Just a question

[zog]

Iu suggest you review the OSHA fall protection standard and if you feel the employer was asking you to violate these laws to talk to him about unlawful release of your employment, if he did ask you to violate these laws and fired you for not doing such jobs and refuses to talk to you then get a lawyer. You cant be fired over a fear of heights, even if it is part of the job.

Me, i love skydiving, bungee jumping and scaling structures in 230kV switchyards, but thats because I trust my safety equipment. Put me on the top step of a 8' ladder and I get butterflies too.

 

[tonyou812]

This is my first post here and i just have a question. I am new to the trade and most people i have ran into so far has a issue with me cause i have a slight problem with heights. Not everyone is ok with heights are they? i am just asking cause it just seems a problem with everyone i mean im ok with a 8foot ladder an a 12 foot ladder, but my last employer let me go cause he said it was too much of a issue for him. It wasnt too much of a issue till we got to a house with a 24 foot tall entrance way an all we had was a 16 foot ladder and i just wasnt comfortable to get on the ladder with some eles on it with me to set a box. The others i worked with did the work i assisted from the secound floor, they even had to stand on the very top rung of the ladder an still had to stand almost on there tips of there toues to reach to set it.

Being an electrician and being afraid of heights is like being a cook and not being able to be in a hot enviorment or a nurse who cant handle body fluids. I had a helper once that refused to go up past 6 feet, after about a month of " carrying" this guy I told the boss if I have to work by myself any longer I will find a job that will acually give me some help so I dont have to bust my ass while my helper plays with his phone looking up at me. Get over it dude. Its just in your head. Dont be a slave to your fears. Take control of your mind.

 

[tonyou812]

What a bunch of Marys. No wonder this country is no longer an industrial power house. Everyones too busy calling osha or a lawyer!!!!! A four foot ladder....? come on whats next ?

 

[tonyou812]

Im tired of guys telling me what they will do and not do. I think alot of it is that they are really just plain lazy and they dont want to climb or wear a harness on a lift. Nothing used to pump my nads more than making the same wage as anther dude that would "claim" a fear of heights, or that he doesnt work on live circuts. What the f@#$ your in constuction.

 

[JohnJ0906]

It wasnt too much of a issue till we got to a house with a 24 foot tall entrance way an all we had was a 16 foot ladder

It sounds as if the proper equipment wasn't provided to do the job safely. Most people would have to stand on the second rung or the very top to do the work.

How is this being a "Mary"?

 

[tonyou812]

well in that case I agree with him but it just struck a nerve with me. I worked with a few guys that wouldnt go past 12 feet and i just reacted to some of the other peoples posts to the question without thinking of the origional post. Im sorry.

 

[cschmid]

This is my first post here and i just have a question. I am new to the trade and most people i have ran into so far has a issue with me cause i have a slight problem with heights. Not everyone is ok with heights are they? i am just asking cause it just seems a problem with everyone i mean im ok with a 8foot ladder an a 12 foot ladder, but my last employer let me go cause he said it was too much of a issue for him. It wasnt too much of a issue till we got to a house with a 24 foot tall entrance way an all we had was a 16 foot ladder and i just wasnt comfortable to get on the ladder with some eles on it with me to set a box. The others i worked with did the work i assisted from the secound floor, they even had to stand on the very top rung of the ladder an still had to stand almost on there tips of there toues to reach to set it.

Welcome to the forum..being afraid of heights is not an issue in our trade..safety is the issue what your' boss ask for was you to put your personal safety at risk for the all mighty dollar and at apprentice wages that is nothing..

Now being afraid of heights is a good thing..it allows you to assess a situation more realistic and you will make your decisions wisely..I have had to crawl up ladders on the side of exhaust stacks to fix sensors for pollution monitoring equipement..I was scared as hell but I got the gear on and used it the way I was taught crawled up there and made the repairs..I listen to the cackling but I have never been hurt working in the air..

tonyou812 I am glad you got attitude about this..because your attitude just irks me..how do you stay in business..legitamate question, I have meet many people like you and sooner or later they always find them selves in a bad situation because of there attitude..plain lazy was the term that irked me..I am afraid of height and will not do some things and I earn my meager wage..when someone stands up for them selves you call them lazy..I will not do many things for cash just not going to happen..especially if there is a safer way to do it, just because you are will to permanently injured or die for a lousy 100 dollars an hour does no mean I am..and it is not my hundred an hour an apprentice is only making what 15 to 20 an hour..and you have the nerve to ask them to risk there health for what your pride..get off your high horse and get real..That is my rant sorry but the term lazy for being afraid of heights is wrong..

 

[tonyou812]

Really? standing on a four foot ladder is dangerous? what do you do when you have to work in a drop ceiling? get out the ole harness and strap your self to the ceiling? break out the 8 footer? Its not about being a macho guy. its about getting work done? Ive done a lot of work at the Newark seaport 100 feet in the air with trucks whizzing by below me and the lift swaying 3 feet in each direction. And it was always me and this other guy cause the other guys were afraid. I finally told the boss if we are going to always be the guys doing this work then I want some compensation and we got it. Now in your world I guess they would have to tell Maersk they need to shut down some of the lanes for a few hours so we can adjust their cameras. And I'm sure they would love to hear that. We wouldn't have gotten the work with your ideology.

After the fourth or fifth time I finally got wise to the situation. Why do I get the honor of freezing my nuts off while the other guys got all the ground work? Maybe they were the smart ones and Im the idiot cause I dont have a fear of heights. so I used the situation to my favor. My boss at the time wanted the work, which made him alot of money and me and Rich( the other guy) also got a nice bonus in our checks.

Unfortunaly I have many other situations when guys would refuse to do something claiming its unsafe or they have a fear of the situation. I personally beileve they just didnt want to do it for other reasons and I got stuck doing it. Its not just heights, confined spaces under crawl spaces, live circut work, to dirty or smelly, the list goes on.

Now I would never make someone do something they didnt want to do nor would I haze them into doing it or hold it against them but the guy that gets stuff done or is my go to guy gets compensated for it in my book.
Just the other day I had my friend help me on a service change and he has never cut in a service to a house. So I said hey Dan you want to have the honors? he quickly declined telling me he never done it before and he doesnt feel safe at that height. I told him ill set up the other extension ladder on the other side of you and Ill talk you through it. You need to learn sometime. But he still declined. so I did it while he watched me 25 feet below. Now if you had this guy in your crew what would you think? Is it fair that he makes the same money as a guy who doesnt mind the height and working on a live circut? What do I the buisness owner need to do to make this ok for him? Rent a bucket truck to cut in the service?

If I was the origional poster I wouldnt do what they were asking me either but if it was a 6 foot ladder or 8 footer I cant really say that the height is really a problem for me. Its not bravado it just what Im comfortable with.'
I know my limits. I personally have never worked on anything over 480 volts and I cant say that I would do it without the proper training or ppe. So for all you high voltage guys my hat is off to you.
But dont get offended when I classify some of these guys as lazy, cause you have to know the sort of guys that Im talking about. Im sure Im not the only one who has had the pleasure for working with them.

 

[cschmid]

I was on a six foot ladder using it properly hanging some temp light in a basement..my hands were in the air holding the light up and tyeing it to the support on the joist..when the legs on the front of the ladder just folded under..it was OK my face broke the fall..the six stitches across the bridge of my nose and a new pair of 400 dollar glasses and all was fine..

So Yes a four ft ladder can be dangerous..I have been up in lifts, best height I got was 75 ft changing lights above moving equipment..I am afraid of heights but yet I need to be-able to do anything I would ask someone working for me to do..being afraid of heights is no different then not wanting to do something you have never done or due not want to do..it all causes apprehension it is how you deal with it thats important..

One thing I know for sure is the older I get the less I like to be in high places..especially if I am unsure of the environment..so I took offense to the term lazy being applied to a personal limitation..using one limitations to be an under achiever is another issue..

 

[tonyou812]

I really don't know you so don't take it personal. I just worked with a lot of guys that know how to work the system. And guys like me seem to wind up doing more than their share of the less desirable work. Ive gotten whacked on 277 standing on the third rung of a 6 footer and fell to the ground. We are in electrical construction so there is an inherited amount of danger that comes with the job. The only reason I got shocked was because of the idiot helper that was working with me and that is a total other story.

 

[cschmid]

I really dont know you so dont take it personal. I just worked with alot of guys that know how to work the system. And guys like me seem to wind up doing more than their share of the less desireable work.

LOL I feel like that sometimes as well..I really dislike having to micro manage people who just do not like the enviroment..one of the motivators I use is the bonus for doing the work in undesirable places in a reasonable time..

 

[tonyou812]

I apologize if I came off as an ass I'm really a nice guy. I just had a really tough week and my help for the week was less than helpfull.

 

[cschmid]

I know your' responses are not normally like that and I am like you rough week and that just caught me wrong..

 

[fillmorr]

All thanks everyone, got more of a respones then i thought i was goin to get. I just think my problem is the fear of falling because i have done everying from roofs to lil bit of every other construction work, an i just seem to come back to the electrical trade. I just need find better employment this time around thinking of going union instead of doing the class time on my own since the second year is starting up soon. Thanks you all

 

[tonyou812]

I know your' responses are not normally like that and I am like you rough week and that just caught me wrong..

I gotta tell ya sometimes I think its a bad idea hiring good friends for help. I had my good friend who I used to work with a few years ago help me on a real tough job and he really dogged it. And I paid him well too. I felt really uncomfortable telling him to wake up so I just delt with it. never again. Some friends think their doing you a favor just showing up. I could have hired a 1 year apprentice and got more out of him.
oops I ment to Im this post to cschmid

 

[1stYearElectrican]

What I would do if I was in the OP position is get to know the rules of safety by the OHSA. This way when an employer ask you to do a certain task and YOU know that if it is against OSHA policy then you have the right to decline that task. If the employer acts against your work refusal you have several organizations that will act on your behalf. The whole key to this is you must know the OHSA rules before you refuse your employer. Here according to OHSA you must be tied off after 10 ft. This the same for the US ?

Extreme heights are my downfall, but I never been in a situation yet that I had to work way up there, but I am sure I would need knee braces:grin: . (eg cleaning windows on a sky scraper or Bunji jumping heights)

To the OP, where do you consider to be your fear of Heights, 10 ft, 20ft, 5ft?

Being at the bottom of the ladder ( Apprentice) we will get handed some jobs that no one wants to do and climbing heights will sure be on top of that list.

Here a fear you can laugh at, I am not very comfortable in rooms with alot of machinery. Like a compressor room where all the controls and conduits are. Used to be a photo lab manager and when it was my turn to lock up and supervise, I sometimes would have to go to the compressor room and reset the alarms on the freezer units. I am improving thou in that fear category:grin: Next have to get over the Bees/wasp's category (shiver)


~FyE~

 

[ultramegabob]

Here according to OHSA you must be tied off after 10 ft. This the same for the US ?

where do you take the 10' measurement? If your on a 24' extension ladder, what do you tie off to?

 

[iwire]

Here according to OHSA you must be tied off after 10 ft. This the same for the US ?

No not the same and if you really check it out I bet you not required by your govt to tie off while working on a ladder.

The US OSHA rules for tying off above 6' do not apply to work from ladders.

However ... many jobs apply tougher standards then OSHA and do require tying off while on ladders. :roll:

 

[ultramegabob]

tying off on a ladder sounds kinda stupid, last thing I need when I have already taken a fall is to pull a a ladder down on my head...

 

[ultramegabob]

here is somthing that happend yesterday in Indianapolis thats related to heights and safety measures....

http://www.wthr.com/global/story.asp?s=8848164