Lineworkers, especially those who deal with live electrical apparatus, use personal protective equipment (PPE) as protection against inadvertent contact. Schools throughout the United States offer a pre-apprentice lineman training program such as Southeast Lineman Training Center and Northwest Lineman College.Īmeren lineman practicing a utility pole rescue Apprentice linemen are trained in all types of work from operating equipment and climbing to proper techniques and safety standards. Live wire work on high voltage distribution systems within the UK and Australia is carried out by specialist teams.īecoming a lineworker usually involves starting as an apprentice and a four-year training program before becoming a "Journey Lineworker". Live wire work is common on low voltage distribution systems within the UK and Australia as all linesmen are trained to work 'live'. Isolated line work is only used for transmission-level voltages and sometimes for the higher distribution voltages. Such work is often done by helicopter by specially trained linemen. The lineman may still be electrocuted if he completes an electrical circuit, for example by handling both ends of a broken conductor. The lineman wears special conductive clothing that is connected to the live power line, at which point the line and the lineman are at the same potential, allowing the lineman to handle the wire. The lineman must be isolated from the ground. High voltage transmission lines can be worked live with proper setups. Such conditions are common in rural or mountainous areas that are inaccessible to trucks. These tasks may have to be performed with primitive manual tools where accessibility is limited. These duties include the use of ropes, knots, and lifting equipment. They may perform several tasks associated with power lines, including installation or replacement of distribution equipment such as capacitor banks, distribution transformers on poles, insulators and fuses. Power linemen work on electrically energized (live) and de-energized (dead) power lines. Lineman replacing a transformer, wearing protective gear, including rubber gloves and sleeves During the 1950s, some electric lines began to be installed in tunnels, expanding the scope of the work. Maintenance linemen mostly stayed in one place, although sometimes they were called to travel to assist repairs. This led to an increase in the number of linemen needed to maintain power distribution circuits and provide emergency repairs. The occupation evolved during the 1940s and 1950s with the expansion of residential electrification. Growth in this branch of linework declined after most railroads favored diesel over electric engines for replacement of steam engines. The occupation was lucrative at the time, but the hazards and the extensive travel limited its appeal.Ī brief drive to electrify some railroads on the East Coast of the US-led to the development of specialization of linemen who installed and maintained catenary overhead lines. They often lived in temporary camps set up near the project they were working on, or in boarding houses if the work was in a town or city, and relocating every few weeks or months. Many power linemen during that period traveled around the country following jobs as they became available in tower construction, substation construction, and wire stringing. The rural electrification drive during the New Deal led to a wide expansion in the number of jobs in the electric power industry. 5221 of the American Federation of Labor. The union movement in the United States was led by lineman Henry Miller, who in 1890 was elected president of the Electrical Wiremen and Linemen's Union, No. This also led to the establishment of apprenticeship programs and the establishment of more stringent safety standards, starting in the late 1930s. This led to the formation of labor organizations to represent the workers and advocate for their safety. Between the 1890s and the 1930s, line work was considered one of the most hazardous jobs. This new electrical power work was more hazardous than telegraph or telephone work because of the risk of electrocution. The term continued in use with the invention of the telephone in the 1870s and the beginning of electrification in the 1890s. The term lineman was used for those who set wooden poles and strung wire. Telegraph lines could be strung on trees, but wooden poles were quickly adopted as the preferred method. and Baltimore carrying the famous message of Samuel Morse, "What hath God wrought?" The first telegraph station was built in Chicago in 1848, by 1861 a web of lines spanned the United States and in 1868 the first permanent telegraph cable was successfully laid across the Atlantic Ocean. The occupation had begun in 1844 when the first telegraph wires were strung between Washington, D.C.
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