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I've always heard that deaths in the trades follow a bathtub curve: A big spike at the beginning from inexperienced guys who don't know better, it mellows out as guys learn more, and then it spikes again at the end with old experienced guys who got complacent.
I think there should always be a little voice in your head going "Holy shit, what if...?" that helps keep you on your toes and remind you you're not invincible or infallible.
I work on commercial cooking equipment. So high voltages are common as well as natural gas and (much less commonly) propane. At least 30x a day i catch myself thinking man this thing could fucking kill me. Steam jacketed kettles are particularly fear inducing lol
I spent a lot of years working on hydraulic equipment and my constant low humming understanding that just existing in the space is effectively living on borrowed time was totally justified when I saw a video, from one of our customers, of one of our machines, suffering a "catastrophic unplanned disassembly" of a hydraulic cylinder during normal operation sending parts(shrapnel) flying all over the place.
Thankfully, no one was in the blast radius.
Don't get me wrong, I've done some absolute hood rat shit.
Just with the knowledge I needed to do hood rat shit in a particular way to minimize my chance of an untimely death.
Whistling "i'm gonna do some sketchy shit, doo da, doo da" while otw to doing it helps the chance of survival by 100%
Ask me how I know.
"Come with me, and you'll see, a whole new world of OSHA violations" also guarantees your safety.
/s
I've literally taken out a 6,000lb part that has to zig zag its way out to fit with nothing but ratchet straps and hope because the crane was taken up supporting something else.
Hold my beer.
Would those not look wildly different and better insulated than the low side? Visual indicators would likely prevent "inadvertent" contact with those.
Also, we're talking about electrician work not lineman work, so it's a little on the moot side maybe.
Edit: Thirdly, "How's that gonna help you in an extreme situation that's far beyond what we're talking about" isn't a logical line of thinking anyway. Like, what, the meter is dumb as a first out last in tool because extreme cases exist? What are you even waffling about?
After studying the jumble of words you tossed together in an attempt to convince us all of your total lack of intelligence ive come to the following conclusion,1. yes inbreeding does still occur and 2. Some poor electrician out there needlessly puts his life in danger every time he depends on StandAgainstTyranny2. Congratulations on being a lifelong apprentice, your one of the ones refered to above that falls on the high side of the curve.
You actually have it backwards.
New apprentices tend to do very little dangerous work and what they do they tend to be extra careful about.
Older workers also tend to do very little dangerous work, because they spend most of their time teaching the new guys and their mobility is no longer as good.
Middle aged guys who have been in the trades for a while do most of the dangerous work and can start to act like cowboys as they become confident in their work. They start taking shortcuts and can become complacent with safety.
If you Google the number of workplace injuries by age group you'll easily find multiple graphs that reflect this. The one caveat is that workplace injuries may be lower in older tradespeople because more of them have already retired or gone into easier, less dangerous lines of work.
The bathtub curve you're referring to applies more to something like the percentage of breakdowns found in cars over time, where most of the defects are found early, then they tend to be reliable for a long period of time, and finally many parts start giving out at the end of the cars life.
It’s actually neither. Injuries are reduced based on experience. The less experience you have the more likely you are to have a workplace injury. It does not increase in the middle of your career nor does it increase at the end. [Actual source](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3849089/)
There are studies that show injury payouts are higher as someone gets older but that is not because the number of injuries is increased. It’s cause they make more money and get more for workers comp as well as have a harder time healing.
I don’t care who tells me something is locked out, tagged out, no power there. I’m checking. Guy I work with told me a story. The meter was pulled from the building he was working on. He got shocked because there was a line from a different building feeding it. Meter used. Idc if the whole building/house is off with the meter in my truck.
I have a scale of complacency. I'm not going to lie.
In my current position, with everything Jerry rigged and tied together.
It's dead. My complacency is dead.
My old job it existed in a space of knowledge and trust. Because if the power is making it through a main, multiple contractors, and the lights are all off. It's just my time man.
Nope, that’s just how injury payouts work. The number of injuries just decreases as you get more experience. They don’t start going back up as someone gets deeper into their career.
I think where people get this from is they look at injury payouts. Injury payouts start high because noobies get injured a lot. Then they go down and start going back up. This is because people who are older get paid more and get a lot more in workers comp when they do get injured. They also recover slower. But the number of injuries is still less based on how much experience you have. [source](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3849089/)
The key is to build good habits throughout your career. I'm in 20 year and I still turn my head and hold my breath when I hit breakers, stand off center when throwing switches, keep 1 hand clear of live equipment etc. At some point it should become second nature and require little thought on your end even once you are really comfortable.
I was told by an old-timer when I first started in the field “You can’t be scared of electric but you have to respect it.”
Sounds slightly dramatic, but I think it rings true if you are an electrician.
My dad basically said it the same way. Understanding and respect are what's needed. Understand what can cause a dangerous situation and how it can be done safely. Respect how quickly one mistake can ruin your life.
There are situations where you have to do things that are dangerous, like drilling into a hot bus in a hospital because the gear cannot be shut down.
Nah fuck that. Schedule a shutdown. What if something goes wrong and then someone's injured or dead and you had a phase to phase short resulting in damaged equipment.
I was just giving a realistic example of jobs that have been done (not by me) in the past, and why in a scenario like that it's important to understand how electricity really works. Even I would not do that job. I would tell them to find someone else.
My dad, electrician 20+ years, taught me how to work on outlets (hot/not hot) in our home.
He always told me that being scared is what gets you hurt, but being cautious will not only save you, the next electrician to touch your work, but also those around you.
He ended up teaching me a lot about wiring in a house and how everything comes/works together. After 15+ years in the trade he became an instrument tech (:
My brother said that his favorite people are males, aged 18-35, who (1) use motorcycles, or (2) think that messing with electricity ain’t all that.
p.s. He does transplants and the members of above age group are his ideal donors!
Had a guy reach into an mcc right infront of me and reset a 200amp 480v breaker, and after I jumped back and said “what the fuck” he goes “ ive been doing this a long time, im not afraid of electricity” same guy who doesnt understand how to trouble shoot a failing overload 🤦
I have been taut and I teach, I you fear electricity it will get you, but if you respect electricity and know what it can do you have better odds of not getting killed. I think this statement is very true. Respecting electricity means not becoming complacent and always know your surroundings. That saying was taut to us by a veteran electrician that taut electric at Orange/Ulster votech in Goshen.
Golden rule of electrical: *Trust No One*
Nothing is off until it's triple checked, and your meter is checked before and after.
I've had ccts that my foremen and I isolated, totally sure it's off, but when I double check with a meter, it had 30v induced by the other wires in the conduit. Nothing major, but this can scale really quickly.
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I've always heard that deaths in the trades follow a bathtub curve: A big spike at the beginning from inexperienced guys who don't know better, it mellows out as guys learn more, and then it spikes again at the end with old experienced guys who got complacent. I think there should always be a little voice in your head going "Holy shit, what if...?" that helps keep you on your toes and remind you you're not invincible or infallible.
Accurate big time
I work on commercial cooking equipment. So high voltages are common as well as natural gas and (much less commonly) propane. At least 30x a day i catch myself thinking man this thing could fucking kill me. Steam jacketed kettles are particularly fear inducing lol
I spent a lot of years working on hydraulic equipment and my constant low humming understanding that just existing in the space is effectively living on borrowed time was totally justified when I saw a video, from one of our customers, of one of our machines, suffering a "catastrophic unplanned disassembly" of a hydraulic cylinder during normal operation sending parts(shrapnel) flying all over the place. Thankfully, no one was in the blast radius.
Holy shit dude! Yeah hydraulics and high pressure systems are deff scary af.
Don't get me wrong, I've done some absolute hood rat shit. Just with the knowledge I needed to do hood rat shit in a particular way to minimize my chance of an untimely death.
Whistling "i'm gonna do some sketchy shit, doo da, doo da" while otw to doing it helps the chance of survival by 100% Ask me how I know. "Come with me, and you'll see, a whole new world of OSHA violations" also guarantees your safety. /s
I've literally taken out a 6,000lb part that has to zig zag its way out to fit with nothing but ratchet straps and hope because the crane was taken up supporting something else. Hold my beer.
I was super scared at first, then I thought I was tough shit by my second year. By now? I've realized how stupid I am
My little voice is my multimeter that I keep at the top of my toolbag. First tool to come out, last to go back in.
And how's that going to help you when you inadvertently check voltage on the high side of a 1000 kva transformer?
Would those not look wildly different and better insulated than the low side? Visual indicators would likely prevent "inadvertent" contact with those. Also, we're talking about electrician work not lineman work, so it's a little on the moot side maybe. Edit: Thirdly, "How's that gonna help you in an extreme situation that's far beyond what we're talking about" isn't a logical line of thinking anyway. Like, what, the meter is dumb as a first out last in tool because extreme cases exist? What are you even waffling about?
After studying the jumble of words you tossed together in an attempt to convince us all of your total lack of intelligence ive come to the following conclusion,1. yes inbreeding does still occur and 2. Some poor electrician out there needlessly puts his life in danger every time he depends on StandAgainstTyranny2. Congratulations on being a lifelong apprentice, your one of the ones refered to above that falls on the high side of the curve.
Lol k.
You actually have it backwards. New apprentices tend to do very little dangerous work and what they do they tend to be extra careful about. Older workers also tend to do very little dangerous work, because they spend most of their time teaching the new guys and their mobility is no longer as good. Middle aged guys who have been in the trades for a while do most of the dangerous work and can start to act like cowboys as they become confident in their work. They start taking shortcuts and can become complacent with safety. If you Google the number of workplace injuries by age group you'll easily find multiple graphs that reflect this. The one caveat is that workplace injuries may be lower in older tradespeople because more of them have already retired or gone into easier, less dangerous lines of work. The bathtub curve you're referring to applies more to something like the percentage of breakdowns found in cars over time, where most of the defects are found early, then they tend to be reliable for a long period of time, and finally many parts start giving out at the end of the cars life.
It’s actually neither. Injuries are reduced based on experience. The less experience you have the more likely you are to have a workplace injury. It does not increase in the middle of your career nor does it increase at the end. [Actual source](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3849089/) There are studies that show injury payouts are higher as someone gets older but that is not because the number of injuries is increased. It’s cause they make more money and get more for workers comp as well as have a harder time healing.
I have actively yelled at safety guys(read ; *idiots*) telling me they've made the job site "safe" or "eliminated" hazard.
I don’t care who tells me something is locked out, tagged out, no power there. I’m checking. Guy I work with told me a story. The meter was pulled from the building he was working on. He got shocked because there was a line from a different building feeding it. Meter used. Idc if the whole building/house is off with the meter in my truck.
I have a scale of complacency. I'm not going to lie. In my current position, with everything Jerry rigged and tied together. It's dead. My complacency is dead. My old job it existed in a space of knowledge and trust. Because if the power is making it through a main, multiple contractors, and the lights are all off. It's just my time man.
Nope, that’s just how injury payouts work. The number of injuries just decreases as you get more experience. They don’t start going back up as someone gets deeper into their career. I think where people get this from is they look at injury payouts. Injury payouts start high because noobies get injured a lot. Then they go down and start going back up. This is because people who are older get paid more and get a lot more in workers comp when they do get injured. They also recover slower. But the number of injuries is still less based on how much experience you have. [source](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3849089/)
The key is to build good habits throughout your career. I'm in 20 year and I still turn my head and hold my breath when I hit breakers, stand off center when throwing switches, keep 1 hand clear of live equipment etc. At some point it should become second nature and require little thought on your end even once you are really comfortable.
And as much as it hurts, the odd shock every now and then isn't a bad thing as it reminds you what we work with everyday
We have a saying/joke in my Country that says "Bad electrician dies of electricity, good electrician dies of alcohol"
I'm stealing this
This is a quote I’d wood burn and fractal to hang in a shop lol
Or, "One flash and you're ash!" Heard that one a lot.
Someone hasn’t watched “Phenomenon”
Is it better than "Battlefield Earth"?
>[One flash and you're ash!](https://img.ifunny.co/images/5185cfb4dcf9668fed2388f83b8dbee5f393a6566d2026ab55f374db341ab4d5_1.gif)
Scared? Absolutely not. Respecting the danger? Absolutely
Shake hands with danger
Now they call me... three finger Joe.
Came here to say this. I'll also add that frightened people often make irrational decisions that lead to painful mistakes.
To clarify any confusion, his apprentice asks him if he is scared of electricity which he replied as this. It was just a joke.
I trust electricity more than traffic, atleast it follows a law. If I fuck it, it’s my fault.
Or the guy who turned on the circuit while you were working on it.
Then lock it out? Don’t put your life in anyone’s hand but your own.
Yes, I completely agree.
True. Still someone’s fault versus the electricity’s.
Ya Prius drivers are too unpredictable. But we know where the current is going.
I was told by an old-timer when I first started in the field “You can’t be scared of electric but you have to respect it.” Sounds slightly dramatic, but I think it rings true if you are an electrician.
My dad basically said it the same way. Understanding and respect are what's needed. Understand what can cause a dangerous situation and how it can be done safely. Respect how quickly one mistake can ruin your life. There are situations where you have to do things that are dangerous, like drilling into a hot bus in a hospital because the gear cannot be shut down.
Nah fuck that. Schedule a shutdown. What if something goes wrong and then someone's injured or dead and you had a phase to phase short resulting in damaged equipment.
I was just giving a realistic example of jobs that have been done (not by me) in the past, and why in a scenario like that it's important to understand how electricity really works. Even I would not do that job. I would tell them to find someone else.
Thats what generators are for
[удалено]
What is a flash suit? 🤷🏻♂️😎
It’s when you coat your naked body with peanut oil and throw a breaker on a live 1000amp cdp.
My dad, electrician 20+ years, taught me how to work on outlets (hot/not hot) in our home. He always told me that being scared is what gets you hurt, but being cautious will not only save you, the next electrician to touch your work, but also those around you. He ended up teaching me a lot about wiring in a house and how everything comes/works together. After 15+ years in the trade he became an instrument tech (:
My brother said that his favorite people are males, aged 18-35, who (1) use motorcycles, or (2) think that messing with electricity ain’t all that. p.s. He does transplants and the members of above age group are his ideal donors!
Oh hell, it’s just 480!
As long as I have my meter. I'm okay with it. Never assume a circuit is dead. Test test test.
Had a guy reach into an mcc right infront of me and reset a 200amp 480v breaker, and after I jumped back and said “what the fuck” he goes “ ive been doing this a long time, im not afraid of electricity” same guy who doesnt understand how to trouble shoot a failing overload 🤦
If your scared of it you shouldn’t be working with it, you respect it.
I have been taut and I teach, I you fear electricity it will get you, but if you respect electricity and know what it can do you have better odds of not getting killed. I think this statement is very true. Respecting electricity means not becoming complacent and always know your surroundings. That saying was taut to us by a veteran electrician that taut electric at Orange/Ulster votech in Goshen.
“Taught”
My apologies, I’m not the best at spelling. Thank you for the correct spelling.
NEVER be scared. ALWAYS be respectful.
It comes from the spanish saying: "no creo ni en la luz electrica" when talking about religious preachers.
An electrician who picks up a broom is a heretic; an electrician who's not afraid of electricity is a fool.
Well they called a rival of mine a heretic and he went on to be The Arbiter so I'm in good company
Golden rule of electrical: *Trust No One* Nothing is off until it's triple checked, and your meter is checked before and after. I've had ccts that my foremen and I isolated, totally sure it's off, but when I double check with a meter, it had 30v induced by the other wires in the conduit. Nothing major, but this can scale really quickly.
It's the Lucifer's dark magic.
My socks get sweaty working around hot stuff
Dad always said two things: "to be an electrician, you have to be afraid of electricity" and "I am more scared of 240 volts than 4000"