Info on uncoated wires could be misleading
I just received the June 2023 issue and am looking at the article, “Incidental Line Clearance: What Arborists Need to Know About Working Around Electric Utilities,” by Geoff Kempter and Stephen Hilbert. You guys have some good information in here, but there’s some really dangerous and bad information in here.
For photo 2, on page 41, the caption says, “The energized or ‘hot’ portion of the electric grid is isolated from the rest of the system,” so on and so forth, and “not coated with insulation.” That is not only an inaccurate statement, that’s a very dangerous statement. I’m hoping there’s some way you guys can touch base on that, because that is bad information that will get somebody injured or killed.
Again, the majority of that editorial piece is good, but that information there could be a death sentence for somebody.
Jeff Steiner
Bigfoot Construction Equipment Inc.
Woodstock, Illinois
(via voicemail)
Editor’s note: In a follow-up phone call, Jeff Steiner stressed that the last part of the caption, that the primaries “are not coated with insulation,” is wrong. He says primaries and other hot wires can be coated, and that this statement could be very dangerous for those assuming it to be accurate.
He says there are all kinds of coated primaries and lower primaries, above the secondaries. It used to be asbestos coating, which may still be around, he says. Newer systems, he says, will have plastic and paper coverings. Hendrix cable has a lot of covering, and the hot wires are bundled with plastic spacers.
We asked the authors, Geoff Kempter and Stephen Hilbert, to respond.
Geoff Kempter: Regarding the caption on the image showing overhead primary conductors, stating that the wires “are not coated with insulation.”
This statement generated some debate and confusion about the purpose of coatings that are occasionally applied to overhead primary wires, and whether they constitute insulation or afford any appreciable protection for arborists.
Coatings on primary wire, such as “tree wire,” are designed to protect the conductor from abrasion or damage. These coverings should never be regarded as insulation. With few exceptions, overhead primary wires are not insulated, regardless of any superficial coating. Z133 makes no distinction, and minimum approach distances (MAD) are unchanged. To truly insulate primary voltage requires a much thicker coating with a dielectric rating, as is used in underground installations. Such cable is very heavy and is not used in overhead construction.
Lower-voltage secondary wires are often coated. With older conductors, after decades of weather and wear, this “insulation” is often seen peeling away. New or upgraded construction uses “bundled triplex,” which is insulated at the time of installation. However, these wires are fully exposed to the elements, and over the years their coatings may become damaged by weather, adjacent trees and animals.
Coatings on electrical conductors can give the arborist a false sense of security. Again, Z133 states that these components “shall be considered energized with potentially fatal voltages…” and that MAD “shall be maintained.”
Kudos for aerial-rescue article
I appreciate this article, “In a Real Aerial Rescue, How Will You Respond,” by Leo Roldan (TCI Magazine, June 2023) and the honesty with which the author described the situation. An unknown for sure. Unless you’ve been in a high-stress environment, you’ll never know how you’ll react.
Aaron Feather, CTSP, safety director
Cumberland Valley Tree Service Landscaping Inc.
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania
(website comment on tcimag.tcia.org)
Size matters for mini-loader operators
I’m a small woman of 106 pounds. I work for a tree-service company. Is there a weight limit to what I should lift (with a mini or compact loader)? Is there a safety weight limit of the person operating the machine?
Leea
(commenting on tcimag.tcia.org: “Do’s and Don’ts for Safely Operating Mini and Compact Skid Steers and Loaders,” by Rick Howland, TCI Magazine, March 2020)
Editor’s Note: We asked Leea to elaborate.
“I have been in a situation at work where I was the one to move the logs, and they were the last large trunk pieces. I carried one just fine close to the machine and just had to go very slow. But when I went to lift the piece into the truck, (the loader) tipped forward into the truck and I had to holler for help. So I’m just wondering, is there some kind of safe lifting weight for someone so small?”
We next took her question to David A. Nordgaard, owner of Branch Manager LLC, a 15-year TCIA corporate member company based in Ramsey, Minnesota. (He also was owner of the former Top Notch Tree Care, an accredited company based in Minnesota and a TCIA member since the 1980s, and Top Notch Equipment, which preceded Branch Manager LLC.) Nordgaard sells attachments for all mini and compact loaders and is retired from selling various loader brands.
Nordgaard: If the machine tips forward, the operator has exceeded the tipping capacity of the machine. This is the maximum weight the machine can lift to height, suspended from the tilt pins at the hitch. A corpulent operator would only increase this number by the difference the manufacturer used as a standard-operator weight (something like 160 pounds, I am guessing). In turn, a diminutive operator would decrease the tip cap by that weight difference.
“Safe” machine capacity is way under the tip cap, called “operating capacity.” Different manufacturers rate that at either 30% or 50% of tipping capacity. Of course, manufacturers want to have the biggest numbers – their lawyers would probably push the 30%. Manufacturers do list the percentage they use in the machine specifications.
Tree workers routinely exceed operating capacity and even tip cap by having two extra co-workers join them on the operator platform. That’s a no-no.
Tree crews get away with operating machines near and at tip capacity by carrying the load as low as possible and keeping the speed slow.
The woman’s weight is negligible in the scenario you present – the load was, simply put, at least 50% over operating capacity.
I hope this helps.
Editor: We do not know and did not ask for the brand of the loader in question, but we posed this question to a few manufacturers and received this response from Kyle Cartwright, marketing manager for Toro.
“The rated operating capacity for the Toro Dingo compact-utility-loader lineup is calculated based on an average operator weight of 165 pounds. Lighter operators are still capable of operating the machine, and should always keep safe lifting practices in mind. When determining the load to be lifted, the weight of any attachments, such as buckets or augers, must be accounted for, and heavier loads should be kept low to the ground to minimize the potential of tipping.”
Call back…
Wrong date for MGIA rigging workshop
The Industry Almanac in the June 2023 issue of TCI Magazine listed the wrong date for an MGIA Arborist Rigging Techniques workshop. The correct date is August 18, 2023.
We apologize for the error.
