Celebrating the Courage and Competition of the Line Trade
The International Lineman’s Rodeo and Exhibition takes place in my region each year and has truly become a fall tradition for my work family, as well as my immediate family. As we prepare to move all three of our children to college this year, I have found myself reminiscing about their childhood and realized I am thankful for the experiences my job at T&D World has given us.
Just like pumpkin patches and fall festivals, my children grew up going out to the rodeo grounds each year and marveling at the lineworkers at the top of the poles working quickly and safely on several different types of tasks. My two boys and girl have gone up in the Altec bucket truck, jumped in the bouncy houses, and even climbed a mini-pole one year they had set up just for kids.
I remember my first time ever attending an International Lineman’s Rodeo and Exhibition, I was so taken with the brotherhood and pride that all the competitors, judges and families had for what they do. It seems to really be a calling for most of them, and it made me proud to be part of a media brand that recognizes and serves this part of the power delivery industry. When I came back to T&D World after taking a hiatus with a different brand in the late 90s, the magazine featured an Electric Utility Operations special section, put together by our Field Editor Amy Fischbach, dedicated to celebrating the line trade and the men and women who keep the lights on. As digital content become more prevalent, we launched an enewsletter covering the life and work of lineworkers: Lineman Life. And now we have a weekly podcast called Line Life in which you will hear from people who are in the skies and in the trenches.
But as much “fun” as it has been for my family and me to be entertained by the rodeo competition and children’s area, there is always the realization that this is a dangerous job. It’s not an undercurrent of a feeling; it’s front and center, with safety being the #1 priority at the event. The International Lineman’s Rodeo Association starts the week with a safety conference where you will hear the sad and scary stories of accidents, but also stories of triumph. Each rodeo event has safety as part of the points evaluation.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2021, “electrical powerline installers and repairers” came in as the 10th most dangerous job. Out of those top 10 jobs, lineworkers came in at the second-highest average salary, just behind aircraft pilots and flight engineers. So, despite the danger, line work can be a high-paying, rewarding job. The most common fatal accidents were transportation incidents, as lineworkers travel to areas affected by storms and other disasters. The fact that the most common accident is from being on the road tells me that the safety training and processes for the actual line work are paying off. The risk is always high when working with electricity.
In 2012, one of our editors Paul Mauldin wrote about his experience in being called in as an expert witness to determine how an accident had happened that killed a lineworker. He said that the forensic evidence had indicated that the hydraulic coupling on the boom slid along the neutral, and somehow scraped off enough insulation from one of the phase wires to create a high current arc, melting the coupling and igniting the high-pressure stream of hydraulic fluid. Harnessed in the bucket, the worker was caught in the blast of a flame thrower and his clothes flashed into cinders. At that time, linework was in the top 10 most dangerous professions; we checked the ranking again in 2015 and updated the article. The editor cited 30 to 50 workers in every 100,000 as being killed on the job every year. That has decreased to 22 per 100,000 workers as reported by BLS in 2021.
Mauldin went on further to cite that lineworkers had twice the fatality rate of police officers and firefighters. One thing he wrote that I still appreciate: “When the television news cameras pan across the destruction [of a disaster], take a moment to remember the utility workers who are putting things together again and making life livable. And remember their families.”
This month, T&D World celebrates the line trade like we do every September with a special Lineworkers’ Supplement, mailed with the September issue. It’s that time of year when we look forward to covering the International Lineman’s Rodeo; the air is turning cooler, the leaves are changing color, and the line teams are getting prepared to converge on the Kansas City area for the “Super Bowl” of line work. We are proud of this year’s stories, written by our beloved Field Editor Amy Fischbach. I really enjoyed the feature on how lineworkers have made a difference in their communities and beyond. Also check out the article on lineworkers as inventors.
We also feature our other fall event in this issue, T&D World Live Conference and Exhibition. We are celebrating the third year of this event and are particularly proud to have three utilities hosting; Southern Company, Georgia Transmission Co. and Cobb EMC. This event is the “live” version of what we do in our pages and our website: give utilities a voice to share and learn. See you in Atlanta for T&D World Live and in KC for the rodeo!
