I can teach you to locate phone, in two days!

[shovelhead]

Luckily, I already know how...

Just recieved word from my sup, that SM&P is going to train all 240+ Chicago locators how do phone on the last weekend of the month. Two days! I guess we'll go over how to prime a manhole pump during the second cigarette break..:D

[yahoo]

i am not a physic shovel...........but i see many damages in the future of smand p ............... :(

[TBONE]

Ohh someone call the insurance company and tell them to get the checks pre printed with the phone company on them,,,lol:p

[Goldenboy]

Hopefully there is some experienced phone guys in the area. As far as toning goes and least bleed off phone is by far the easiest because it is the only utility you can actually isolate . As far as congestion and crazy records I'm sure the guys and gals that have never located phone will have headaches by the end of each day.

And learning to deal with spending the time to get into all the manholes and handholes. In my area I get in 3-5 manholes a day. I'd actually rather locate out of manholes than peds but for someone that hasn't had much experience in manholes it will be trying.

[underground quester]

Speaking of Telephone manholes, we have this whole proceedure.

Got to use a sniffer before we open lid, then remove lid and drop a gas detector down.

Then attach gas detector to waist and put ladder down (usually into water)

Then go down.

Has anyone actually had a manhole with H2S or methane in it? I have never had a problem.

[beyond help]

Speaking of Telephone manholes, we have this whole proceedure.

Got to use a sniffer before we open lid, then remove lid and drop a gas detector down.

Then attach gas detector to waist and put ladder down (usually into water)

Then go down.

Has anyone actually had a manhole with H2S or methane in it? I have never had a problem.

Yep,

Had to call AT&T to come take care of it. I wasn't there when they arrived so I didn't get to see what happened. All I know is that my detector went balistic when I tested it. Called another tech to verify, and so did his. Sup sent us to another job while he waited for AT&T.

[beyond help]

Luckily, I already know how...

Just recieved word from my sup, that SM&P is going to train all 240+ Chicago locators how do phone on the last weekend of the month. Two days! I guess we'll go over how to prime a manhole pump during the second cigarette break..:D


Rumor around here is that some from other areas will come in to help "train".

[sprayandpray]

Speaking of Telephone manholes, we have this whole proceedure.

Got to use a sniffer before we open lid, then remove lid and drop a gas detector down.

Then attach gas detector to waist and put ladder down (usually into water)

Then go down.

Has anyone actually had a manhole with H2S or methane in it? I have never had a problem.

Did you not use your ventilator for 10 minutes b/4 you went down? :eek:

[nxs]

I would ventilate the manhole every time before I go down. I mean I don’t want to put my life in the hands of a defective gas detector... just say’n.:cool:

[RoadMap]

Good locators can pick up on phone pretty quickly. It is the new ones that will have problems. They are just like any other utility, but have a few more variables in play.

[Mr Blunderbuss]

Yep,

Had to call AT&T to come take care of it. I wasn't there when they arrived so I didn't get to see what happened. All I know is that my detector went balistic when I tested it. Called another tech to verify, and so did his. Sup sent us to another job while he waited for AT&T.


If we detected gas, we used a ventilator until the gas went below the dangerous level. Had one colleague who went into a manhole without ventilating. Got dizzy enough that he had to take a day off from work.

Ventilating should be standard practice, anyway, since the vaults contain "dead air".

[Locatingart]

I have been told by the higher ups with SM&P No overtime will be paid for training. No matter what hours you put in before or after !!!!!!!!!!!!:mad:

[big boots mcghee]

Rumor around here is that some from other areas will come in to help "train".

From what I hear we all get the crash course weekend training and after that everyone will have a mandatory ride along with experienced phone locators from these other areas.

[beyond help]

If we detected gas, we used a ventilator until the gas went below the dangerous level. Had one colleague who went into a manhole without ventilating. Got dizzy enough that he had to take a day off from work.

Ventilating should be standard practice, anyway, since the vaults contain "dead air".The original question to me was if there was ever a situation where "explosive" amounts of gas were found in a manhole, what would you do? The answer is to not open the lid and get ahold of the utility.:confused:

[underground quester]

Hey everyone, was in a hurry on Friday night as I was headed out of town.

We do vent the manholes and did forget to mention that. I used to work for a major railway cleaning up product at derailments, so yes, I agree, do not take chances. Though, in 3 years have never come across one here.

In addition, our contract states we CANNOT enter any telephone manhole deeper than 6 feet...NOT TOO MANY OF THOSE in my neck of the woods.

Sorry for the confusion.

[sprayandpray]

Hey everyone, was in a hurry on Friday night as I was headed out of town.

We do vent the manholes and did forget to mention that. I used to work for a major railway cleaning up product at derailments, so yes, I agree, do not take chances. Though, in 3 years have never come across one here.

In addition, our contract states we CANNOT enter any telephone manhole deeper than 6 feet...NOT TOO MANY OF THOSE in my neck of the woods.

Sorry for the confusion.

Shoot, if we had that clause we wouldn't have to locate any manholes. We are required to ventilate each manhole b/4 and during entry. ATT had 2 contractors die last year in The Colony because they didn't use ventilators.

[Mr Blunderbuss]

ATT had 2 contractors die last year in The Colony because they didn't use ventilators.

I've never seen ATT techs who didn't use ventilators up our way. My team mates and I were more cavalier about such things...

[nop's]

I'm retired bell system, now throwing flags and spraying paint. About 20 years ago a couple of guys I worked with when out on a repair. First guy goes in man-hole without testing and purging, and passes out. Second guy goes in to help his partner and passes out too. Both died! We were told that leaves in the bottom of the man-hole rotted and made some kind of gas that took away the oxygen in the man-hole. I work for CLS now, and I don't have to enter man-holes in my area. If you need to enter a man-hole remember test and purge first. You may not get a second chance.
Words of wisdom from an old timer!

[Gryphon]

I dont know anybody that vents MH's, except for maybe the new guys, and that only last a couple weeks, Just no time, if I had to vent every MH I had to enter I would get like 10 tickets a day done.

[Goldenboy]

I dont know anybody that vents MH's, except for maybe the new guys, and that only last a couple weeks, Just no time, if I had to vent every MH I had to enter I would get like 10 tickets a day done.

Your luck will run out eventually. I wouldn't even think of going in a MH without venting. No job is worth my life. I work in an area with alot of MH's and while venting the MH I'm normally locating the gas or other utilities in the area. There really isn't any down time from venting a MH.

[Mr Blunderbuss]

Your luck will run out eventually. I wouldn't even think of going in a MH without venting. No job is worth my life. I work in an area with alot of MH's and while venting the MH I'm normally locating the gas or other utilities in the area. There really isn't any down time from venting a MH.

Would like to have told that to my DM every time he squawked about productivity... And in our area there's ONLY telephone so waiting to pump and then venting the MH is the only option.

[beyond help]

Would like to have told that to my DM every time he squawked about productivity... And in our area there's ONLY telephone so waiting to pump and then venting the MH is the only option.
Until OSHA catches you and fines their asses 5G for a first offense. Happened here a while back. DM's are like toddlers. They cry when they don't get their way, or tickets don't get done quick enough.:crying::baby2:

[straightliner]

iam still a nub but prolly do a att/d conduit run "man hole" 1 a week at least and never get in 1 just put my clamp on a pole /some times need to pump water out not good at fishing /// so my ? is why do you need o go into them

[RoadMap]

Well since you are a newbie, have you ever been in that hole before? If you haven't it is like trusting someone else's marks. You paint them and clear the ticket it is your fault if it is wrong. What if there is a cable that is new maybe 6 months that was put in but not on prints yet. But you don't see it because you use a fishing pole! Sounds like a future ex-locator to me!!!

[Goldenboy]

iam still a nub but prolly do a att/d conduit run "man hole" 1 a week at least and never get in 1 just put my clamp on a pole /some times need to pump water out not good at fishing /// so my ? is why do you need o go into them

In my area there is double and triple conduit runs with multiple laterals. If you don't go down in the MH you would never get hooked up on all the right cables. All the different runs are separate. If you have just a single run with no laterals then you could use a hotstick.

[RoadMap]

In my area there is double and triple conduit runs with multiple laterals. If you don't go down in the MH you would never get hooked up on all the right cables. All the different runs are separate. If you have just a single run with no laterals then you could use a hotstick.

But only if you have been down inside before to verify nothing new and located it before. Just because they leave in the duct package does not mean they stay in it all the way to next hole!

[underground quester]

Originally Posted by Goldenboy
In my area there is double and triple conduit runs with multiple laterals. If you don't go down in the MH you would never get hooked up on all the right cables. All the different runs are separate. If you have just a single run with no laterals then you could use a hotstick.

But only if you have been down inside before to verify nothing new and located it before. Just because they leave in the duct package does not mean they stay in it all the way to next hole!



Okay guys, some new terms to me here. Can someone explain them to me

"Multiple laterals" (Is this just a conduit bank could be any number but say 3-3-3 configuration with say 6 cables running; one in each duct?)

"Hotstick" - Is this just the extendable pole you use for coupling goldenboy ?

Just as an aside, I have always understood a "lateral" to be the plastic/metal housing protecting a phone/power drop from overhead to underground usually attached to a pole.

ThanX

[Goldenboy]

Yes a hotstick is just an extendable pole. We call the protective cover coming down a pole a "U Guard".

I made a real quick picture to show what we consider laterals. In this picture to mark the stuff going East you'd have to hook up to a minumum of 5 cables in the manhole. 3 hook ups for the 3 laterals and 2 for the conduit runs going East. This is why I was saying that I always have to go in the manholes in my area, there is no way just to use a hotstick here or you'd get yourself in trouble.

[Wingfoot]

Okay guys, some new terms to me here. Can someone explain them to me:

"Multiple laterals" (Is this just a conduit bank could be any number but say 3-3-3 configuration with say 6 cables running; one in each duct?)

No. That is labeled the conduit package. Ducts that run from manhole to manhole.

"Hotstick" - Is this just the extendable pole you use for coupling goldenboy?

Your local hardware store/warehouse has the extendable poles for making 'hotsticks' in their paint department.

Just as an aside, I have always understood a "lateral" to be the plastic/metal housing protecting a phone/power drop from overhead to underground usually attached to a pole.

A telephone 'lateral' is any cable, fiber or empty pipe that leaves the manhole as a feeder cable/fiber (to the C.O.) or distribution cable/fiber (from the C.O.).

A 'dip' is the point where mainline telephone, CATV or electricity transitions from aerial to buried.

[USIC1]

Your local hardware store/warehouse has the extendable poles for making 'hotsticks' in their paint department.



In my hardware store I got one in my PANTS department though some may beg to differ...

I coud nt resist...

Sorry

:greenapple:

[underground quester]

That was a "divine" answer USIC1. Who says advertising does not pay?



7

[underground quester]

ThanX once again WING. Printed your message off and will keep it in my work journal.

[Goldenboy]

Well how did it go? Is everyone phone experts now?