunca la revisó y unas dos semanas más tarde la llanta de la astilladora explotó en la autopista. Los miembros de la cuadrilla dijeron que se asustaron y pensaron que había estallado una bomba. La rueda y la llanta de la astilladora sufrieron serios daños.
Factores que contribuyeron: Falta de atención/Exceso de confianza. Equipo en condiciones inesperadas.
Posted 7-8-16
Tree Falls Unexpectedly
We were working on a CEMA project. We were falling some trees, climbing and topping them using pull ropes. In the same span there were six trees marked to fall. We were climbing the trees and rigging them to fall and while we did that the fourth tree fell by itself and took out the PG&E lines. What would happen if we were in the tree when it fell I may not be writing this close call. .A fire went through this area and it is hard to tell if the trees are sound or not. We need to inspect trees, pound on them and hear if it is solid or punky and we can’t tell by looking at the tree.
Contributing Factors: High workload, drought related conditions.
Un árbol cae inesperadamente
Estábamos trabajando en un proyecto CEMA. Estábamos derribando unos árboles, los trepábamos y derribamos con cuerdas de tracción. En la misma sección de la línea eléctrica había seis árboles marcados para ser derribados. Estábamos trepando los árboles y preparándolos para ser derribados, y mientras hacíamos esto el cuarto árbol cayó por sí mismo y ocasionó la interrupción de la línea eléctrica de PG&E. ¿Qué hubiera pasado si hubiéramos estado en el árbol cuando cayó? Yo no estaría escribiendo este reporte. Hubo un incendió en la zona y es difícil saber si los árboles están en buenas condiciones o no. Es necesario inspeccionar los árboles, golpearlos y escuchar si están sólidos o no, y esto no se puede saber solamente con mirarlos.
Factores que contribuyeron: Alta carga de trabajo, condiciones de sequía.
Posted 7-8-16
Dead Tree Risk
Climber was removing a dead tree that was grown into another tree that was still green and not to be removed. The climber was taking out limb by limb and when he got to the limb that was grown into the other tree he did not know the pressure on the limb. When he cut the dead limb the green limb broke off and the dead tree fell over. The climber was tied to the green tree so he was safe.
Riesgo de árbol seco
El escalador estaba retirando un árbol seco que había crecido sobre otro árbol que todavía estaba verde y que no debía ser retirado. El escalador estaba retirando rama por rama, y cuando llegó a la rama que había crecido sobre el otro árbol no sabía cuál era la presión de la rama. Al cortar la rama seca, la rama verde se rompió y el árbol seco cayó al suelo. El escalador estaba atado al árbol verde por lo que estaba a salvo.
Posted 7-8-16
Missed Foreman By a Foot
A climber that was not used to working out of a lift truck was removing an overhang by cutting small limbs and throwing them into the drop zone. When most of the overhang was removed he was able to cut bigger pieces and let them fall. Once piece got caught on the pruner pole that was hanging on the side of the bucket and was knocked loose, falling out of the drop zone. It almost hit the crew foreman that was sharpening his chainsaw, missed him by a foot.
Contributing factors: Distractions/Interruptions, complacency/overconfidence, not securing tools properly.
Capataz se salvó por 30 cm.
Un escalador que no estaba acostumbrado a trabajar desde una pluma estaba retirando una rama que colgaba sobre una línea, cortando ramas pequeñas y tirándolas en la zona de caída de ramas. Cuando había retirado la mayor parte pudo empezar a cortar trozos más grandes y dejarlos caer. Un trozo se atascó en la podadora que estaba colgada en el lado del cubo y la soltó, cayendo fuera de la zona de caída de ramas. Casi golpeó al capataz de la cuadrilla que estaba afilando su motosierra, el capataz se salvó por 30 cm (1 pie).
Factores que contribuyeron: Distracciones/Interrupciones, falta de atención/exceso de confianza, no proteger adecuadamente las herramientas.
Posted 7-8-16
Climbing line not long enough
My close call happened when I was trimming a redwood of approximately 120 feet tall and 45 feet wide. Everything was going as we had planned in the job briefing at the beginning of the day. I finished trimming the tree in a professional way. The incident started when I started to descend the tree. My climbing line was not long enough and didn’t reach the ground. So I have to move my anchoring point again at approximately the middle of the tree. I used the main trunk and a lateral limb of about 4 DBH, but slightly tilted down. When I started to slide down, at about 20 feet, I looked up and saw that my rope had slid over the limb in a dangerous way, and was at risk of breaking the limb. I used my lanyard and my spurs to quickly hold on to the main trunk. If I had continued descending the tree, the branch would have probably broken and a fatal accident would have occurred.
Contributing factors: Complacency/overconfidence.
Cuerda de trepar demasiado corta
Mi accidente potencial ocurrió cuando estaba podando una secuoya de aproximadamente 36.5 m (120 pies) de alto y 13.7 m (45 pies) de ancho. Todo iba como lo habíamos planeado en la reunión de trabajo al inicio de la jornada. Terminé de podar el árbol de una manera profesional. El incidente comenzó cuando comencé a descender del árbol. Mi cuerda de trepar era demasiado corta y no llegaba al suelo. Así que tuve que mover mi punto de amarre nuevamente, aproximadamente a la mitad del árbol. Usé el tronco principal y una rama lateral de aproximadamente 4 DAP, pero ligeramente inclinada hacia abajo. Cuando me comencé a deslizar, a unos 6 m (20 pies), miré hacia arriba y vi que mi cuerda se había deslizado sobre la rama de una manera peligrosa, y la rama estaba en peligro de romperse. Yo usé mi cuerda de amarre y las espuelas para sujetarme rápidamente al tronco principal. Si hubiera seguido descendiendo el árbol de esa manera, la rama seguramente se habría roto y hubiera ocurrido un accidente fatal.
Factores que contribuyeron: Falta de atención/Exceso de confianza
Posted 7-8-16
Bad Step
I was exiting a climb truck and my right foot got caught on the step and made me stumble. I almost fell with no control. It’s easy to make a bad step.
Mal paso
Yo salía de un camión de ascenso y mi pie derecho quedó atrapado en el escalón y me hizo tropezar. Casi me caí sin control. Es fácil dar un mal paso.
Posted 7-8-16
Dog Looking for a Meal?
Close call about a dog that got loose in the yard. We were in the middle of trimming a tree when the homeowner wanted to ask a question and her German Shepard looking dog got out and circled my climber in an aggressive manner. The climber kept calm and was able to keep the dog at bay by placing a branch between him and the dog. Home owner kept saying dog wouldn’t bite but dog looked and acted like he wanted a taste of tree trimmer. Home owner finally lured the dog back inside without dog tasting the ground guy.
¿Un perro en busca de comida?
Un accidente potencial con un perro que se soltó en el patio. Estábamos en medio de podar un árbol cuando el dueño de la casa nos quiso hacer una pregunta y su perro, que parecía un perro pastor alemán, se salió y comenzó a hacer círculos alrededor de mi escalador de una manera agresiva. El escalador mantuvo la calma y fue capaz de mantener a raya al perro colocando una rama entre él y el perro. El dueño de la casa no paraba de decir que el perro no mordía perro, pero parecía y actuaba como si quisiera probar un pedazo del podador de árboles. El dueño de la casa finalmente hizo que el perro entrara a la casa sin que tuviera chance de probar al operario de tierra.
Posted 7-8-16
Raccoon Rain?
My climber was up in a tree when he said it was raining. I said “how, there’s not a cloud in the sky.” I stopped to see what he was talking about when I noticed something in the tree. It was a raccoon and it was so scared it was pissing on him! I told him come down before you get bit.
¿Lluvia de mapache?
Mi escalador había subido a un árbol cuando dijo que estaba lloviendo. Le dije: “¿Cómo puede ser si no hay ni una nube en el cielo?.” Me detuve a ver de lo que estaba hablando cuando me di cuenta de algo en el árbol. Era un mapache y estaba tan asustado ¡que estaba orinando sobre él! Le dije que bajara antes que el mapache lo mordiera.
Posted 7-8-16
Foreman Forgets Plan
Two tree crews working together removing large trees when they came up with a plan to remove the limbs off of the back tree to make a clear fall path for the other tree to be topped. The crew then took their lunch break. After lunch the foreman went up in the bucket to top the tree but he did not remove the limbs from the back tree first. He put his face cut into the tree but before he started his back cut a crew member stopped him. If he had made his back cut the top would have sprung back and taken him, the power line and the truck out. Good example of “see something, say something.”
El capataz olvidó el plan
Dos cuadrillas de árboles estaban trabajando juntas removiendo árboles de gran tamaño cuando se les ocurrió un plan para remover las ramas del árbol de atrás para limpiar un camino para la caída del otro árbol que debía ser derribado. La cuadrilla tomó entonces su hora de almuerzo. Después del almuerzo el capataz subió en el cubo hasta el tope del árbol pero no retiró las ramas del árbol de atrás. Hizo el corte transversal en el árbol pero antes de hacer el corte posterior un miembro de la cuadrilla le detuvo. Si el corte posterior, el tope del árbol hubiera caída hacia atrás y lo hubiera golpeado y además se hubiera llevado la línea eléctrica y el camión. Este es un buen ejemplo de “si ve algo, diga algo”.
Posted 7-8-16
Flip Line Almost Cut
The climber was 120 feet up a tree removing the top a porta wrap devise was being used. The porta wrap was secured to the base of the tree intended to be used to lower branches and then the top. When the climber topped the tree the groundman allowed the top to fall 20 feet before stopping the top causing the tree to shake violently without checking with the climber the groundman proceded to allow the top to rapidly descend to the ground. During this process the work rope was in contact with the climber’s safety (flip line). There was a great deal of friction from the work rope going passed the safety and it caused the safety to be burned leaving less than one strand of the safety holding the climber in the tree. The climber did have another safety in the tree but it was also damaged by the work rope.
No one was injured although there were words.
There are several things that almost caused a serious accident or fatal accident.
- The groundman should have had better control of the work rope.
- The groundman should have communicated with the climber before lowering the top.
- The top should have been lowered much more slowly.
- The climber should have been more careful where he placed his safety although he may have been unable to find a better place for his safety.
- Possibly over reliance on your co-workers both in the tree and on the ground.
Communication communication communication.
Casi se cortó el salvarramas (flip line)
El escalador fue estaba en un árbol a 36.5 m (120 pies) de altura retirando la copa del árbol. Estaba utilizando un “port-a-wrap”, que estaba fijado a la base del árbol, con la intención de usarlo primero en las ramas más bajas y luego en la copa del árbol. Cuando el escalador derribó el árbol, el operario de tierra dejó que la copa cayera 6 m (20 pies) antes de detenerla, lo que hizo que el árbol se sacudiera violentamente. Sin verificar primero con el escalador, el operario de tierra permitió que la copa del árbol descendiera rápidamente hasta el suelo. Durante este proceso, la cuerda de trabajo estaba en contacto con la cuerda de seguridad del escalador (salvarramas). Una gran cantidad de fricción pasó de la cuerda de trabajo a la cuerda de seguridad, lo que ocasionó que la cuerda de seguridad se quemara, de manera que solamente quedó una hebra en la cuerda de seguridad aguantando al escalador en el árbol. El escalador tenía otra cuerda de seguridad en el árbol, pero esta también se daño por la cuerda de trabajo.
Nadie se lesionó aunque sí hubo un intercambio de insultos.
Varias cosas sucedieron que casi causaron un accidente grave o fatal.
- El operario de tierra debería haber tenido un mejor control de la cuerda de trabajo.
- El operario de tierra debería haberse comunicado con el escalador antes de hacer bajar el tope del árbol.
- El tope del árbol se ha debido bajar mucho más lentamente.
- El escalador debería haber tenido más cuidado al decidir dónde colocar su cuerda de seguridad, aunque quizás no haya podido encontrar un mejor lugar para colocarla.
- Posible exceso de confianza en sus compañeros de trabajo, tanto en el árbol como en tierra.
Comunicación, comunicación, comunicación
Posted 5-23-16
Storm Call Awareness/Fire Season
On Wednesday May 18, 2016 around 9pm a two man crew was called out on a storm call to Covelo for an oak tree that contacted the power lines. (Tree Specifics – 50 ft. tall, 18in D.B.H. Healthy Green Oak)
When the tree crew arrived at the location of the storm call, the oak had sagged the lines and crossed both phases. Heavy tension (hazard) was on the lines by the weight of the oak. The poles also had heavy tension which was identified as a hazard for PG&E and the Tree Crew. When the oak failed, it split down the center. When the oak made contact with the lines it must have arced prior to blowing the fuses. The lines energized the oak from where it contacted lines to the base of tree. This caused a slow fire to start on the ground and in the oak. Cal Fire responded to the fire.
The oak became energized and carried an electrical current. It became an electrical conductor through direct contact with the lines. PG&E grounded the lines (DIG), and Tree Crew was able to use rigging/block to support tension on the powerlines and cut the oak off the lines safely with a pole saw. They would have been in the bite of the rigging if they had not had a pole saw.
This was a healthy, green, live tree and was painted blue for a Reliability (PS&R) project. This was an oak that someone was going to climb! Do an inspection! Prior to any climb, a climber shall perform a tree assessment. Check for defects; root collar inspection, trunk, dead limbs or branches, sap ooze, cracks, lightning damage, bark, weak attachments, cavities, conks, cankers/galls/ burls, size of branches(weight), lean, soil heaving, saturated soils, root decay, mushrooms, slope of terrain or likelihood of failure for that tree.
If you believe a tree is unsafe to climb… Speak up! Get a second opinion on the safest way to achieve accurate trim.
Share this information with the crews, let it be a reminder and enhance awareness that even healthy trees can fail and to inspect all trees prior to the start of the climb.
Comunicación sobre Accidentes Potenciales/ Accidentes Evitados
El miércoles 18 de mayo de 2016, alrededor de las 9 p.m., se llamó a una cuadrilla de dos personas para atender un trabajo debido a tormentas en Covelo, para podar un roble que había hecho contacto con los cables de electricidad. (Información sobre el árbol – Altura: 15.25 m (50 pies); DAP: 45.75 cm (DBH: 18 pulg); roble verde y sano)
Cuando la cuadrilla de podadores llegó a la ubicación del trabajo relacionado con la tormenta, el roble había caído sobre ambas fases, y su peso hizo que los cables se hundieran. Los cables estaban sometidos a una gran tensión (peligro) debido al peso del roble. Los postes también estaban sometidos a una gran tensión, lo cual fue identificado como un peligro para PG&E y para la cuadrilla de podadores. Cuando el roble falló, se partió por el centro. Cuando el roble hizo contacto con las líneas debe haber creado un arco eléctrico antes de que se abrieran los interruptores. El roble recibió una descarga eléctrica de los cables en el punto donde los cables hicieron contacto con la base del árbol. Esto provocó un lento incendio en el terreno y en el roble. Cal Fire se presentó en el lugar para controlar el incendio.
El roble se convirtió en un conductor eléctrico cuando hizo contacto directo con los cables. PG&E conectó los cables a tierra (DIG), y la cuadrilla de podadores pudo utilizar el equipo de grúa y bloqueo para liberar la tensión que existía sobre los cables eléctricos y cortar el roble que estaba sobre las líneas eléctricas de forma segura, con una sierra de pértiga. Si no hubieran tenido una sierra de pértiga, hubieran tenido que subir a la grúa y corrían peligro de sufrir una lesión grave si la tensión de los cables o del poste cedía mientras estaban en la grúa.
Cuadrillas, este era un árbol verde, sano, con pintura azul para un proyecto de confiabilidad (PS&R). ¡Alguien iba a trepar este árbol! ¡Hagan una inspección previa! Antes de trepar, el escalador debe hacer una evaluación del árbol. Verifique que no tiene defectos; inspeccione el cuello de la raíz, el tronco, que no haya ramas muertas, rezume de savia, grietas, daño por rayos, inspeccione la corteza, las ramas débiles, las cavidades, cancros, agallas, nudos, el tamaño de las ramas (peso), si el suelo está agitado, suelos saturados, putrefacción de las raíces, hongos, inclinación del terreno o la probabilidad de que el árbol falle.
Si usted cree que el árbol no es seguro para trepar… ¡Dígalo! Obtener una segunda opinión es la forma más segura de lograr una poda precisa.
Comparta esta información con las cuadrillas, para que sea un recordatorio y para que ayude a mejorar los conocimientos de que inclusive los árboles sanos pueden fallar, y que todos los árboles deben ser inspeccionados antes de comenzar a trepar.
Posted 3-8-16
Topping Tree Without Pull Line
We were doing removals when one guy took it upon himself not to put a rope on a sugar pine that was 50-60 ft. He made the pie cut and then began to make the back cut and the tree started to go back toward the lines, trapping the chainsaw. They had to go back to the truck to get the throw ball and tied the rope to the tree. Luckily nobody got hurt.
Tumbando un árbol sin usar la línea de tiro
Estábamos removiendo ramas cuando uno de los trabajadores decidió no colocar una soga en un pino de azúcar de 15-18 metros de altura. Hizo el corte tipo cuña y luego comenzó a hacer el corte trasero. El árbol comenzó a caer hacia atrás, hacia las líneas eléctricas, y la sierra quedó atrapada. Tuvieron que regresar al camión para buscar la bola de peso y colocar la línea de tiro. Afortunadamente nadie resultó herido.
Posted 3-8-16
Crew Makes Safe Call on Windy Day
We were two crews working on a remove 80 ft. tree. We were roping the limbs because it was windy. The wind was so strong and the limb so close to the primaries we stopped to call our supervisor. We came back on another day to finish the job.
La cuadrilla toma la decisión de seguridad correcta en un día con mucho viento
Dos cuadrillas estábamos trabajando para remover un árbol de 24 metros de altura. Estábamos colocando sogas en la ramas porque hacía mucho viento. El viento era demasiado fuerte y las ramas estaban demasiado cerca de las líneas primarias, así que detuvimos el trabajo y llamamos a nuestro supervisor. Regresamos otro día a terminar el trabajo.
Posted 3-8-16
Fell on Chainsaw
While carrying a chainsaw worker slipped on some loose rock and fell forward on the bar and chain of the saw. He fell across his stomach but luckily had small cuts and bruises.
Cayó sobre una sierra
Un trabajador que llevaba una sierra se resbaló en unas piedras sueltas y cayó hacia adelante sobre la barra y la cadena de la sierra. Cayó sobre su estómago y afortunadamente solo sufrió unas pequeñas cortadas y moretones.
Posted 3-8-16
Almost Hit by Truck
A 52’ truck and trailer was making a sharp turn and came into our lane to make his turn. My foreman didn’t plan for this and tried to continue going straight. The trailer almost clipped our front end when it impeded our lane trying to complete the turn. It all happened very fast without notice on a blind turn.
Casi nos golpeó un camión
Un camión con un tráiler de 15 metros estaba efectuando una vuelta cerrada y se pasó a nuestro carril para hacer el giro. Mi capataz no esperaba esto y trató de continuar recto. El tráiler casi golpeó la parte de adelante de nuestro camión al bloquear nuestro carril para completar la vuelta. Todo sucedió muy rápido, sin aviso, en una curva ciega.
Posted 3-8-16
Didn’t Recognize Primary Line
Me and my climber went to do a elm tree and when we got there the climber said he would do the job. When he was climbing up toward the lines he got within 5 to 6 ft. and he thinks it is a secondary line. I told him “no it’s a primary line” and not to go between the lines. He stops and looks again and notices that it was a primary line.
No reconoció una línea primaria
Mi trepador y yo fuimos a trabajar en un olmo. Cuando llegamos al árbol, el trepador dijo que él haría el trabajo. Cuando comenzó a trepar se acercó a 1.5 – 1.8 metros de distancia de las líneas pensando que eran líneas secundarias. Le dije: “no, es una línea primaria” y que no se acercara a las líneas. Se detuvo para observarlas de nuevo y se dio cuenta que era una línea primaria.
Posted 3-8-16
Upset Crew Almost Has Disaster
Doing bucket work on a busy street and the foreman is upset with the climber and they are not speaking to each other. It was a locust tree that was inches away from the primaries. When the crew was all set the foreman went up in the bucket and started trimming while the climber was stacking brush. The climber looks up and sees the primaries swaying from side to side almost touching each other, nearly causing an outage. When the climber sees it he immediately jumps out of the way and asks what happened. The foreman said a branch hit the primaries. The foreman was right under the lines and was very lucky they did not touch.
Una cuadrilla enojada casi sufre un desastre
Se estaba ejecutando un trabajo desde una canasta en una calle muy concurrida, el capataz estaba disgustado con el trepador y no le dirigía la palabra. Era una acacia que estaba a unos pocos centímetros de las líneas primarias. Cuando la cuadrilla estaba lista, el capataz subió a la canasta y comenzó a podar mientras el trepador recogía las ramas. El trepador miró hacia arriba y vio que las líneas primarias se estaban moviendo de un lado a otro, casi se tocaban y podrían haber causado un apagón. Al ver esto, el trepador saltó a un lado inmediatamente y preguntó qué había pasado. El capataz le dijo que una rama golpeó una línea primaria. El capataz estaba justamente debajo de las líneas y tuvo mucha suerte que las líneas no hicieran contacto entre sí.
Posted 3-8-16
Chipper Chute Disconnected
I was working on the chip truck and when we left the jobsite we forgot to check the chute. It was spinning as we traveled and could have hit someone. Luckily we were only driving a couple of hundred yards to the next pile.
Desconectar la tolva de la astilladora
Yo estaba trabajando en el camión de la astilladora. Cuando nos fuimos del lugar de trabajo se nos olvidó inspeccionar la astilladora. Siguió girando mientras conducíamos y hubiera podido golpear a alguien. Afortunadamente solamente recorrimos unos pocos centenares de metros hasta la siguiente pila de madera.
Posted 2-18-16
Crew Dropped and Removed Limb From Primary
A crew requested a line kill to remove an overhang over the primaries. No line kill was arranged. The worker could not stand or walk on the limb so it had to be tied in and cut back to the trunk. The limb was still too big for human rigging. The limb got stuck in the primaries and the crew had no other choice than to climb into the lines and remove the limb.
La cuadrilla dejó caer una rama sobre la línea primaria y la removió
Una cuadrilla solicitó que se desenergizara una línea eléctrica para poder remover una rama que colgaba sobre la línea. La solicitud no se procesó. El trabajador no podía pararse ni caminar sobre la rama, de manera que tuvo que amarrarla y cortarla. La rama era demasiado grande y no podría ser cargada solamente por los trabajadores. La rama se atascó en las líneas primarias y la única opción de la cuadrilla fue trepar a las líneas para remover la rama.
Posted 2-18-16
Flip Line Worn Out
Foreman was about to climb a tree and I was checking his equipment. I saw his flip line was old and wearing thin so he twisted the flip line in the opposite direction and then the flip line tore in two after a few twists. His flip line should have been replaced long before.
Eslinga desgastada
Yo estaba inspeccionando el equipo de un capataz que iba a trepar un árbol. Observé que su eslinga (“flip line”) estaba vieja y gastada. Él torció la eslinga en la dirección contraria y se rompió en dos después de unas pocas vueltas. La eslinga debería haber sido reemplazada hace mucho tiempo.
Posted 2-18-16
Bad Communication Causes Shock
While working in a storm with PG&E the tree crew was on stand-by waiting form the ok from PG&E to remove the top of a pine tree that was hung up on the power lines. After waiting an hour a different PG&E crew came to the tree crew and gave them the ok to remove the pine off the lines. As the climber was starting to climb this tree he could feel a tingling sensation from the limb so he stopped and walked away from the tree. As he did the first PG&E crew came and said to the tree crew that the lines were live. Should have never taken the word of another crew.
Comment: Communication started with the first crew and should end with the first crew. Never make contact with a tree in the primary unless the utility tells the crew the line is checked de-energized, grounded and given the ok to go to work.
Una mala comunicación ocasionó un shock
Una cuadrilla de podadores estaba trabajando con PG&E durante una tormenta, esperando la aprobación de PG&E para remover la copa de un pino que estaba colgando de las líneas eléctricas. Después de una hora llegó otra cuadrilla diferente de PG&E y autorizó a la cuadrilla de podadores a que retiraran el pino de la línea eléctrica. Cuando el trepador comenzó a subir al árbol sintió un cosquilleo a través de la rama, de modo que se detuvo y se alejó del árbol. En ese momento la primera cuadrilla de PG&E llegó y le dijo a la cuadrilla de podadores que las líneas estaban energizadas. No han debido hacerle caso a una cuadrilla diferente.
Comentario: La comunicación se inició con la primera cuadrilla y debería finalizar con la primera cuadrilla. Nunca hagan contacto con un árbol sobre una línea primaria a menos que la empresa de electricidad le confirme a la cuadrilla de podadores que ha verificado que la línea está desenergizada, conectada a tierra y que tienen la autorización de ejecutar el trabajo.
Posted 2-18-16
Boom in the Air Contacts Primary
While driving a bucket truck the boom was still up as the driver pulled forward (commonly the second person rides on the bins) As they pulled forward the boom contacted the primary lines. Luckily this time only the driver was on or in the vehicle.
La pluma de una grúa en el aire hace contacto con la línea primaria
El conductor de un camión con canasta movió el camión hacia adelante cuando la pluma todavía se encontraba en el aire (generalmente hay otra persona dentro de la canasta). Cuando el camión se movió, la pluma hizo contacto con las líneas primarias. Afortunadamente en esta oportunidad el conductor era el único que estaba dentro o sobre el vehículo.
Posted 1-27-16
Crew Threat and Gunshot
A tree crew had completed work when the customer told a crew member to get off his property and threatened to kill the crew and bury them on his property. The crew decided to leave and as they were exiting the property they heard a gunshot. The crew was not certain if a gun was fired at them, however they immediately called law enforcement to report the incident. The Sheriff’s Department responded immediately and took the customer into custody.
Note: The crew acted appropriately by calling law enforcement when a threat was made to their safety
Amenaza a la cuadrilla y disparo
Una cuadrilla de árboles había completado su trabajo cuando el cliente le dijo a uno de los miembros de la cuadrilla que saliera de su propiedad, y amenazó con matar a la cuadrilla y enterrarlos en su terreno. La cuadrilla decidió irse y al marcharse escucharon un disparo. Los miembros de la cuadrilla no sabían si el disparo había sido dirigido hacia ellos, pero inmediatamente llamaron a las autoridades competentes para informar sobre el incidente. El departamento del sheriff respondió inmediatamente y se llevó al cliente bajo custodia.
Nota: La cuadrilla actuó correctamente llamando a las autoridades competentes al recibir amenazas contra su seguridad
Posted 1-27-16
Not Descending Properly Causes Fall
Watched very experienced climber/foreman remove redwood. He started de-limbing bottom up, cut the top section out, then he threw climb rope around trunk. He kicked out to slide down on knot and the rope came off the trunk as he starts the descent and then he free falls. I though he was going to hit the ground with his back because he was falling horizontal. At the last second he lands on his feet. He should have come down with his secondary tie in flip line.
Cayó por no descender correctamente
Observé a un trepador/capataz con mucha experiencia remover una secoya. Comenzó quitando las ramas desde abajo hacia arriba, cortó la sección de la copa, luego lanzó una soga de trepar alrededor del tronco. Comenzó a deslizarse hacia abajo en el nudo y cuando comenzó el descenso la soga se salió del árbol, y cayó en caída libre. Pensé que iba a caer de espaldas porque estaba cayendo en posición horizontal. A último momento aterrizó con los pies. Se ha debido amarrar también a una eslinga para bajar.
Posted 1-27-16
Working Conditions with New Person
Working in the rain is dangerous and working with new employee in the rain is extra dangerous. I feel that it is a close call to work with inexperienced person in bad weather conditions. I feel it should be a three man crew when weather is bad.
Condiciones de trabajo con una persona nueva
Trabajar bajo la lluvia es peligroso, y trabajar bajo la lluvia con un nuevo empleado es aún más peligroso. Pienso que es un accidente potencial trabajar cuando hay mal clima con una persona que no tiene experiencia. Considero que la cuadrilla debería tener tres miembros cuando hay malas condiciones atmosféricas.
Posted 1-27-16
Inspection May have Caught Equipment Failure
I was cutting down a big oak tree with a pulley system and used a piece of bull rope to tie pulley to the oak tree. Everything was fine with this set-up the first day. The next day I was using the same piece I was using the day before but didn’t check it, thought it was ok. While using it the rope broke and the log fell missing the truck by inches. When I inspected the rope it had a nick in the rope where it broke. Inspect equipment every time before use and look for changes in condition of equipment.
Una inspección previa podría haber detectado el daño al equipo
Estaba cortando un roble de gran tamaño usando un sistema de poleas y amarré la polea al roble con una soga de tracción (“bull rope”). Este sistema funcionó correctamente el primer día. Al día siguiente utilicé la misma soga pero no la inspeccioné, pensé que estaba en buenas condiciones. La soga se rompió al usarla y el tronco cayó muy cerca del camión. Después, al inspeccionar la soga, observé que tenía un corte en el lugar por donde se rompió. Todo el equipo se debe inspeccionar cada vez que se vaya a usar para verificar que no haya cambios en las condiciones en que se encuentra el equipo.
Posted 1-27-16
Foreman Cuts Climbers Clothes
A foreman was cutting a stump while the climber was pushing it over. As the foreman cut through the stump the chain saw cut the climbers pant leg and sock. The two were working too close together.
Capataz corta el pantalón de un trepador
Un capataz se encontraba cortando un tocón mientras un trepador empujaba el tocón. Al efectuar el corte, la sierra cortó también el pantalón y el calcetín del trepador. El capataz y el trepador se encontraban demasiado cerca el uno del otro.
Posted 10-13-15
Automatic Sleeve Failed
There was a circuit interruption when an automatic sleeve failed on 4 ACSR as crew was laying out the wire a span away. In the future, we are to remove automatic sleeves for pressed sleeves. Also, we are to use preform ties on #6 copper on adjacent poles when moving the wire. Had a safety stand down today and discussed mitigating hazardous potentials. We are now required to use preforms on #6 copper, and no more hand ties to prevent slipping when moving wire.
Posted 2-2-15
Fell Into Gulley
There were two crews working in the mountains together and at the end of the day we picked up our gear and started walking back toward our trucks. A crew member saw barbed wire on the path and said “be careful.” One member did not hear and tripped and fell down a gulley. Luck he did not get hurt falling down. This was a close call because it was steep.
Cayó en una zanja
Dos cuadrillas se encontraban juntas ejecutando trabajos en las montañas y al finalizar la jornada recogimos nuestro equipo y comenzamos a caminar de regreso a nuestros camiones. Un miembro de la cuadrilla vio un alambre de púas en el camino y nos avisó “tengan cuidado”. Un miembro no lo escuchó y se tropezó y cayó en una zanja. Afortunadamente no se lastimó al caer. Esto hubiera podido ser un accidente porque el camino era muy empinado.
Posted 2-2-15
Yell Saved Partner From Falling Limb
We were doing a removal. When the tree was falling it struck another tree, breaking some limbs off the side. I yelled at my partner to move because the limbs were coming at him. If it wasn’t for me yelling he would have been hit by the falling limbs.
Mis gritos salvaron a mi compañero de ser golpeado por una rama cayendo
Nos encontrábamos removiendo un árbol. Cuando el árbol cayó, golpeó otro árbol y algunas ramas laterales se rompieron. Le grité a mi compañero que se moviera porque las ramas le iban a caer encima. Si yo no le hubiera gritado, hubiera sido golpeado por las ramas.
Posted 2-2-15
Keep Safety Glasses On
It is very common for some of our brother fellow workers to not put on their safety glasses, especially when there is no supervisor around. The reason they say is that the glasses are scratched or fogged up.
Use siempre los anteojos de seguridad
Es muy común entre nuestros hermanos compañeros no colocarse los anteojos de seguridad, sobre todo cuando no hay ningún supervisor cerca. Según ellos, la razón es que los anteojos están muy rayados o se empañan.
Posted 2-2-15
Important to Put Out Cones and Signs
It is important to follow company policies in putting out both signs and cones. The crew was trying to save time and my partner only put out one sign in front on a busy road. While he was chipping brush a car came from behind and ran into the chipper. My co-worker was able to jump out of the way. No major damage to the chipper and no injury to my co-worker.
Es importante colocar los conos y las señalizaciones
Es importante cumplir con las normas de la compañía en cuanto a colocar tanto la señalización como los conos. La cuadrilla estaba tratando de ahorrar tiempo y mi compañero colocó solamente una señalización en una carretera muy transitada. Mientras estaba astillando unas ramas, un carro llegó por atrás y chocó contra la astilladora. Mi compañero pudo saltar y quitarse del camino. La astilladora no sufrió mayores daños y mi compañero no sufrió ninguna lesión.
Posted 2-2-15
Watched Cars Pile Up
I was driving on the freeway, keeping the distance of 4 seconds. There were many cars. A bus stopped on the road and many cars crashed because they hadn’t kept their distance.
Choque múltiple de vehículos
Una vez iba en la autopista y yo iba manteniendo mi distancia de 4 segundos. Había muchos carros. Se paró un bus en la carretera y muchos carros chocaron con el bus por no mantener su distancia.
Posted 2-2-15
Distracted Driver Close Call
At the end of the day as I was picking up the cones a started walking with my back to the traffic. A driver hit one of the cones closer to me. I think the driver was distracted texting on his phone. Fortunately I was able to get out of the way and nothing happened.
Conductor distraído casi causa un accidente
Al fin del día al recoger los conos comencé a caminar dando la espalda al tráfico cuando el chofer del carro tumbó uno de los conos que estaba cerca de mí. Creo que el chofer iba distraído escribiendo en su teléfono. Afortunadamente logré moverme a un lado y no pasó nada grave.
Posted 2-2-15
Chipper Was Not Connected
This happened one day I was on my way to dump chips. After we had dumped them and connected the chipper to the truck I asked my climber if he had put the chipper’s pin in place. He assured me he had. When we were driving on the road I looked through my rearview mirror and the chipper was moving from side to side. I stopped immediately and it turned out that the chipper was disconnected. Fortunately the safety chains were in place.
La astilladora no estaba conectada
Esto pasó un día que fui a botar las astillas del camión. Después de botarlas conectamos la astilladora nuevamente al camión. Le pregunté a mi escalador i había puesto el pin y me aseguró que sí lo había hecho. Cuando estamos en la carretera de repente miré por el espejo y la astilladora se movía de un lado a otro. De inmediato me paré y la astilladora se había desconectado. Afortunadamente las cadenas de seguridad estaban puestas.
Posted 2-2-15
Almost Hit By Tree Trunk
We were doing some removal work and we had to cut a trunk 20” dbh 6’ high. I asked the climber to hand me the rope to tie it so he could pull. He gave me the rope and I tied it. I asked him to tie the rope to the tree behind him so the trunk wouldn’t fall back because it was heavy. He said he didn’t need to do that and that he was strong enough to handle it on his own. I insisted so he finally tied it down but he didn’t tighten up the rope. I didn’t notice until I cut the trunk, it almost fell on me. I was in the bucket and I couldn’t move very fast because of the lines. Nothing major happened but when I asked him why he didn’t tighten the rope he turned red in the face and apologized.
Casi fue golpeado por el tronco de un árbol
Un día estábamos haciendo trabajos de remoción y tenía que cortar un tronco de 1.8 m (6 pies) de largo con un DAP de 50 cm (20 pulgadas). Le dije al escalador me pasara el lazo para amarrarlo y para que él lo jalara. Lo amarré y le dije asegúralo del árbol de allá atrás para que no se le vaya a venir hacia atrás porque está pesado. Dijo que no quería y que él sí podía con él. De todos modos insistí y lo amarró pero no lo tensó. Pero no me di cuenta hasta que lo corté porque el tronco por poquito se me viene encima. Yo estaba en la canasta y no podía moverme tan rápido porque estaba cerca de las líneas. No pasó a mayores pero cuando le pregunté por qué no la había tensado solo se puso muy rojo y pidió disculpas.
Posted 1-5-15
Tree Falls in Wind
Our crew was working on a right-of-way project. A tree fell over about 80 feet behind us in a gust of wind. The tree was from outside the right of way and was not listed for removal. No damage was caused.
Ráfaga de viento tumbó un árbol
Nuestra cuadrilla estaba trabajando en un proyecto de derecho-de-paso. Una ráfaga de viento tumbó un árbol el cual cayó unos 24 m (80 pies) detrás de nosotros. El árbol estaba fuera de la zona de derecho de paso y no estaba en la lista de árboles para remover. No hubo daños.
Posted 1-5-15
Branch Caught Chaps
My climber was chipping with his chaps on and I didn’t see until I turned around and a branch caught hold of his chaps and started pulling him. Luckily he hit the reverse bar.
Una rama se atascó en las chaparreras
Mi escalador estaba astillando con sus chaparreras puestas y no me di cuenta hasta que me volteé y una rama se atascó en sus chaparreras y comenzó a halarlo hacia la astilladora. Afortunadamente el escalador puso la astilladora en rev
Posted 1-5-15
Almost Hit by Tree Trunk
I was taking down a fallen tree on a guy line and phone cable. The tree was 40”DBH, it had already taken down the primaries. The primaries were already grounded. We had to set the bull line on the bottom of the trunk because it could roll when cutting weight off the top of the tree. We set bull line and pulley on tree near the top behind cables and a pull line at top of the tree. After getting top off of the tree we tried to pull the tree off the cable and it didn’t come off so I went to the butt and cut the trunk. Without thinking where the line was set I cut the trunk and it came back at me and luckily it slid by me. I thought about it, next time I will take my time and think before I cut.
Casi me golpeó el tronco de un árbol
Estaba sacando un árbol derribado sobre un cable de amarre y un cable telefónico. El árbol tenía un DAP de 1 m (40”) y ya había puesto fuera de servicio las líneas primarias. Las líneas primarias ya estaban conectadas a tierra. Tuvimos que colocar el cable de tracción en la parte inferior del camión porque había la posibilidad de que rodara al cortar el peso de la copa del árbol. Colocamos el cable de tracción y la polea en el árbol cerca de la copa detrás de los cables y una línea de tiro en la copa del árbol. Después de quitar la copa del árbol tratamos de halar el árbol para retirarlo de los cables pero no lo pudimos sacar, así que cortamos el tronco desde abajo. Corté el tronco sin pensar dónde estaba colocada la línea, y el tronco rebotó hacia mí. Afortunadamente me pasó por al lado. Me quedé pensando y decidí que la próxima vez voy a tomar el tiempo necesario para pensar antes de cortar.
Posted 1-5-15
Limb Almost Hits Lady
When roping I told climber to hold the rope when the limb was cut. After the cut he asked if he can lower it. I said “no” and he thought I said “yeah” and he let down the limb fast. The reason I said “no” he could not see a lady walking a dog. The limb came down about 10’ from her.
Una rama casi golpea a una dama
Mientras amarraba la cuerda le dije al escalador que sujetara la cuerda después de cortar la rama. Después del corte me pregunto si la podía bajar. Le dije “no” y él pensó que le había dicho “sí”, y bajó la rama rápidamente. La razón por la que yo le había dicho “no” era porque yo había visto a una dama paseando con un perro. La rama cayó a unos 3 metros (10 pies) de la dama.
Posted 1-5-15
Drove Lift With Riggers Down
A foreman that always drove a dump truck had been given a lift truck to work with. He had the license to drive it so he was driving the lift to the location and parking the truck and climbing the trees because he did not like working in the lift truck. The GF came to check on us and told the foreman, “you were given a lift truck so use it.” So he used the lift and when he was done he was so happy nothing happened that he forgot to put up the riggers and dragged them 10 feet before he noticed them down. No damage.
Manejó el camión elevador sin recoger los brazos estabilizadores
A un capataz que siempre conducía el camión de volteo se le entregó un camión elevador. Tenía la licencia necesaria para conducirlo. Él manejaba el camión hasta el lugar de trabajo, lo estacionaba y luego escalaba árboles porque no le agradaba operar el camión elevador. El capataz general vino a hacer una inspección y le dijo al capataz “a usted se le entregó un camión elevador, úselo”. De manera que él usó el camión elevador y cuando terminó estaba tan contento de que no había ocurrido ningún incidente que se le olvidó recoger los brazos estabilizadores y los arrastró unos 3 m (10 pies) hasta que se dio cuenta que no los había recogido. No hubo daños.
Posted 1-5-15
Truck Almost Got Stuck
Came out to the yard in the morning to go to the first location and my partner told me that the truck was full of chips. I decided to go the dump we go to daily and when we got there I noticed some water on the ground. My climber went to check and he said it was fine. I started backing the truck when the owner came out and said a water pipe was broken for 3 days and the ground was really wet and I would get the truck stuck.
Un camión casi se queda atascado
Salí del patio en la mañana para dirigirme al primer sitio de trabajo y mi compañero me dijo que el camión estaba lleno de astillas. Decidí ir al botadero donde vamos diariamente y cuando llegamos me di cuenta que había agua en el suelo. Mi escalador fue a verificar y me dijo que todo estaba bien. Comencé a retroceder y el dueño salió a informarme que una tubería de agua estaba rota desde hacía 3 días y que la tierra había absorbido mucha agua por lo que el camión podría quedarse atascado.
Posted 1-5-15
Could Have Been Hit by Car
We were working on a not so wide road but had a good set up, cones and signs were out. I heard a car coming and it was hitting our cones and then he just missed hitting our chipper. The car would have hit me if I was standing by the chipper!
Un carro me hubiera podido atropellar
Estábamos ejecutando trabajos en una carretera no muy ancha pero bien ubicados, habíamos colocado nuestros conos y señalización. Escuché venir un vehículo que comenzó a chocar con nuestros conos y casi chocó con nuestra astilladora. ¡Si yo hubiera estado parado al lado de la astilladora, el carro me hubiera atropellado!
Posted 1-5-15
Upside Down in Gear
Yesterday my foreman was climbing a tree and the limb he was standing on broke. The fall left him hanging upside down, good thing he was tied in.
Colgando al revés con el equipo puesto
Ayer mi capataz estaba escalando un árbol y la rama donde estaba parado se quebró. Al caer, él quedó colgando al revés, menos mal que estaba amarrado con la cuerda.
Posted 1-5-15
Don’t Leave Your Post!
When a person is holding a stop and go sign while doing traffic control do not abandon your position until all the cones are picked up and when the trucks are off the road.
¡No abandone su posición!
Cuando un individuo está encargado de la señalización de pare y avance (“Stop” y “Go”) dirigiendo el tráfico, no debe abandonar su posición hasta que todos los conos hayan sido recogidos y ya los camiones no estén sobre la carretera.
Posted 11-3-2014
Climber Almost Hit
We were roping down a FP R2 digger pine with a 65’ bucket truck. The climber was roping the tops through a crotch and the foreman was running the rope. The climber misjudged the lean of the top and when the top went it broke off and swung around directly over the climber in the bucket. He was able to react fast by squatting down in the bucket as the top flew by. Nobody was hurt but it was close.
Un escalador casi es golpeado por la copa de un árbol
Estábamos atando un pino real FP R2 con un camión canasta de 20 metros (65 pies). El escalador estaba amarrando la copa a través de una horquilla y el capataz estaba controlando la cuerda. El escalador calculó mal la inclinación de la copa y al soltarla la copa se quebró y giró directamente sobre el escalador que estaba en la canasta. Él pudo reaccionar rápidamente y se agachó dentro de la canasta mientras la copa le pasó por encima. Nadie resultó herido pero hubiera podido ser un accidente.
Posted 11-3-2014
Truck Almost Hit Boom
I was setting up traffic cones and signs. I went to go up in bucket and started to swing boom out and climber did not tell me a truck was coming. I saw it and moved boom back. Truck just missed my boom.
Un camión casi choca con una pluma
Yo estaba colocando conos y señales de tráfico. Fui hacia una canasta y comencé a mover la pluma hacia afuera y el escalador no me dijo que venía un camión. Lo vi y moví la pluma hacia adentro. El camión casi chocó con mi pluma.
Posted 11-3-2014
Almost Run Over
I was raking lawn and street and my climber was using the blower. He was not watching the road and started to walk in front of a car. I grabbed him and the car just missed him.
Casi lo atropellan
Yo estaba rastrillando el césped y la calle, y mi escalador estaba usando el soplador. Él no le estaba prestando atención a la carretera y comenzó a caminar frente a un coche. Lo agarré y el coche le pasó muy cerca.
Posted 11-3-2014
Thrown out of Bucket
I had a trimmer get careless in the bucket by not putting the leg straps of the harness on. The boom got caught on a branch and popped him out of the bucket and the harness started to slip off because it was not on properly.
Lanzado fuera de una canasta
Un podador se descuidó estando en la canasta y no se colocó las perneras del arnés. La pluma se enganchó en una rama, el podador fue lanzado fuera de la canasta y el arnés se empezó a resbalar porque no estaba colocado correctamente.
Posted 11-3-2014
Primary Contact
A trimmer cut a tree branch too big to control and it came in contact with the line. He was lucky he contacted the primary neutral and not the hot line.
Contacto con línea primaria
Un podador cortó una rama demasiado grande para poderla controlar, y la rama cayó e hizo contacto con la línea. El podador tuvo suerte que el contacto fue con el neutro y no con la línea caliente.
Posted 11-3-2014
Almost Thrown Off Roof
We were removing a large pepper tree that was partially over a house. The tree trimmer performing the job decided to work from the roof of the house for better access to the brush over the house. He had tied a large branch to be lowered down and when he finished the cut the limb swung away from the tree out over the roof. The limb nearly hit him and threw him off the roof.
Casi se cae del techo
Estábamos removiendo un árbol de pimienta de gran tamaño que estaba parcialmente sobre una casa. El podador decidió montarse en el techo de la casa y trabajar desde allí porque así tenía mejor acceso a las ramas que estaban sobre la casa. Había amarrado una rama grande para bajarla y cuando terminó de cortarla la rama giró lejos del árbol sobre el techo. La rama casi golpeó al podador y casi se cae del techo.
Posted 11-3-2014
Jumped by Raccoons?
We got sent to clear a large cypress tree from the primary lines. One of our climbers was thirty feet off the ground. When he reached into a crotch two raccoons peaked out looking down at him. The climber came down the tree faster than if he were to fall!
¿Asaltado por mapaches?
Nos enviaron a despejar un gran ciprés de las líneas primarias. Uno de nuestros escaladores estaba a 9 m (30 pies) de altura. Cuando llego a una horquilla, dos mapaches se asomaron para verlo. ¡El escalador bajó del árbol más rápido que si se hubiera caído!
Posted 10-1-2014
Truck Jumps Blocks
On a steep hill truck with air brakes and outriggers on gravel, man boomed all the way out in front of the truck jumping the wheel blocks. Truck slid almost 23 feet before I was able to catch it and bring it to a stop by placing my foot on brake peddle!
Un camión saltó sobre los bloques de las ruedas
En una colina empinada, un camión con frenos de aire y con los brazos estabilizadores sobre la grava, con la pluma extendida totalmente hacia el frente del camión, saltó sobre los tacos de las ruedas. ¡El camión resbaló casi 7 m (23 pies) hasta que lo pude detener colocando mi pie en el pedal!
Posted 10-1-2014
Crews Working Over/Under Primary
Two crews working in the same span, two younger foremen and two new climbers, one under primary lines and one over lines. Another crew stopped operations to explain to crews the rules to not work over and under in the same span and their close call.
Cuadrillas trabajando por encima y por debajo de la línea primaria
Dos cuadrillas trabajando en el mismo vano, dos jóvenes capataces y dos escaladores nuevos, uno por debajo de las líneas primarias y uno por encima de ellas. Otra cuadrilla detuvo las operaciones para explicarle a las cuadrillas las normas de no trabajar por debajo y por encima del mismo vano al mismo tiempo, y la posibilidad de que ocurra un accidente.
Posted 10-1-2014
Frozen Road Causes Truck to Slide
In 2009 driving in mountains, snow and frozen conditions. Road conditions change throughout the day. Frozen ground thaws and what was passable in the am is not in the afternoon. Roads are slippery and trucks slid off easily. We had to tie off truck to keep it from rolling down hill. It took one hour to get it back on the road and chain it up.
Un camión resbala porque la carretera estaba congelada
En 2009, manejando en las montañas, con nieve y en condiciones heladas. Las condiciones de la carretera cambian a lo largo del día. Las partes congeladas se derriten y las zonas que eran seguras para pasar en la mañana ya no lo son en la tarde. Los caminos están resbaladizos y los camiones resbalan fácilmente. Tuvimos que amarrar un camión para que no continuara rodando cuesta abajo. Tardamos una hora en regresar el camión a la carretera y colocarle cadenas.
Posted 10-1-2014
Not Enough Equipment
I came across a crew felling a tree and they had a rope-along in it for direction of fall. They didn’t have another rope on the truck and no wedges. I put my rope along to use by using a throw line to place into tree to rig assist. Tree came down ok after that. Not enough equipment to do the job safely!
Sin suficiente equipo
Me encontré una cuadrilla que estaba derribando un árbol y tenían una cuerda para dirigir la caída. No tenían otra cuerda en el camión ni tampoco cuñas. Utilizamos mi cuerda con una línea de tiro para colocarla en el árbol y ayudar. El árbol fue derribado sin problemas después de eso. ¡No tenían suficiente equipo para ejecutar el trabajo de manera segura!
Posted 10-1-2014
Truck Almost Flipped
Had a lift truck getting a new tire. The truck was on a jack and the tire was off the truck. The temperature was 110 degrees and the asphalt gave way and the truck fell off the jack and almost tipped over.
Un camión casi se vuelca
Estaban cambiando la llanta de un camión elevador. El camión estaba sobre un gato y ya se le había quitado la llanta. Hacía 43 C (110 F) y el asfalto cedió por el calor, el camión se cayó del gato y casi se volcó.
Posted 10-1-2014
Trailer Comes Off Hitch
Driving back from the job on the highway with the GF and a big truck in front started going from side to side. The trailer of the truck went off the road and almost turned over right in front of us- just before the GF was about to pass the big truck.
Un remolque se sale de su enganche
Manejando de regreso del trabajo en la carretera, con el capataz general, un camión delante de nosotros comenzó a moverse de un lado al otro. El remolque del camión se salió de la carretera y casi se volcó delante de nosotros, justo cuando el capataz general estaba a punto de adelantar al camión.
Posted 10-1-2014
Tree Hits Primary Lines
Was working with a foreman on a cold morning doing removals. He had on tree 33 ft. by 10’ dbh. He did a good face cut and started his back cut and half way through the tree snapped and fell into the lines. The lines then threw tree off.
Un árbol cae sobre las líneas primarias
Me encontraba trabajando con un capataz en una fría mañana, removiendo ramas y árboles. Él estaba sobre un árbol de 10 m (33 pies) y un DAP de 3 m (10 pies). Hizo un buen corte transversal y comenzó a hacer el corte posterior. A mitad del trabajo el árbol se quebró y cayó sobre las líneas. Luego el árbol cayó de las líneas al suelo.
Posted 10-1-2014
Lost Control of Rope
Roped off the top of a big tree over a house and the climber was on the rope and had a wrap around the base. I cut the top hanging over the house and rope bound up in the crotch. The climber saw it was stuck and decided to let go of the rope to help the homeowner. I saw him let go and yelled to him to grab the rope. Close call!
Perdió el control de la cuerda
La copa de un gran árbol sobre una casa estaba amarrada y el escalador estaba sobre la cuerda y ya la había amarrado alrededor de la base. Yo corté la copa que colgaba sobre la casa y la cuerda se atascó en la horquilla. El escalador vio que estaba atascada y decidió soltar la cuerda para ayudar al dueño de la casa. Yo me di cuenta que él soltó la cuerda y le grité para que la agarrara de nuevo. ¡Casi fue un accidente!
Posted 7-29-2014
Look Up and Live! At a jobsite with a 100 footer a chase truck was chipping the brush that was falling near the road. Trimmer in bucket cut a piece of wood and while dropping the limb hits another tree far away from chipper truck. Somehow the wood lands next to the crew. Crew on ground needs to keep an eye out for wood falling out of control.
¡Levante la mirada y sobreviva! En una zona de trabajo donde había un árbol de unos 30 m de alto (100 pies), un camión de apoyo se encontraba triturando las ramas que caían cerca del camino. El podador que se encontraba en una canasta cortó un trozo de madera. Al soltarla, la rama chocó contra otro árbol lejos del camión triturador. De alguna manera el trozo de madera cayó al lado de la cuadrilla. La cuadrilla en tierra debe estar alerta en casos de que la madera caiga fuera de control.
Posted 7-29-2014
Snap Cut. Had something happen that taught me not to position bucket right on snap cut. Almost dropped chunk into bucket!
Corte de poda. Algo me sucedió que me enseñó a no colocar la cesta justamente debajo del punto de corte. ¡La rama casi cayó dentro de la cesta!
Posted 7-29-2014
Yellowjacket Surprise. About a year ago I was a climber and my foreman told me that we were going to do an overhang and I was going to hold the rope while he made the cut. When he was ready to make the cut he said, “are you ready?’ and I said “yeah” Then I yelled “wait”! I stepped on a yellowjacket nest and they were biting me. I had 20 bites and let go of the rope to run. The foreman saw me run and turned of the chainsaw. Good thing he saw what happened.
Sorprendido por avispas. Hace un año aproximadamente, yo era trepador y mi capataz me informó que íbamos a cortar una rama que colgaba de una línea. Mi trabajo era sostener la cuerda mientras él hacía el corte. Cuando estaba listo para el corte, él me preguntó, “¿estás listo?” y yo le dije “sí”. Luego grité “¡espera!”. Había pisado un nido de avispas y me estaban picando. Tenía 20 picadas y solté la cuerda para correr. El capataz me vio correr y apagó la sierra eléctrica. Menos mal que él vio lo que sucedió.
Posted 7-29-2014
Very Close Call. A foreman was working at a house the day before and I was told to come back the next day to finish the job. It was windy that day and I backed up the truck near where I was going to work. I got out of the truck to talk to the homeowner a tree 6” dbh 30’ high fell 1 foot in front of me. Watch out when the wind is blowing, branches and trees can come down.
Casi fue un accidente. Un capataz realizaba trabajos en una casa y me dio instrucciones para regresar al día siguiente para terminar el trabajo. Ese día había mucho viento y coloqué el camión en retroceso hasta un lugar cercano a donde iba a ejecutar el trabajo. Salí del camión para hablar con el dueño de la casa y en ese momento un árbol de DAP de 15 cm (6 pulgadas) y 9 m (30 pies) de altura cayó 30 cm (1 pie) delante de mí. Tengan cuidado cuando haya vientos fuertes, algunas ramas y árboles pueden caerle cerca.
Posted 7-29-2014
Forgot to Tie In. While climbing a maple tree approximately 60 ft. I was in position to tie in and start limb walking out on the limbs using a single rope. It was a taught line hitch style climb line I thought it was clipped to my D-ring. I started to run out a limb when I noticed my climb line hanging down. I was able to jump to the trunk and get tied in.
Olvidé sujetarme. Mientras escalaba un arce de aproximadamente 18 m (60 pies) de altura, estaba en posición de sujetarme y comenzar a caminar sobre las ramas usando una sola cuerda. La línea estaba tensa e iba a escalar usando un gancho. Pensé que había conectado el gancho a mi argolla en D. Comencé a correr sobre una rama cuando me di cuenta que mi cuerda de escalar estaba suelta. Pude saltar al tronco y sujetarme.
Posted 7-29-2014
Started Fire Under Truck. While going to dump chips the driver drove over a small pile of old chips, put the outriggers out and proceeded to dump chips. The exhaust caught the old chips on fire. They were able to get the truck pulled forward and get the fire out.
Se originó un incendio debajo del camión. Al ir a descargar unas astillas, el conductor pasó con el camión por encima de una pequeña pila de astillas viejas, sacó los estabilizadores y comenzó a descargar las astillas. El tubo de escape hizo que las astillas viejas se incendiaran. Fue posible mover el camión hacia delante y apagar el incendio.
Posted 7-29-2014
Limb Dropped on Primary Line. Two guys were up in a 100ft. bucket truck. One guy holding limbs and one guy cutting limbs. The chainsaw guy cut too big a piece and the other guy couldn’t hold it. He dropped the limb directly on the power lines. Luckily the limb bounced off and didn’t cross phase the lines.
Una rama cayó sobre una línea primaria. Dos individuos estaban en un camión canasta de 30 m (100 pies). Uno estaba aguantando las ramas y el otro las estaba cortando. El individuo que tenía la sierra eléctrica cortó un pedazo demasiado grande y la otra persona no lo pudo sujetar. Dejó caer la rama directamente sobre las líneas eléctricas. Afortunadamente la rama rebotó y no se produjo un cortocircuito entre las líneas.
Posted 7-29-2014
Hit Guy Wire. My foreman and I were trimming trees near town and we were driving up the power line access road weaving around the power poles. At one point we had to drive between a power pole and a guy wire. I got out to spot for him and as he drove between them his chipper box bumped the guy wire and I got him to stop before any damage was done.
Chocamos con un cable de amarre. Mi capataz y yo estábamos podando árboles cerca de la ciudad. Estábamos manejando por la carretera de acceso a las líneas eléctricas, alrededor de los postes. Nos encontramos en una situación donde teníamos que pasar entre un poste y un cable de amarre. Me bajé del vehículo para darle instrucciones. Al pasar el vehículo entre el cable y el poste, la astilladora golpeó el cable de amarre. Yo logré que detuviera el vehículo antes de que ocurriera ningún daño.
Posted 4-10-2014
Metal Piece in Chipper: Crew was removing a oak tree and while they were chipping there was a big cracking sound in the chipper. The crew turned off the chipper and looked inside and they found a piece of metal in the chipper. The chipper was a self -fed Vermeer chipper. The chipper blades were torn up and destroyed. It is not known where the metal came from but must have been in the wood. No one was hurt. I t is best to look at what is being fed in but if the metal is grown into the wood someone would not see it.
Pieza metálica dentro de la máquina astilladora: La cuadrilla se encontraba removiendo un roble, y mientras astillaban el árbol escucharon un fuerte crujido en la máquina astilladora. Apagaron la máquina y al mirar adentro encontraron una pieza de metal en la astilladora. La máquina era una astilladora Vermeer con un sistema de alimentación automático. Las cuchillas de la astilladora quedaron destruidas. No se sabe de dónde salió la pieza metálica pero probablemente estaba en la madera. Nadie resultó herido. Es mejor revisar el material que ingresa en la alimentadora, pero si la pieza de metal es parte de la madera no se puede ver.
Posted 4-10-2014
Runaway Truck: One day a crew was working on a steep hill and they wanted to leave the chipper disconnected from the truck so they could go work over the hill. The foreman told the climber to disconnect the chipper and the foreman set the hand brake but forgot to put the truck in a gear and left it in neutral. The climber put the chock blocks on the chipper and started lifting the chipper hitch. He felt the chipper leg getting hard to lift and asked the foreman to go help him. When they were both lifting they heard a pop sound and noticed the truck starting to go down the hill. The foreman started running to catch the truck and press the brake. He was lucky he got in the truck and stopped it.
Camión fuera de control: La cuadrilla estaba trabajando un día en una colina empinada y querían dejar la astilladora desengachada del camión para poder ir a trabajar sobre la colina. El capataz le pidió al escalador que desenganchara la astilladora y el capataz colocó el freno de mano pero olvidó colocar el embrague en una velocidad y lo dejó en neutro. El escalador colocó las cuñas de bloqueo en la astilladora y comenzó a levantar el gancho conector de la astilladora. Sintió que la pata de la astilladora era difícil de levantar de manera que le pidió ayuda al capataz. Cuando ambos se encontraban levantando la astilladora escucharon un chasquido y el camión comenzó a rodar por la colina hacia abajo. El capataz comenzó a correr para alcanzar el camión y aplicar lo frenos. Tuvo suerte y pudo meterse en el camión y frenarlo.
Posted 4-10-2014
Hit in Face With Pole Pruner: Employee hit his nose with pole pruner. Trimmer was trying to reach a high limb with his pole pruner. The limb was too thick to cut with one hand on the pull rope and so he pulled the rope with both hands. The pruner handle struck the trimmer in the face by the nose. A little closer and the handle may have hit him in the eye. He was not injured but it was a close call. Don’t loose control of the pruner, keep one hand on the handle and do not cut a limb too big for the pruner.
Golpeado en la cara por un podadora de pértiga: Un empleado se golpeó la nariz con una podadora de pértiga. El podador estaba tratando de alcanzar una rama alta con su podadora de pértiga. La rama era demasiado gruesa y no se podía cortar usando sola una mano en la soga de halado, así que tiró de la soga con ambas manos. El mango de la pértiga le golpeó en la cara, al lado de la nariz. Si hubiera estado un poquito más cerca le hubiera golpeado en el ojo. No se lesionó pero casi fue un accidente. No pierda el control de la podadora, mantenga una mano en el mango y no trate de cortar ramas que sean demasiado grandes para la podadora.
Posted 4-10-2014
Split Tree Top Pins Foreman: A new foreman was under pressure to get a tree topped 30 minutes before lunch. He had little experience on reading paperwork so it took a lot of time to find the tree that need to be topped. He found a dead 50 ft. dead tree that needed to be topped. The tree was close to the lines but was leaning away from the lines so he said, That’s easy, I can top it and be done in time for lunch- it will take 15 minutes.” So he climbed half way up the tree and started cutting into the tree. About half way through the cut the tree split/barbered and he was sucked into the tree top. The top got stuck in another tree top and the foreman was able to cut his flip line and get free. He was so scared that he didn’t eat his lunch. He said he will not get in a hurry- it’s not worth it!
Un árbol partido deja a un capataz atrapado: Un nuevo capataz se encontraba bajo presión para podar un árbol 30 minutos antes de la hora de almuerzo. Tenía muy poca experiencia sobre cómo leer los papeles de la orden de trabajo de manera que le tomó bastante tiempo encontrar el árbol que debía podar. Encontró un árbol muerto de 50 pies (15 metros) que requería ser podado. El árbol estaba cerca de las líneas de transmisión pero inclinado en dirección alejándose de las líneas, de manera que se dijo a sí mismo Esto es fácil, lo puedo podar y terminar a tiempo para la hora de almuerzo, me tomará unos 15 minutos.” De manera que trepó hasta la mitad del árbol y comenzó a cortar el árbol. A mitad del trabajo el árbol se partió y el quedó atrapado en la copa del árbol. La copa del árbol se enganchó en otro árbol y el capataz pudo cortar su cuerda y liberarse. Estaba tan asustado que no comió nada en el almuerzo. Dijo que no se iba a apresurar, ¡no vale la pena!
Posted 4-10-2014
Tree Top Too Close to Primary: I was given paper work in an area. When I was checking out the paperwork I noticed there was another foreman’s name on the paperwork and he had signed off the trees he had done but left a tree that was 5 inches from the power line. I was told by that foreman that he reported it to the GF. The GF told him, You get paid to cut trees like that, if you can’t do it I will find someone who can.” The tree was listed on 11/7/2013. Another foreman worked in the area on 1/10/2014 and left the tree burning in the primary over the weekend. I then got the paperwork on 1/15/2014, noticed the tree, reported it. My GF called the PG&E 1-800 number and got a line kill and went to work in removing the tree. Why couldn’t that be done the first time? There should be no reason not to have a line kill inside approach distance and be told by a GF to do it anyway.
La copa del árbol estaba muy cerca de la línea primaria: Me entregaron los papeles con la orden de trabajo. Cuando los estaba revisando, me di cuenta que los papeles tenían el nombre de otro capataz, y que él había firmado los árboles que había completado, pero dejó un árbol a 5 pulgadas (12.7 cm) de la línea eléctrica. Ese capataz me había dicho que el lo reportó al Capataz General (GF). El GF le dijo que Se te paga para que cortes los árboles así, si no lo puedes hacer encontraremos a alguien que sí lo pueda hacer.” El árbol estaba listado el 7 /noviembre/2013. Otro capataz trabajó en el área el 10/enero/2014 y dejó el árbol quemándose en la línea primaria todo el fin de semana. Luego me entregaron los papeles a mí el 15/enero/2014, me di cuenta del estado del árbol y lo reporté. Mi GF llamó al número 1–800 de PG&E y logró que desconectaran la línea y comenzó a trabajar para remover el árbol. ¿Por qué no se pudo hacer eso desde la primera vez? No debería haber ninguna razón para no solicitar la desconexión de una línea dentro de la distancia de acercamiento y ninguna razón para que el GF diga que hay que hacer el trabajo de cualquier manera.
Posted 4-10-2014
Cell Phone for Flashlight: There were crews working during a storm that did not have flash lights for their hardhats. Instead of flashlights at night they were using cell phones that had flashlights to shine on the work. The climber held a cell phone for the foreman to cut a tree. PG&E was not happy to see that happening with the tree crew.
Teléfono móvil como linterna: Unas cuadrillas que estaban trabajando durante una tormenta no tenían linternas en sus cascos. En la noche, en lugar de una linterna estaban usando los teléfonos móviles que tenían linterna para alumbrar el trabajo. El escalador le pasó un teléfono móvil al capataz para cortar un árbol. A PG&E no le gustó que eso estuviera pasando con la cuadrilla de podadores.
Posted 4-10-2014
Working Without Signs or Cones: Saw a crew working without signs or cones on the jobsite. The crew used the excuse that they were trying to keep production up. Not a good excuse.
Trabajo sin señalización ni conos: Observe a una cuadrilla trabajando sin ningún tipo de señalización ni conos en el sitio de trabajo. La excusa de la cuadrilla fue que estaban tratando de mantener un nivel alto de producción. No es una buena excusa.
Posted 4-10-2014
Power Company Inspected Crew: We went to work on power company property and while we were doing the work we were stopped by a company safety inspector. Our equipment was checked and we were shut down because our equipment was not up to par. Our fire extinguisher didn’t have labels, our hardhats didn’t have lanyards. We were told any equipment was to have a lanyard when in the air. The lanyard, body belt and saddle did not have a label you could read and we were told we weren’t supposed to use it. They also told us we didn’t have a spill kit . The inspector told us the inspection was for our safety and we could not do the work until everything was right.
Compañía de electricidad inspeccionó a la cuadrilla: Fuimos a trabajar en una área propiedad de la compañía de electricidad y mientras estábamos trabajando nos detuvo un inspector de seguridad de la compañía. Nos chequearon el equipo y nos hicieron detener la obra porque nuestro equipo no cumplía con las normas. Nuestro extinguidor de incendio no tenía etiquetas, nuestro cascos no tenían cordones. Nos dijeron que todos los equipos cuando están en el aire deben tener cordones. El cordón, el cinturón para el cuerpo y la silla no tenían etiquetas legibles y nos dijeron que no deberíamos usarlos. También nos dijeron que no teníamos un equipo para derrames. El inspector nos dijo que la inspección era por nuestra propia seguridad y que no podíamos continuar con el trabajo hasta que todo estuviera correcto.
Posted 4-1-2014
On Feb. 24, 2014 an Outside Line contractor using a contract helicopter performing external human load work had an inadvertent hook release while a lineman was being transported on the long line, dropping him into the back-up secondary device (Belly band). There were no injuries and the pilot returned the lineman and the aircraft to the ground safely. An investigation into the release was conducted and the initial report indicated that the release was due to a jam nut on the manual hook release loosened, allowing the release cable to come out of adjustment, resulting in the hook release. Further investigation into the release revealed the slack in the cable used on this type of manual release was slightly long to allow for side operations and as a result allowed the swedged fitting on the end of the cable to protrude past the cradling point for the fitting. If the end of the swedge fitting rest on the outside of the contact point it removes all free play in the cable and therefore there is no free play in the release mechanism which would allow the hook to open with very little effort, such as strain on the cable. Inspection of the cable is also very important due to the fact that the cable is a wearable item and must be replaced at any sign of damage, such as broken strands or kinks in the cable.
Posted 4-1-2014
On Dec. 13, 2013 an un-commanded release from a cargo hook carrying a cargo basket full of tools to the ground. No injuries were reported when the basket landed in an un-occupied salt marsh. Upon investigation it was determined that the strap used to connect the long line to the belly band as required when hauling human load was left swinging in the breeze when it was disconnected for hauling cargo. This allowed the unrestrained strap to slap several times against the release mechanism cable eventually causing it to open the hook and releasing the cargo. This was determined to be the cause as in the investigation the team was able to recreate the event and capture it on film. The remedy for this issue was easily corrected by restraining the disconnected strap from the belly band when flying cargo.
Posted 4-1-2014
A contract crew was working in the Fresno area foothills on a helicopter set pole. The pilot, with a contract helicopter company, came in rapidly with the pole swinging violently. The crew said that they tried repeatedly to wave the pilot off, but he kept on. The result was that he broke the pole top off of the old pole to be changed out, severely damaged both phases of 4 ACSR, missed by inches a contract crew member, who dove to the ground for cover fearing the pilot would release his load and nearly cross phased the primary down the hill beyond the open point. The pilot denies it was his fault and stated that it was the crew who guided him in. The crew was shook up but went on with their work. For this reason, they will be approximately 3 hours late on the go back affecting 3 customers. The contract crew is currently contacting other vendors, and if they cannot find someone else to fly, they said they will cancel the next day’s helicopter work.
Posted 4-1-2014
Below is another case where the wrong voltage transformer was called for and delivered. 7200/12000Y volt transformers instead of 12000 delta were called for on the job instruction and delivered. I say another case as this happened last year and also a few weeks ago to a General Construction crew. An incident was avoided in the circumstance below due to the crew following proper checking and verification procedures. Please make your crews aware to watch out for this:
A heads up. The transformers delivered for Schindler 1114 were the wrong primary voltage. The line is 12kv delta and we received 7.2/12Y pots. The crew followed proper procedures in testing voltage and rotation and caught the error before energizing the secondaries. We were able to wire the closed bank to provide good customer voltage. The inspector is bringing out the two transformers for the open bank. Crew instructions actually call for the incorrect transformers. A good reminder to always check voltage before connecting your secondaries.
Posted 3-6-14
Cargo Hook Failure: A contract crew using long line operations had a cargo hook on the helicopter they were using have an un-commanded release while transporting human load via long-line operations resulting in the contract lineman dropping into the secondary system (Belly Strap) as designed. No injuries were reported and the helicopter was removed from the property until a full investigation of the incident has been performed and corrective measures have been taken.
Posted 3-6-14
Anchor failure: The crew was setting a new pole. When pulling on the guy wire to transfer it to the new pole, the anchor broke and pulled out of the ground. The anchor had apparently penciled and grown weak over time. When the anchor gave way, the old pole swung toward the new pole. No equipment was damaged and no employees were hurt. It appears the anchor rod penciled over time and grew weak. When the crew pulled on the guy wire to transfer it to the new pole, it broke just beneath the surface of the ground. In order to prevent a recurrence, it is recommend that crews dig a few inches below the surface of the ground around each anchor rod to inspect for signs of decay prior to changing strain.
Posted 2-18-14
A climber was in a fir tree with limbs over the 12kV power lines. The climber climbed the tree and hung a block and rope in the tree and came down to the lowest limb, about 6 inches round by 30 feet long. He tied the rope about half way out on the limb. I noticed and felt that the rope was not tied far enough out but the climber thought it was good. The idea for the limb was to be pulled up and away from the lines but the climber did not clear a path for the limb to be pulled up. The climber told the two guys on the rope to pull. I noticed they did not have enough pull so I helped pull but I still felt like we didn’t have enough pull but by then it was too late and the climber cut the limb. The limb rolled and the tip of the limb dropped into one phase of the power lines and hung up hard on the lines. We were finally able to get the limb free from the line with no one hurt.
Un escalador se encontraba en un abeto cuyas ramas estaban sobre las líneas eléctricas de 12kV. El escalador subió al árbol y colgó un bloque y una cuerda en el árbol y luego descendió hasta la rama más baja que medía unos 15 cm (6 pulgadas) de diámetro y 9 metros (30 pies) de largo. Amarró la cuerda aproximadamente en la mitad de la rama. Yo me di cuenta y me pareció que la cuerda debería haber estado amarrada más hacia afuera de la rama, pero el escalador pensó que la distancia era la adecuada. El objetivo era que la rama fuera halada hacia arriba y lejos de las líneas eléctricas, pero el escalador no dejó el espacio libre necesario para que la rama pudiera ser halada hacia arriba. El escalador le dijo a sus dos compañeros que halaran la cuerda. Me di cuenta que no tenían suficiente fuerza para halar de manera que los ayudé, pero me pareció que todavía no teníamos suficiente fuerza para halar. Para entonces el escalador ya había cortado la rama. La rama rodó y la punta cayó sobre una de las fases de las líneas eléctricas y quedó colgada de las líneas. Finalmente logramos liberar la rama de las líneas eléctricas sin que nadie resultara herido.
Posted 2-18-14
Three crews were working to remove a pine tree. The crew hung a pull rope in the tree which was 90 feet tall by 32 inches DBH . The crew foreman and a climber tied the come-along rope to the redwood tree. I put the face cut in the tree and shut the saw to have the foreman and climber pull on the come along. As they pulled the rope the come along was on the knot slipped and the come along came undone. The climber tied a bowline knot but did not have a half hitch backer on the rope or an 18 foot tail. Luckily there was not a back cut on the tree. Close call for sure!
Tres cuadrillas estaban trabajando para quitar un pino. La cuadrilla colgó en el árbol una cuerda para halar. El árbol tenía 27.4 m (90 pies) de altura y un DAP de 81 cm (32 pulgadas). El capataz de la cuadrilla y un escalador amarraron la cuerda a la secoya. Yo realicé el corte transversal en el árbol y apagué la sierra para que el capataz y el escalador halaran la cuerda. A medida que halaban la cuerda, el cabrestante que estaba en el nudo se deslizó y se deshizo. El escalador ató un nudo de bolina pero no tenía un medio nudo de respaldo en la cuerda ni una cola de 5.5 m (18 pies). Afortunadamente el árbol no tenía un corte desde atrás. ¡Definitivamente un accidente potencial!
Posted 2-18-14
Two crews were working together on a removal of a pine. The pines DBH was about 18 inches and the height was about 45 feet. It had a lean down hill towards the power lines. We used a throw ball to put a rope in the tree so we could fall the whole tree. One of the foremen was ready to make his pie cut. He told the other employees to test pull on the rope to see how much tension they could put on the tree. When they pulled on the rope to test the tension the pine tree broke at the base and proceeded to fall with the lean towards the power lines. The tree was about 15 feet away from the lines but it did not reach the 12kv lines. It landed or leaned into the pole and luckily it bounced off the line and cross arm. This was a near miss. If someone would have climbed the tree I hate to think what would have happened to him. It could have been a very bad accident or death.
Dos cuadrillas se encontraban trabajando juntas para remover un pino. El DAP del pino era aproximadamente de 46 cm (18 pulgadas) y la altura de unos 13.7 m (45 pies). Estaba inclinado hacia abajo en la dirección de las líneas eléctricas. Utilizamos un peso con una bola para colocar una cuerda en el árbol para así poder derribar el árbol completo. Uno de los capataces estaba listo para hacer el corte tipo cuña. Le dijo a los otros empleados que probaran la tensión en la cuerda para ver cuánta tensión podía soportar el árbol. Cuando halaron la cuerda para probar la tensión, el pino se rompió por la base y cayó hacia las líneas eléctricas. El árbol estaba a unos 4.6 m (15 pies) de distancia, pero no alcanzó a tocar las líneas de 12kV. Cayó recostado sobre el poste y afortunadamente rebotó sobre la línea y el brazo transversal. Esto fue un accidente potencial. No me quiero ni imaginar qué hubiera pasado si alguien hubiera escalado el árbol. Hubiera podido ser un accidente grave o fatal.
Posted 2-18-14
On this day we were going to work at a location where we had to walk a few spans on the hill with the fire gear and all of our safety climbing gear when I slipped a few meters down a ravine with climbing gear, water pump and chainsaw. We had a lot of gear and we were told there was not enough trees to cover everyone at that location. It was not safe because there were not enough people to carry everything.
íbamos a trabajar en un lugar donde teníamos que caminar a través de varios vanos en las colinas, cargando nuestro equipo contra incendios y todo nuestro equipo de seguridad para escalar. Me resbalé hacia un barranco llevando el equipo de escalar, una bomba de agua y la sierra eléctrica. Teníamos muchos equipos y nos habían dicho que no había suficientes árboles para cubrir a todo los trabajadores en ese lugar. No era una situación segura porque no había suficientes personas para poder cargar todo.
Posted 2-18-14
We were working 2 crews or 4 persons removing some trees and the supervisor like always is with us to help or to force us. Whatever the case is that he has us work without regard for safety in the attempt to get ahead with the work exhibiting on occasion everyone present and if an individual refuses to do it he takes it personal saying we are not making our tree count, and many times by his decisions has been close to taking down the lines. Nothing has happened to date. Please attention in this.”
Estábamos trabajando 2 cuadrillas o 4 personas removiendo árboles y como siempre, el supervisor está con nosotros para ayudarnos o para obligarnos. En cualquier caso, nos hace trabajar sin tomar en cuenta la seguridad para avanzar el trabajo y demostrarlo delante de todos los presentes. Si una persona rehúsa hacerlo, lo toma como una afrenta personal y nos dice que no estamos cumpliendo con nuestra cuota de árboles. En muchas ocasiones sus decisiones casi han ocasionado la caída de las líneas. Hasta ahora no ha pasado nada. Por favor, presten atención a esta situación.”
Posted 1-8-14
Crew was preparing to spread #6 cu solid for new pole installation. Center phase was untied on tangent pole to be replaced and crew was preparing to move it to hot arm location. Before the move could be accomplished, the conductor separated approximately 200 feet north at the next pole. The conductor fell causing circuit to open as there was a non-test on the line due to the conductor size and large number of sleeves in all conductors. Crew had completed repairs to the first material failure, and then completed installation of new pole at the same location, transferred conductors and tied in. They then hung the transformer and cutouts and sagged the secondary conductor. The crew was then in the process of installing cut out jumpers to the line with ampac connectors when field phase conductor separated at the same pole as earlier conductor failure. The circuit recloser was again opened and cleared the line. Preliminary investigation found #6 cu solid conductor had failed at abandoned Kearney split bolt connector on adjacent pole. Abandoned connector was apparently originally used for tap line jumper that was adjacent and under identical connector. Apparent conductor fatigue determined due to penciling” of failed conductor end. Preliminary investigation points toward conductor fatigue on field phase at same location as #1 above. Only difference being this failure was an inch or two outside of over arm jumper Kearney connectors.
Posted 10-29-13
We got called out for storm damage where a large 36 dbh, 120 ft. tall pine tree had fallen. It had ripped down both 12kv lines and had a 2 inch phone line pinned to the ground. The phone line was under extreme tension. We tied the phone line off to a 3 dbh pine tree to hold the line down while we removed the fallen tree. We were going to release the rope slowly allowing the phone line to slowly raise it back up to its normal position. We started to remove the large pine and everything was going as planned. It then came time to make the final cut next to the phone line. The tree was cut about 2 feet past the phone line on one side and we started the final cut about 2 feet on the other side of the line. We cut about half way through and the tension transferred to the tie off rope as planned. As we got about 3/4 of the way through, the small tree that we tied off to suddenly was ripped out of the ground and the phone line flew violently into the air throwing the large chunk of tree into the air about 15 feet. It narrowly missed the saw operator and the truck that was parked about 30 feet away. There were other trees that we could have tied off to in that span, but we all assumed that the 3 dbh tree would hold. We learned a important lesson that day!
Posted 10-29-13
We were cutting brush to make a access road for the bucket truck to get to a tree. We were chipping the brush as we moved the truck in. There was a small pile of dead brush that looked like it was stacked there by someone a couple years prior. It was right in the road and we needed to move it. The worker walked over a grabbed the pile and dragged it to the chipper. He grabbed an armful and fed it into the chipper. Little did he know, there was a strand of barbed wire mixed in with the brush. As the brush went into the chipper the wire wrapped around the drum and was sucked into the chipper at a high rate of speed. The wire scraped the workers leg as it went by but only ripped his pants. He was very lucky. We always check the brush first now!
Posted 10-29-13
A tree crew driving down an interstate reported to the CHP call center that the driver of a panel truck with decals was speeding in a 55mph zone in excess of 80 miles an hour and weaving in and out of lanes without using turn signals. The crew gave a location and description of the vehicle to the highway patrol in the hope that a dangerous driver be taken off the road.
Posted 9-3-13
A crew was splicing some new 600 amp cable in a #7 box, preparing for a clearance that night. Also in the box was some properly barricaded hot 600 amp cable. At some point, with a lineman and apprentice in box, the hot cable blew and relayed a second time. There were no injuries and there is an on-going investigation into the incident and what caused the cable to fail.
Posted: 7-31-13
Report was that pad mounted CAT bank was scheduled to be installed at a Winery in Ceres. The company offered no training to employees. Also, according to the report meter shop was scheduled to change out primary CT’s at another location at the winery. A line crew was also working in a different location and did not know of the meter shop crew working. The disconnect leads were hard tapped to the distribution line and the meter shop was not aware of the need to ground protection at their work location, no lock-out tag out procedures were used and there was no map or grounding procedure followed and no tailboard prior to commencement of work.
Posted: 7-31-13
Crew was attempting to lift trailer with digger derrick to move trailer away from a bucket truck. Trailer had an 112kva transformer in the trailer at the time. Crew had attached winch line to trailer at pole tie down rest. While moving the trailer the pole rest broke slamming the pole to the ground and throwing pole rest into air. No one was injured. Crew reported that the best thing to do was empty the trailer of transformer and contents and connect winch line at a proper connection point.
Posted: 9-6-12
A near miss was recorded from a line crew while lifting a 750 lb. 50kva transformer. The crew was in the process of pulling the transformer from the pole using a steel Wilson gin. All of the work was being done by a journeyman climber on the pole. The crew had covered the 12kV primary above while making the lift when the winch line became very taut. The operator reported 1000 lbs. of pressure on the capstan pressure gauge. After several attempts to work the transformer from the pole the transformer came loose and was ejected from the pole an estimated 18”. The transformer remained attached to the fiber sling and winch line but the violent action shook the pole top and primary. The rubber cover prevented the equipment from coming in contact with the primary. The crew found that the transformer hanger had been flattened out preventing it from easily being lifted from the pole.
Posted: 9-6-12
A crew working maintenance on a 12kV UG radial line made phase to ground contact on a transformer case. A journeyman lineman in the process of doing a voltage test was pulling a capacitive test cap on an energized dead break elbow when the elbow became dislodged from the transformer bushing and fell onto the case of the transformer. The phase to ground contact caused a large arc flash and blew a single fuse at the termination pole. The remaining fuse caused a primary backfeed which kept the dead break elbow energized and the arc flash sustained. There were no injuries to the crew and an examination of the incident revealed that there were no spring bails installed on the elbow to keep it secured to the transformer bushing.
Posted: 9-6-12
While working on a scheduled outage a crew was performing maintenance on a UG 3 transformer radial run. The crew had first planned to de-energize the whole radial circuit but changed their minds and decided to keep the first transformer in the run energized. Switching was performed and the isolated cable was grounded. After the work was completed grounds were removed and two journeymen were positioned at the first transformer while the other crew members went to the termination pole to de-energize the line. For unknown reasons and against instructions the journeymen at the transformer removed the bushing dummy cap and plugged the energized cable into transformer. This caused a fuse to blow at the fuse pole. No injuries or damage to equipment occurred but the crew foreman reported it as a near miss because if under different circumstances the linemen did not follow procedures the result could have been catastrophic. The linemen at the transformer admitted that they did not understand the instructions.
Posted: 7-2-12
Energized Transmission Grounding Incident: It was reported to committee that a crew mistakenly applied personal protective grounds to an energized 69kV transmission line. According to the report the crew had tested the line de-energized with a Hastings voltage tester and applied the grounds causing the 69kV relay. No injuries were reported and the incident has been investigated and the supervisor involved. The crew claimed that the voltage tester failed to tone” that the line was energized causing them to mistakenly conclude that the line was de-energized.
Posted: 7-2-12
Primary Splice Failure: Contract crew was energizing a new run of primary cable in a man hole. When the foreman put the switch in the closed position to take rotation at the 3 pot bank he noticed he had no voltage. He then returned to the switch and noticed it was not closed all the way. He the reclosed the switch at this time it caused a fire in the man hole at the cable. After reviewing the man hole we discovered a failed primary splice. Upon further review the cable was 25kv to 15kv where the straight splice failed. The splice used was a 25 kv straight splice. This is the incorrect splice for this cable and caused a .09’’ difference on the 15kv side of the cable causing a path to ground and the cable to slow burn itself in the clear and not a complete fault. Upon review of the other work locations adjacent to this manhole three additional splices of the same nature where located and replaced.
Posted: 6-13-12
On May 4, 2012 a 480 volt circuit was inadvertently energized briefly while a crew was on the other end of the circuit at a power plant. The crew recognized the circuit as energized when a piece of equipment began working for approximately 90 seconds. This circuit was under a clearance and the breaker that was believed to become energized was Tagged out (No Lock) as per plant procedures. There were no injuries since the crew recognized that the equipment that started up was under clearance and stopped working. An investigation into the cause of this incident has taken place and report pending.
Posted: 3-6-12
On February 11, 2012 while performing a 1 ¼ inch valve change, a Gas Service Representative encountered problems with a valve changer. During the process of changing the 1 ¼ inch service valve, the rubber plug on the shaft tube extended above the riser causing gas to blow to atmosphere after the service valve was removed. The GSR was unable to reinsert the shaft tube to seal off the blowing gas. Due to the rubber plug being installed incorrectly, the service valve was not able to be reattached. 911, dispatch and a supervisor were called and immediately informed of the blowing gas. M&C Gas arrived on site to dig up the gas service and squeeze off the gas flow.
Posted: 1-30-12
Two employees were setting up to drill a hole for a ground support in the bottom of a circuit switcher control cabinet. The lead foreman told his crewman to wait until he had his low voltage gloves on before drilling the hole. The Lead was intending to hold a bundle of energized control wires out of the way so the hole could be drilled without damaging the wires. Either the crewman ignored or did not hear the lead and proceeded to drill the hole. The crew foreman yelled to the crewman to stop just as the drill nicked the insulation of one of the wires that supplies power to the cabinet heaters.
Potential For Injury:
The crewman could have received a small electrical shock or bound the drill causing an ergonomic injury.
Events Leading Up To:
Poor communication, Poor job planning.
Immediate Corrective Action:
Both the A/C and D/C circuits to the control cabinet were de-energized and there was enough slack in the first junction box to remove the effected portion of wire and re-attach the wire inside the cabinet.
Future Prevention/Elimination:
The crew discussed the proper use of three way communication to eliminate future related incidents from happening. They discussed how the HPI tools we are taught to use and if used properly can prevent possible injury or equipment damage.
Posted: 11-1-11
While delivering a load of material using the long line method from a helicopter, the pilot noticed some debris fly away in his peripheral vision when the helicopter main rotor blade contacted a small branch on a large pine tree. The pilot did not feel the contact and it did not affect the ship’s operation. The pilot had delivered a number of loads using a 150’ longline with 40’ slings and a manual snap eye. The operational conditions were as follows: the weather was clear, little or no wind, there were large trees at the site, the ground crew had radio communication with the ship, and completed tailboard with crews. The pilot had just placed the load and was waiting for the crew to hook the empty slings back on, when the ship drifted slightly to the left, contacting the small branch. The pilot then notified the crew by radio of a blade strike” and flew the ship to a designated landing zone. He shut the ship down and contacted his helicopter maintenance manager who instructed him to perform an inspection procedure on the helicopter main rotor blades. The pilot completed the inspection procedure, reported the results to the maintenance manager who cleared the pilot to resume flying. The pilot flew back to the jobsite where the pilot and the ground crew tailboarded the incident and on the work to be completed. The pilot completed thirteen more picks, with no further problems.
A structure erection crew was in the final stages of setting a Tubular Guyedí¢”š¬V (TGV) structure when one of the 7/8″ guy wires gave way, allowing the tower to twist in a counter clockwise direction. As the tower spun, the twisting motion allowed the guy wire to get tied up into the shackle release rope. Ultimately pulling the release shackle on the west side of the spreader bar, where the tension on the load line of the crane had just been “slacked off “to accommodate the plumbing of the structure. After the release shackle was pulled out, it let go of the sling that held the spreader bar on the west side of the arm. This allowed the tower to continue rotation counterclockwise until the entire load was suspended by the east side of the spreader bar. Once the weight shifted to that location, the crane rotated counterclockwise, sliding three of the outriggers off their pads. At that point, the operator remained calm and had the presence of mind to hold the swing brake on in order to keep the load from continuing to swing, thereby avoiding the potential of the structure to cause harm or damage. Before the incident occurred, the setting crew methodically stood up the tower without incident, and attached the four guy wires down to their respective anchors. The tower was plumbed with the use of “airline blocks” (4 part blocks) which are attached to the down guys and anchor attachments, with the fall line of the blocks being attached to the winches on the front of the crew trucks. In the process of plumbing the tower, the appropriate steel grip attaching the winch cable to the airline block “fall line” was sucked into the block causing the grip to be knocked off, once this happened the airline cable ran approximately 50′ of cable through the blocks until the eye hit the block. As the eye hit the block it created a shock G .. ., u p wave which transferred up to the grip on the 7/8″ down guy kicking it off the guy wire. Within a very short period of time the tower began the counterclockwise rotation previously described. After the load had safely settled, and the side load removed from the crane, the crew safely lowered the tower back to the ground, without injury or equipment damage. The crane has been inspected by the Crane Manufacturer as being safe to operate and no harm was done to the boom of the crane. Root Causeí¢”š¬ the near miss is due to the lack of attention to detail. With the grip nearing the blocks, the crew should have cut off the guy wire and lengthened out the blocks to avoid having the grip come into contact with the blocks.
Posted: 5-17-11
During an outage to replace a water leak in a power plant the water supply to a chemical lab needed to be shut off. To mitigate the issue of clearing the eye wash and drench showers to the lab that is required to be operational the company decided to bring in a temporary drench shower and plumb it into an operational water supply while work was performed. During a walkthrough of the facility by another employee it was discovered that the temporary shower was hooked up to a hot water supply line with the potential to deliver hot water (158%) to the drench shower if needed. Work was stopped until the supply line was transferred to a cold water supply line. The supply line used was also too small to deliver the required amount of water to the drench shower (20 gpm). No accidents or need to use the shower occurred during this outage however the potential of further injury and or inadequate measures to adequately deal with an exposure to employee were present.
Posted: 1-4-11
CableCom LLc was installing fiber optics in Angwin. What is significant is that one of their guys rode a PG&E secondary pole down till it hung up in some trees The pole was rotted off completely at base, tagged N (PG&E designation for rotten, not stubbable, replace). They were installing and wrapping fiber optics through trees. Pole held only communications and dead-end open wire 1/0 alum secondary with one service. Tag indicates it is scheduled for replacement, but likely low priority as inaccessible, only secondary, and in Angwin. I talked with CableCom foreman and his main concern was retrieving the binding tool left on the line, and somewhat relieved that no injury. I explained the meaning of the PG&E tags, as there are plenty on the hill that are rotten and it could happen again. Pole could have been climbed if supported, and I would hope that any lineman at PG&E would have seen the tag…of course, any lineman from anywhere should have had the self-preservatory instinct to support this pole.
A crew had energized wire come down while replacing a deadend bell. A journeyman and hot apprentice were in bucket preparing to change a deadend, when they thought the wire pulled through the tie on the adjacent pole. When they came up on the hoist a couple clicks the wire separated from a strain sleeve (nico pressed sleeve) at the other pole. The wire fell in between the secondary and phone hitting the ground at the base of the pole, it arced off of a stop sign briefly before the guys in the air cut it in the clear. It was discovered that a 1/0 sleeve was pressed on the 2 strand primary which caused the failure. No one was hurt during the incident.
Report of a tire blowout on a new trouble truck that had less than 7,000 miles on it. The tire brand was Continental. If anyone else has experienced a similar occurrence with this brand of tire let us know
While getting ready to pull old poles, crew had boom out and heard a thud on the ground. Evidently a large shackle which had been affixed to the upper part of the underside of the boom had fallen off its holding eye. After some brief investigation, it was revealed that the straight pin use in the shackle had a missing cotter pin. Luckily no personnel were injured.
On 4/27/10 I had a call to a car-pole accident. I arrived to find an aluminum street light pole with what I thought to be 120/240 volt street light heads. I was asked by the Fire Department to clear the wires so they could move the pole out of the street as this was a City of San Mateo pole. I found the energized wires clear of the pole and only had to cut the ground wire and tape the other ‘energized wires.’ I did not find any ‘high voltage’ signs on the splice box nearby or on the pole. I was surprised to find that this was a high voltage system when the city worker asked me to de-energize the R.O. (regulated output) circuit which can be 2400+ volts to ground. This is primary voltage, but it was not marked as such in this case. The box was just marked ‘Street Lights’, and not ‘High Voltage’. These voltage wires go right up into the street lights. This could be dangerous because it is not properly marked, and any worker could be mistaken into thinking he’s working with 120/240 volts when in fact he’s working with high voltage. If they’re not wearing proper PPE this could have negative consequences. Additionally, the splice boxes are not bolted down as they should be for high voltage conductors.
These lights are 100% owned and maintained by the City of San Mateo.
We keep saying that reporting near-misses can help us avoid similar hazards in the future. And now we have some evidence that near-miss reporting works!
A four man line crew was removing jumpers on the upper circuit on a 3-wire double dead-end pole. The pole also had a buck line feeding one way to a set of cutouts which were closed. The downstream side of the feed had all transformer fuses open to remove any load potential. The upper circuit was #6 solid copper and the lower buck wire was # 4 ACSR. Two journeymen were in a double bucket using 8-foot shotguns to open and transfer the wire into the clear.”
As the aluminum drop-on was being removed from the upper circuit the wire broke pulling the jumper wire into the lower circuit causing a ball of fire and blowing two upstream 80 amp fuses at the feed pole. Both linemen were uninjured and there was no other damage to company or customer property.
It was determined at a crew tailboard meeting shortly after the incident that there was one main cause for the accident. The drop-on clamp being removed was made of aluminum and although the #6 copper was line guarded a high resistance connection had developed causing the wire to degrade at the tap location. The lineman reported that the drop-on clamp was practically frozen onto the copper wire, but after some pressure it started to turn and then the wire broke. He also reported that there was no indication of any corrosion as the drop-on was covering the bad spot.” Our company policy long ago has prohibited the use of copper/aluminum combination drop-on connections, but in this case the construction was about 50 years old.
Approximately two weeks after this incident was reported in a department-wide near-miss discussion, a crew working storm damage encountered a similar incident in which a frozen” drop was caused by another corroded connection. In this case the crew cut out the tap with hot cutters and made repairs. The foreman of the crew said that he was glad the first near miss was reported. It increased awareness and helped avert another potential accident. Here it is: evidence that near-miss reports works!
Two linemen were in a double bucket truck while a troubleman was clearing the line. When the dispatcher opened an inertia switch, the switch exploded, energizing phone line where the two lineman were located. There were no injuries and the crew pulled off the job until they were 100% certain that the job could be done safely. There have been several failures of these switches recently, which led this committee to question administrative controls by the company until the problem is corrected. The manufacturer of the switch has identified the problem and has started a retrofitting existing switches that are suppose to eliminate the failures. It is advised to stay clear of these switches and anything that could be energized in the event of a failure until all switching is complete.
Two linemen were in a double bucket truck while a troubleman was clearing the line. When the dispatcher opened an inertia switch, the switch exploded, energizing phone line where the two lineman were located. There were no injuries and the crew pulled off the job until they were 100% certain that the job could be done safely. There have been several failures of these switches recently, which led this committee to question administrative controls by the company until the problem is corrected. The manufacturer of the switch has identified the problem and has started a retrofitting existing switches that are suppose to eliminate the failures. It is advised to stay clear of these switches and anything that could be energized in the event of a failure until all switching is complete.
Third party ran over a pad mount transformer. After the transformer was de-energized but before grounds were applied the supervisor on site ordered the tow truck driver to pull the vehicle off of the transformer. A warning to all should be given that if it is not grounded it’s not dead.
While working on and around a 1600A electrical panel, electricians had noticed that the main switch handle was broken. Since the spring in a 1600A panel is fairly strong, a pair of channel locks was being used to operate the switch. In the course doing their routine work, one of the electricians discovered that the metal that was exposed, underneath the broken insulated handle, was in fact directly connected to B phase of the panel. They tested it at full voltage.
So, the heads up here is that many of us in the electrical trade did not consider the parts of the handle in a main switch as being directly connected to live electrical buss. This case proves that assumption to be false. In this case, someone working on this panel, or a maintenance person coming in contact with this expose metal could have been injured.
Although it is not known what the age of this breaker is, it would be best to consider all parts of any breaker as energized until testing.
This is another reason to replace a breaker when there is any damage to the handle.
While performing the work in the course of connecting a large commercial customer, a utility service crew was testing and inspecting the newly connected conductors from the customer’s main panel to the service connection point.
The panel was a 3000A panel, with multiple compartments for the landing section, meter section, Main, and distribution circuit breakers.
By coincidence, the meter technician from the utility was there at the same time, doing his meter wiring for the current coils.
The service crew completed all of their tests, and everything proved to be phased and connected in a correct manner.
At the end of this process, just as the service crew was re-installing the panel covers, the meter technician noticed something in the rear of the panel that did not look right.
The service crew went to get a flashlight. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that a bag of connecting bolts for the panel had shifted during shipping. It had landed between the main buss bar of A phase and the back of the main board panel. It was a plastic bag, full of bolts, nuts, and washers. Although the plastic had worn through on many different places on the bag, none of the metal items in the bag had connected a path to the grounded panel cover in the back of the panel. Therefore, the continuity test had proved normal.
As the crew was attempting to free up the bag and remove it, the electricians arrived. They said, “So, that’s where that bag of bolts went. We assumed the factory never sent them, so we had to order another bag.”
This incident reveals why it is necessary to make a good visual inspection of any and all equipment. None of us can ever predict what kind of hazards that might be present, so expect the unexpected.
In this case, the plastic on this bag of bolts could have deteriorated over time with the increased temperature of the panel under load. Upon making contact with the grounded panel surface, it could have acted like a bomb, perhaps sending small metal fragments out in all directions. It is likely this would have been catastrophic, with devastating consequences for the customer power equipment. More important, a catastrophic event of this nature could cause injury or death to anyone in the vicinity.
Personnel at a Power Plant avoided a significant near miss. At approximately midnight on a Sunday morning a main bank “C” phase transformer, which is in the area just east of the turbine building at an elevation of 85′ exploded. The blast sent debris into the North side of the Administration Building through several windows as high up as the fifth floor. Although there is no mention of the safety hazard of this event from plant-wide communication, one employee wrote an AR (Action Request) re: the personnel safety issue and the need to evaluate the impact on personnel safety for those individuals on the North Eastern portion of the Admin Bldg. Significant injury was avoided solely due to the time of incident.
A 4-man crew was performing some switching to open up a loop system in correlation with the control center/and switching orders. The crew arrived at the job site and the switching orders called to open a parallel system at a set of down jumpers. The two journeyman linemen proceeded to remove the first jumper… with the hotline clamp in a grab-all stick the lineman proceeded to lift the hotline clamp. As the clamp was lifted a large arc grew from the wire to the newly lifted clamp, causing concern to the lineman who placed the jumper back in the original position and informed his foreman that something didn’t seem right, and to call the control center to verify regulations between the two stations were set. The control center confirmed that everything was in order to proceed with lifting at the jumpers. The lineman got back into position and lifted the clamp again only to experience a larger arc now jumping a gap of approximately 3-4 feet from the wire to the lifted clamp! The lineman again placed the jumper after not being able to break the arc with the 3-4 foot swing ability of the jumper. The crew decided to look for a safer way to open the load by mounting a set of cut-outs at a different location and opening it with a load break device. Once this was done a couple of customers asked what happened to their power and why it was disrupted? Further review of the situation revealed that the control center failed to notice an open point in the line causing the crew to drop load between the open cut-outs to an already existing open point. The jumpers lifted were breaking load and not indifference between the stations. (Posted August 20, 2008)
A troubleman while performing routine switching for load reasons was operating various overhead switches with permission of the control center. Arriving at a newly installed switch the troubleman proceeded to close the switch which unfortunately caused a large outage. Further investigation revealed that the newly installed switch was not properly terminated resulting in a phase to phase fault de-energizing two stations and many customers. The switch was not damaged and no injuries were reported. (Posted August 20, 2008)
While stringing in a new conductor for a 4 wire 12kV overhead line an apprentice lineman, in the process of catching off the first phase with a grip and a sling had removed a ground cable to better position the newly landed wire to allow for the next run to be pulled in. The apprentice was controlling the tail of the new phase so it wouldn’t flip around and possibly get into any energized equipment on the other side of the pole. Once he removed the ground lead he became in series with the line causing him to receive a shock. No injuries were reported from this incident. (Committees discussion regarding this incident is that we will post this as a near miss but this is considered an accident and should be reported as such. We are not sure of the severity of the shock but want to emphasize that medical evaluation and accident reporting with the employer should be done when the severity of a shock is enough that it could upset normal heart rhythm which could happen with secondary voltages.) (Posted August 20, 2008)