Boss working on spider lift during lightning storm

Rugged made
Wesspur
Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
R

Ryan@OTT

ArboristSite Lurker
Joined
May 24, 2015
Messages
40
Reaction score
29
Location
Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Hi all,
Little context...
I’ve done utilityline clearing for a few years, came back home opened a business, was very successful, and closed up shop (had enough to buy a house and was a little tired of the headaches), and got a job as an electrical designer ( had to try it, I went to school for it). I that good paying stable job, and got back into tree work last week.
So 9 years tree work, certified arborist for 6, and pretty good at tree work, great employee, can lead crews (which I’m doing currently).
I got a job with a local tree service...
The owner is a business man with balls, not an arborist. No one wears hard hats, chaps, etc, no training (obviously I wear all my PPE, hes ok with it, I supplied it).
He only uses a spider lift for tree work (basically all large removals).
I heard thunder today and it was raining so I came down to wait 20 minutes. Boss was off site letting me do the removal. When I told him this he came back to site around the 20 minute mark (thunder getting worse). Guy continued the removal for an hour... 6 lighting strikes in the immediate vicinity, and he did not come down! So fine, his life, his choice. But the lift is metal, with metal legs, sitting on metal plates, on the soaking wet ground. 8 employees standing around it while lighting cracks 80 feet away. I was terrified. Is this something you guys would discuss? Or is this just a culture that’s worth leaving as opposed to trying to explain how wrong that was?
I have several other offers from local companies (former competitors that respected me and my business), with certified arborists running the company.
Honestly would you just call and say that was BS and your done? Or would you try to reason with him knowing god damn well next time he’ll be right back up there?
Sorry about the rant I’m legitimately rattled at the stupidity I saw today, I almost hopped back in the basket when I heard he was coming back to site... could have killed me.
Am I out of bounds to say that’s bushleague and worth leaving?
 
JTM said:
Good for you. Anyone in that situation should be rattled.
Click to expand...
Thank you, and thanks for the support, it’s why I asked here. Funny when I told him I was quitting and why he just did not understand why I found the situation dangerous... in this city everyone with chainsaw calls themselves an arborist, it’s a shame we’re so behind the times.
 
Ryan@OTT said:
Thank you, and thanks for the support, it’s why I asked here. Funny when I told him I was quitting and why he just did not understand why I found the situation dangerous... in this city everyone with chainsaw calls themselves an arborist, it’s a shame we’re so behind the times.
Click to expand...

Those types of people end up dead or end up getting someone killed, I've been in a couple situations like that with my present employer and in my experience walking away is the best thing to do.
 
I’ll be honest I do feel like it’s his life, so if wants to endanger himself it’s stupid but it’s on him. It was the 4 new ground guys there on their first day, and the few employees he had that I was worried about. One of his regular groundman disappeared to rake because he understood the situation. I know I have an electrical background, but I don’t see how someone could be up there in a metal basket connected to an all metal machine and not see themselves as a lightning rod. Just mind boggling.
 
Around here PPL pits on some electrical demonstrations about the dangers of power lines. The use a hot dog in a "electricity insulated" glove. About 3 feet away from the line theres a big arc and you can smell the hot dog cooking in the glove. Made a believer out of me. Your former employer sounds like he needs to sit through one.
 
Ryan@OTT said:
Hi all,
Little context...
I’ve done utilityline clearing for a few years, came back home opened a business, was very successful, and closed up shop (had enough to buy a house and was a little tired of the headaches), and got a job as an electrical designer ( had to try it, I went to school for it). I that good paying stable job, and got back into tree work last week.
So 9 years tree work, certified arborist for 6, and pretty good at tree work, great employee, can lead crews (which I’m doing currently).
I got a job with a local tree service...
The owner is a business man with balls, not an arborist. No one wears hard hats, chaps, etc, no training (obviously I wear all my PPE, hes ok with it, I supplied it).
He only uses a spider lift for tree work (basically all large removals).
I heard thunder today and it was raining so I came down to wait 20 minutes. Boss was off site letting me do the removal. When I told him this he came back to site around the 20 minute mark (thunder getting worse). Guy continued the removal for an hour... 6 lighting strikes in the immediate vicinity, and he did not come down! So fine, his life, his choice. But the lift is metal, with metal legs, sitting on metal plates, on the soaking wet ground. 8 employees standing around it while lighting cracks 80 feet away. I was terrified. Is this something you guys would discuss? Or is this just a culture that’s worth leaving as opposed to trying to explain how wrong that was?
I have several other offers from local companies (former competitors that respected me and my business), with certified arborists running the company.
Honestly would you just call and say that was BS and your done? Or would you try to reason with him knowing god damn well next time he’ll be right back up there?
Sorry about the rant I’m legitimately rattled at the stupidity I saw today, I almost hopped back in the basket when I heard he was coming back to site... could have killed me.
Am I out of bounds to say that’s bushleague and worth leaving?
Click to expand...
Ryan@OTT said:
I’ll be honest I do feel like it’s his life, so if wants to endanger himself it’s stupid but it’s on him. It was the 4 new ground guys there on their first day, and the few employees he had that I was worried about. One of his regular groundman disappeared to rake because he understood the situation. I know I have an electrical background, but I don’t see how someone could be up there in a metal basket connected to an all metal machine and not see themselves as a lightning rod. Just mind boggling.
Click to expand...
Sounds like Hell! 4 new guys alone!
 
Ryan@OTT said:
I’ll be honest I do feel like it’s his life, so if wants to endanger himself it’s stupid but it’s on him. It was the 4 new ground guys there on their first day, and the few employees he had that I was worried about. One of his regular groundman disappeared to rake because he understood the situation. I know I have an electrical background, but I don’t see how someone could be up there in a metal basket connected to an all metal machine and not see themselves as a lightning rod. Just mind boggling.
Click to expand...

Not only was he on a lightning rod the tree presents other hazard's along with being a potential lightning rod, they can explode if struck. We had an oak get struck at work and a 8 inch diameter branch about 4 foot long flew around 25 feet from my stepoff measurement, and the bigger branches went 15 feet, the trunk and stump were just match sticks. You did the right thing by voicing your concerns about the situation. See something and say something. Those actions save lives and a lot of money.
 
See the worst part here is that I’ve been around, I’ve done line work, I’ve been shocked, I know how powerful even a little electricity can be, let alone lightning. What I found so upsetting was there was 4 unsuspecting guys just starting who had no idea the danger they were in. They weren’t even made aware of the risk they were taking for minimum wage. I was vocal about it, and let everyone know my thoughts. Ideally I’d have just told everyone to get out of there, I guess I chickened out, which is a shame because I never pegged myself as that type of person. What’s really sad is this cycle will continue, hopefully he stays lucky and doesn’t get anyone hurt (his attitude on the lightning was the same as with everything else). I’m positive he still thinks I quit because he thought I didn’t like him coming in upset that I didn’t finish the tree before the thunder and lightning. Tried to explain how lightning worked four times, just didn’t click.
 
To be on the safe side you should down tools once a lightning storm comes within 10 or so kilometres, one flash and you're ash, if you're lucky you might get belted a couple of times without being fryed.
 
find an employer that value's you, he obviously values profit over employee's.
first sign of thunder storm and we pack up till it passes, if i am off site i'll call the crew leader and tell them to pack it in for the day. we all have families at home and everyone wants to see them at the end of the day.
 
Possibly safer in the spiderlift. Possibly. Lightning will take the most direct route to ground, witch is the metal machine. If he's lucky, it might bypass him altogether.
 

Similar threads

G
Work for Insurance Claims.
Replies
3
Views
456
Del_
Del_
TreeAmigosAndrew
Hiring Experienced Tree Climbers in Austin, Texas
Replies
0
Views
443
TreeAmigosAndrew
TreeAmigosAndrew
S
Looking for Company with Bucket Trucks for Storm work outside Houston Texas
Replies
0
Views
254
Sackettrl
S
Moses Cooper
Hiring Crew Leader and Lead Climber in Durango, CO
Replies
1
Views
321
Emmanuel Orta
Emmanuel Orta
P
Looking for gig work in Asheville area.
Replies
0
Views
110
Peany
P

Latest posts

Back
Top