Linemen for Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E; San Francisco, California) suspend from helicopters and work on a 500-kV energized power line. The utility, which serves a 70,000-sq-mile service territory in California, has saved approximately $2 million in labor with this work practice during the first year.

PG&E has approximately 2000 climbing persons, but this work practice is confined to about 250 workers. Called “fliers,” these linemen and foremen attend training sessions ranging from half a day to a week, depending on the tasks they perform. Once they complete the training session, they earn a qualification card. Due to the adventurous nature of the work, PG&E doesn't have a problem finding linemen to work as fliers, and younger, less-experienced field workers often are the ones to take on the challenge. Many can't believe they are paid to do this type of work.

PG&E, which provides natural gas and electric service to 15 million customers, uses helicopters to transport line workers for three core reasons: worker ergonomics, cost savings and preservation of the environment. The following is an update on our two-year-old program and how it relates to our linemen in the field.

Improving Ergonomics in the Field

One of the principal reasons for moving to this work practice was to protect our line workers. Due to safety concerns, our utility eliminated free-hand climbing in 2005. It was a challenge to convince our field force to move in that direction, but we took a hard stance on this issue because our utility had about 10 injury reports per year as well as two fatalities in the last decade related to free-hand climbing of wood poles. Our linemen and foremen also put themselves at risk for repetitive motion injuries after climbing wood poles and steel structures for many years.

To improve the ergonomics and safety of our workers and to preserve the environment, we formed a special committee, which included members from PG&E management and the IBEW Local 1245 (“Airborne Innovation,” T&D World, April 2007 provides more information on this collaboration). We began talking about the possibility of using helicopters for overhead-line work about nine years ago. A few years later, we developed work procedures and met with the California Occupational Safety Health Administration standards board and the Federal Aviation Agency.

After gaining approval for our work practices, we began using helicopters to transport some of our linemen to the tops of wood poles and steel towers, which reduces the possibility of a fall or repetitive injury.

Since we first began using helicopters two years ago, our committee has worked closely with the line workers to evolve our work practices. For example, we're testing a resting device that will allow workers to rest on the conductors on which they are working. The helicopter will place slack in the rope, which will prevent our workers from bobbing up and down. We also modified our “sky chairs” by adding a foot rest, which prevents our workers' legs from falling asleep. Previously, without the foot rest, they hung straight down. We also have upgraded our helicopter helmets by adding a flexible brim to keep the sunlight out of our workers' eyes.

In addition, PG&E has modified one of the work practices to mandate that a helicopter stay a safe distance away from the conductor or structure. To make sure that the helicopter has an approach distance of at least 10 ft, the rope has a red mark at the 10-ft point above the workers. On each job, one or two linemen work suspended below the helicopter. Each project also has a person on the ground who is in charge of each helicopter operation; this individual is similar to a pit boss in a NASCAR race. He or she calls all the shots, looks for obstacles such as trees and evaluates the weather conditions. This lead person identifies any hazards upfront and is in constant communication with the workers and helicopter pilot, continually scoping the work site to mitigate any risks on the project.

Saving Money and Increasing Efficiency

By using helicopters, our linemen are able to cover more ground in a shorter amount of time, which translates into significant savings for our utility. For example, we had one crew of two journeymen, an apprentice and a crew foreman who were able to access 120 locations in two work days. That same job from the ground would have taken two to three weeks for a six- or seven-person crew.

Even factoring in the cost of the helicopters, our utility still saves both time and money with this work practice. If we did this the traditional way, we would have to drive to every location and de-energize the line. We would also have to notify the customers weeks in advance. No one wants their power shut off, and there is a cost associated with notifying customers. We would also need to have switchmen in the field transferring load and clearing the lines, and the operations center would need to write the clearance tags.

If we're going to do one or two tasks, then our linemen work on energized lines, but if they have to work on reconditioning a half mile of a line, it's more efficient to work on a de-energized line.

Treading Lightly

In addition to saving money, this work practice also helps to preserve the environment. As any lineman knows, driving a 40,000-lb line truck in four-wheel-drive through open land can leave ruts and disturb wildlife. By flying our linemen to the tops of towers, we can do all the work that we could do if we had a bucket truck in that location. This is especially important in areas with protected species of plants and wildlife.

Last spring, we successfully completed a project from an environmental perspective. A landslide affected our facility, and a bald eagle was nesting in the area. If we had driven a fleet of line trucks into the area, we would have surely frightened the eagle away. By flying to the location, going around the eagle, and reaching the back side of the project, we didn't disturb the eagle.

On another project, a landslide impacted two of our towers, and we were tasked with constructing a temporary facility in a pristine forest near a river canyon. While the linemen had to bring in some equipment and vehicles on the ground, they significantly reduced the number of necessary vehicles with the helicopter work practice.

Using helicopters has become an accepted practice for our utility. On any given day, four or five helicopters fly our linemen and tools and equipment to one of our transmission towers or sites. Other utilities have also started to take notice both in the United States and internationally. By using helicopters, we have improved the ergonomics of our linemen, saved time and money, and preserved the environment.

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John Parks has spent 30 years in the utility industry. He began with Pacific Gas & Electric as a groundman and, in 1982, he began his apprenticeship. For the past 15 years, he has worked in various management roles such as a first line supervisor. He now serves as the electric transmission maintenance and construction superintendent.
jlpd@pge.com

EYE ON SAFETY

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) has an overarching injury and illness prevention program that provides guidelines for working safely on overhead and underground facilities. Here are four ways in which PG&E is keeping linemen safe in the field:

1. Whether linemen are working on a de-energized or live line, they need to make sure they wear their personal protective equipment. Our linemen wear natural-fiber clothing (which is more fire retardant), rubber protective equipment as required, hard hats, and safety glasses or goggles. Our linemen also use protective equipment such as rubber to cover exposed conductors and/or parts.

2. Like most utilities, we extensively use aerial lift vehicles to elevate our workers to their work position, which adds the extra isolation from grounded surfaces and also provides excellent ergonomic benefits for our workers.

3. Our utility works with the linemen out in the field to develop safety manuals for grounding, working on underground infrastructure and helicopter safety. Linemen have five or six manuals at their disposal, which they can refer to for various work procedures or when they're on an emergency restoration job.

4. To protect our linemen working in underground installations, we try to keep on top of the latest technology and work closely with our product providers.