For the parents and loved ones of the students in Class 12, you’ll soon be hearing all about their new climbing gear and the correct procedure to inspect “hooks.” Strange phrases and unusual terms will become your new normal for the next eleven weeks, such as:
- The higher the voltage, the lower the amperage.
- Crew safety is discussed on a pre-job tailboard.
- Transmission and distribution systems.
- Delta and Wye transformer banks.
- “Inspect the spring breaks for cracks or damages, that they are secured properly, and no missing or loose hardware.”
You’ll hear how the whole class missed answering wire size questions and had to do sixteen climbs to atone for their mistakes. Climbs, by the way, involves everyone climbing to the top of their pole in the pole circle and back down to the ground. It takes considerable effort and grit to make that happen, and that’s why climbs are a great incentive for students to study!
Your loved one will call you with explanation of how a pole-top pin is installed and how wire is secured to an insulator with a Z-tie. How certain sized wire can carry more load than other wire. Why a neutral wire and a system ground are essential components of a safe Alternating-Current (AC) distribution system.
More than just the terms and how stuff is put together, the students learn critical safety information to mitigate hazards on the job and keep themselves safe. “This is not a dangerous trade; it is a hazardous trade, and hazards can be accounted for,” says ELTI owner Waylon Hasty. Before every outside job the entire class goes through a job-safety briefing, they inspect their equipment, and they make the area as safe as possible for the work they must do. They’ll learn:
- CPR Technique
- Proper AED Usage
- OHSA 10-Hour First Aid
- Essential Climbing Skills
- Flagging Traffic
- Pole-Top Rescue and Bucket Truck Rescue
This is an obscure trade, unless you were born into a generational line worker family. Stories about “going on storm,” and “working trouble,” and “scheduling an outage” don’t have much context if you weren’t born into this world.
The amazing part about the Elite Lineman Training Institute is that your loved ones will be prepared with the knowledge they need to stay safe, be comfortable with their equipment, and how to recognize hazardous situations. All while being under the guidance of instructors with well over one hundred years of experience working on the line.
