Someone screwed up

[Natman]

A local lumber yard's boom truck, poof! What a poorly written article, it reads like it was written by a third grader. https://www.eastidahonews.com/2017/11/boom-truck-causes-power-outage-small-fire-idaho-falls/

 

[Ronsii]

Yeah... didn't look like a boom truck

So, he was driving along and forgot to lower the arm???? the picture looks a bit different.

 

[crane operator]

Most news people are pretty ignorant on the construction industry. Somebody laid the truss pile too close to the power lines. Instead of just getting them to move them with the forklift (there's one in the pictures), somebody decided the power lines were far enough away and went for it. They're just very lucky no one was electrocuted.

 

[Knepptune]

If he was driving with boom out like that he'd have even more problems.

Amazing how much that happens.

 

[92U 3406]

I've been within earshot of a powerline strike before. Sounds like when you're stick welding and pull the electrode away and leave it arcing a couple inches away from the steel. Sounds exactly like that but 1000x more menacing.

 

[thepumpguysc]

Speaking of numb nuts.. kid at work was given the task of draining & cleaning the fuel tank on a JLG forklift on Tuesday..
No problem right?? pull it on the lift, pop the plug & off you go..
ALL WAS GOOD UNTIL he topped off the HYDRO tank w/ 3 gallons of diesel fuel.!!!!
He would have filled it w/ 10 GALLONS except it overflowed at 3..
Wendsday was his last day.. HIS CHOICE.. he still wouldda had a job if he hadn't quit..
have I told you how much I hate that place?? Lol

 

[Hobbytime]

I doubt that boom truck crane( LOL) was moving when it hit the power lines, as the outriggers are down to the ground, operator was looking for the least damaging out on how it happened...

 

[Natman]

It was hard to tell if the garbled report was because of everybody involved was in cover their a** mode, or if the reporter was a thrid grader. Probably a bit of both.

I didn't realize, for some reason, that news accounts of crane accidents were like news accounts of plane accidents. Full of nonsensical "facts" and written by totally clueless writers, I should have known! I have yet to hear if the injury to the operator was electrical in nature, or maybe a twisted ankle from jumping 20' away, but it seems to be minor. The story has died here after a 1 day shelf life. And.....as this lumber yard offers free or discounted boom truck service for their contractors (so they of course use them) I expect I will be setting more trusses then normal the next few weeks. I have a Wednesday truss job scheduled already as a result.

 

[ichudov]

Yeah, he was driving with his outriggers on the ground, haha

 

[Natman]

Yesterday while setting trusses for a local builder, he mentioned he'd heard that the operator had run out of reach, and lifted the out riggers just clear of the ground, left the stick out but as the pics show at a pretty steep angle, and was in the process of driving the rig a few feet, just far enough to reach the last few trusses, when he hit the lines. Amazing!

 

[Kiwi-truckwit]

Yeah, he was driving with his outriggers on the ground, haha

It's been known to happen...

 

[Kiwi-truckwit]

Electricity is knarly stuff... I've done a fair bit of work around transmission lines up to 220kV and some of the lineys have incredible stories. Ya gotta have a healthy respect for it

 

[Kiwi-truckwit]

Yesterday while setting trusses for a local builder, he mentioned he'd heard that the operator had run out of reach, and lifted the out riggers just clear of the ground, left the stick out but as the pics show at a pretty steep angle, and was in the process of driving the rig a few feet, just far enough to reach the last few trusses, when he hit the lines. Amazing!

I find that hard to believe. Even if he was driving with all his stick out, which might happen, surely the hook wouldn't be hanging so low? Plus, it's hard to be sure as I'm using my phone, but the boom looks like it's over the side.

 

[Kiwi-truckwit]

Todays mission. These ones, obviously, are de-energised. The circuit on the other side of the pole, however, still has 110kV running through them. This is as close as I want to get!

 

[crane operator]

I don't see that rig with the boom over the side (yes kiwi- he's over the side) and telescoped out that far, being able to drive anywhere with the outriggers up. You wouldn't have enough over the side stability to do that. You might be able to boom straight over the rear and lift up the jacks and move it, but not over the side.

 

[Kiwi-truckwit]

I don't see that rig with the boom over the side (yes kiwi- he's over the side) and telescoped out that far, being able to drive anywhere with the outriggers up. You wouldn't have enough over the side stability to do that. You might be able to boom straight over the rear and lift up the jacks and move it, but not over the side.

And it would still feel pretty hairy. I've moved a roughy with 24m boom over the front (80ft?) And that's pretty tough on the sphinter. It has chart for pick and carry with that much boom over the side at about 45°, but I was never game to try.

 

[Tradesman]

View attachment 175614
Todays mission. These ones, obviously, are de-energised. The circuit on the other side of the pole, however, still has 110kV running through them. This is as close as I want to get!

Yikes, where your fingers crossed the first time you crossed your limits of approach, hoping they remembered to turn it off.

 

[Natman]

Yikes, where your fingers crossed the first time you crossed your limits of approach, hoping they remembered to turn it off.

I agree with both the above comments, it would seem unlikely for him to move much, if at all, with that much stick out.... just reporting the local gossip about the incident. Any time in the past (as in, before I was operating with 110' of main boom and would run out of reach fairly often) when I felt the need to reposition a bit without sucking all the boom in, I for sure lowered it and set it in the cradle.

I set trusses on a home yesterday, for a builder that usually uses that outfit that got fried. i made a big deal about first looking overhead before raising the boom. Gallows humor for sure, but he got a laugh out of it. Of course, all the new subdivision have underground lines, I don't want to joke about being aware of the hazard! I did a job for our local utility a couple years ago, in a sub station, setting a communications dish on a tower. When it was evident i'd be working pretty close to the main feeders, I pointed it out to the utility guy who was babysitting me. "No sweat, you can go within 3' of that line." It had something to do with the big grounding grid under the entire substation, on my own I would have come within 25' of that line!

 

[Kiwi-truckwit]

Yikes, where your fingers crossed the first time you crossed your limits of approach, hoping they remembered to turn it off.

If you look up the pole, you'll see earth drains running from each phase back to the pole. These are their working earths.... There are also earths one pylon away at either end of the work area, those earths are the first to go on once the switchyard has confirmed the circuit is de-energised, and the last to be taken off after works are completed.
In addition, the crane is bonded to the earth grid of the pylon, or monopole in this case, plus the mancage is bonded to the conductor (the wire) while the line mechanics are working on it. So, there's a lot of layers of safety, and it's pretty comfortable working there.
When you walk into a transmission switchyard, the circuit you're working on will be dead, but there will be a live circuit of up to 400,000 volts DC (in NZ, some countries go up to 765kV) not that far away.... That can get the sphincter tightening a bit, especially if its buzzing and crackling like they do sometimes.