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I currently run six crews, some two man and some three man, the safety risk in my area of practice dictates a two man crew. Most of my work is in urban or suburban areas with heavy traffic and includes as-builts under heavy traffic. We work state wide, mostly in congested areas because most of what we do turns into construction with tare down and reconstruction of lots that will be subdivided for residential or commercial purposes.
The three man crews are for training and development purposes. It’s easy for us to absorb the costs because we make it up on the design and layout end.
That is a drawback. Maybe a smart watch. Some with pulse or other health monitors could notify a contact.
Maybe a smart watch. Some with pulse or other health monitors could notify a contact.
The first place I worked gave me kind of a hockey puck shaped gadget that had a button on it that I could hold that would call emergency services, generate a google earth location for me and send it to both them and my supervisor. I could also tap the button to send an “I’m OK” message to the supervisor. heh I carried it on one project that was fairly rural, but didn’t end up needing to use it.
Ok Riddle Me this Batman. How can we call someone an individual a Party Chief or Crew Chief or say we run a 1 man crew. Cre is more than 1. A group. Party for Party chief again was for a survey party a crew a group of people that made up the team .
I have been out on my own in some places that I was old enough and smart enough to know I shouldn’t be doing this completely solo for safety reasons. Some jobs yeah I have no issues with it at all.
My 2nd major project a few years back when I started part time again surveying on this side of the house was mapping a slope on the James River. The main crew chief refused to even go to the site because of what was asked of us. I showed up the cad tech and the LS The LS had a box full of ropes and brakes so I fast roped off the side because no way one could walk or crawl to steep. But we had safety measures in place and gear and I had previous experience using it. The next time out to finish the main crew chief came and helped drag my fat rump back up and help with keeping the ropes from getting tangled . I know in my younger days I had no fear and had done that type of stuff before without proper training out in Colorado. Fast forward to this few years ago my military training kicked in and I went through all the cks . I even found a nice 5ft drop to test the e brake on that set up. Well just as I jumped the bank gave away and I looked like a dusty old dog. Thank goodness the LS was on his game as he helped keep me from hitting to hard. We all had a good laugh after I caught my wind and got things situated correctly again. Now days many company are sending out a solo operators to jobs that probably are risky. Safety wise and from a surveying perspective as well. I mean two people will have better odds of identifying and seeing things on a site that might can be missed by just one . I do think though that the ability to take today’s equipment with a seasoned crew chief and a greenhorn has great potential for the future of the profession. You can talk ask questions the crew chief can walk right beside a new person and begin to teach the software as well as the why we do this look at that we need to collect some data here . Time in the truck mentoring. It not only provides for the greenhorn but also helps the seasoned person to fine tune and learn leadership traits management of people traits . Personal skills etc. So that in itself is good for the profession and most any business.
Now I would love to get my license and hang a shingle and just have a dozen or so young folks to work with me before I kick the bucket just passing on what little I know and encouraging those who want to be licensed to do this do that read this read that. I learn way more about a subject by teaching then not. However I have a bit to go before mastering the boundary aspect so we will see as I study and get ready for the last exam. But then I know I still will have a ways to go even then.
No offense intended, but there was absolutely no reason to repel in or out. The risks are too high on a safety level for untrained and certified people doing the rope work.
The two better routes would have been to have the area flown by conventional means or employing a down, which is rapidly becoming standard practice.
Your PLS and PC running ropes and pullies increases the liability risk in a huge way, just things for you to consider down the road to assuming the leadership position. When you assume that position, use the same techniques and things go wrong under a seemingly simple situation, aside from your injured or dead employee, guess who bites the liability bullet.
It depends on the individuals. My father spent most of his logging career working solo with his few injuries occurring while working with others. I remember him and a good friend reminiscing about being, “Timmy trained.” Their boss’s brother was hired onto their crew and he was a dangerous fool that should never been given anything sharper than a wooden spoon and certainly not a Timberjack 450 and chainsaw. In a single winter, Timmy backed his skidder into two parked trucks totaling one of them, destroyed three chainsaws, and finally managed to cut half his foot off. Timmy nearly killed my father by cutting through the hinge of a large white pine, causing it spin on the stump and come crashing down on Dad while he was limbing in an area Timmy wasn’t supposed to be working in. Timmy’s stupidity and carelessness made him unpredictable which in turn made it nearly impossible to work safely around him.
I agree that it’s generally safer to have a two-man crew, but not if one of the members is careless or not intelligent enough to recognize hazards.
I have worked and learned and enjoyed working on both one and two person crews.
One thing I like about working alone is that I do not need to keep another set of hands working to fully utilize all assets. While input and collaboration can be helpful, I often am able to focus and develop an approach a little better on my own.
These conversations often focus on safety and training the next generation as benefits of the two person crew. Another element of that discussion is the importance of recruiting and retaining employees capable and motivated to work professionally and safely, which should be done with compensation and not promises of the future. This also goes to my first point, having a qualified hand can help you dispatch the work, having some hungover child with ADD can just be a distraction and liability.
The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence; when working two person and having difficulties I pine for the days of working alone and yet when humping materials all over beyond I can be full of nostalgia for the helping hands and comradery of a full crew.
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