But it was just a hose.....

Being an electrical and utility contractor as well as the owner of an aerial lift facility gives me a unique perspective (and sometimes inner conflict but that's another story). This morning I viewed a post on Linkedin that depicted a bucket truck being used in a manner that it wasn't intended. While I started to comment on the public post, I stopped and thought back to a time when had just bought my first bucket truck (over 20 years ago) and did the exact same thing. I immediately stopped typing and decided to send the business owner a friendly email suggesting that probably wasn't a good marketing photo. 

So what the hell does any of this have to do with the gruesome picture above or the title of my post? "Intent". It's popular word this week as the media hashes over Hillary's email scandal. The poster of the picture this morning didn't intend to use his truck in a dangerous manner. He probably never thought about it because he'd seen it done before he even owned a truck. The owner of a bucket truck (similar to the one pictured above) didn't intend for someone to die when he sent the truck for repair BUT that's exactly what happened a few years ago in another part of the country. Let me be clear that I don't have intimate knowledge of what happened to the truck in the picture above (but I've got a pretty good idea) however I do have knowledge of a real life case of this that occurred a few years ago. 

It probably seemed innocent enough to the contractor. His bucket truck blew a hose. He brought it to a regular truck mechanic who makes hydraulic hoses. No big deal- right? Unfortunately it is. The mechanic replaced the non-conductive hose with a standard hydraulic hose. He then topped the system off with a standard hydraulic oil instead of the specified non-conductive oil that the manufacturer specified. 

Fast forward a year later when a Journeyman is working on a job. A nearby 120 volt service drop brushed the boom during positioning of the truck. A nick on one conductor was barely visible to the eye BUT when it contacted a slight drip of the conductive fluid- the conductive hose created a path to ground and an arc ignited the oil. The journeyman was trapped in a burning bucket and rather than burn to death- jumped out of the disabled bucket but unfortunately his injuries were fatal. 

Obviously this death was preventable. Had the contractor utilized a shop experienced in aerial lift equipment, the right hose and fluid would have been installed the first time. Had he followed proper OSHA/ANSI guidelines, he would have brought the truck in for mandatory annual inspection and testing which would have revealed the issue. (Even a concealed hose would have been cause to fail a dielectric test). Many times we hear from bucket truck owners "I don't do high voltage work, I only fix parking lot lights". The story above shows how it only takes incidental contact with a simple 120 volt circuit to cause death and destruction. This doesn't even begin to account for the mechanical and structural systems which need to be inspected and maintained regardless if the boom is insulated or non-insulated.

Keep your employees safe and avoid huge penalties from OSHA. Call Northeast Utility Equipment Repair (NUEQUIP) at (914) 909-6340 today to schedule your annual inspection.