By Larry Kotars, Huskie Tools Inc.

How many times has the purchasing agent of a utility called up to place an order and had to explain, ”I don’t want my boss to find out that I spent this money on tools”? As an employee, he becomes nervous because he knows he is not playing by the company rules. However, he also knows that the lowest bid sometimes is not the best bid, and so he cautiously pushes the paperwork below the radar, or worse yet, takes it underground. A utility employee should never have to go underground when purchasing tools!

Why is the task of buying tools that are absolutely necessary always so difficult, regardless of the size of the company? There are many good reasons why making purchases should be given due consideration, but cutting costs when purchasing tools for linemen can be a fatal mistake for any utility. Most linemen know which tools are the better quality tools, and of course, they prefer to use those tools. Unfortunately, most company budgets try to eliminate anything above the bare minimum requirements. Refusing to accept the risks of working with lesser quality tools, some linemen will choose the (lesser) risk of an underground purchase.

To fully understand why tool purchases should not have to be covered-up, just consider the total cost of the jobs that need to be performed. Whenever a lineman is asked to perform a specific job, it is the company’s duty to insure that the working environment is as safe as possible. It also in the company’s best interest to make sure that the job can be performed as efficiently as possible. These two necessary factors contribute greatly to the overall cost of the task. The tools being purchased are for talented craftsmen who depend upon their equipment to perform a dangerous and necessary job. The lowest bid is usually not the best way to purchase tools. Author and Economist John Ruskin wrote: “It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money- that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the job it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot – it cannot be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and, if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better”.

Since the late 1800’s, we have been able to take abundant power for granted. Frankly, the simple task of throwing a light switch, in reality has cost us many human lives. A lineman almost never gets a second chance. In the early 1900’s one of every two linemen died while on the job. As the country began building a massive electrical infrastructure, new procedures had to be invented and learned; usually this was on the job training. In those days, so many linemen died while performing their job, that they could not get life insurance. In the early days of electricity, when the National Electrical Union was chartered, the union almost went bankrupt due to the large amount of benefits paid to the families of deceased linemen.

As the power demand increased and the voltage became higher, turning off the power to complete electrical work became an unpopular and costly option. Today’s linemen routinely work with energized power-lines. The varied jobs of linemen, sometimes involves work in killer storms, on ten story towers or maybe on a 500KV lines.

In the early 1930’s some linemen began making their own tools, because of cost factors, and because very few specialized tools for their job existed. Today’s linemen can enjoy a job that is infinitely safer, and more productive due to better training methods, better understanding and control of powered lines, and of course, much better tools. Tools should not be primitive -- better tools mean better production. Today’s battery powered tools reduce the fatigue of linemen, thereby providing better quality of production throughout the entire workday. Also, the lineman who is less fatigued will make better decisions and work much faster. It has also been found that workers using the new generation of battery-powered tools pay closer attention to their more detailed work tasks.

Unfortunately, even after 100 years, and what we now know about modern tools, many of these skilled workers are still forced to hide the cost of their tools. However, as utilities meet and discuss ways to make the professional lineman’s job more efficient, more productive and safer, it is encouraging to know that increasingly more utilities now employ a certified professional ergonomist on staff to help solve and prevent some of the job related medical problems. One of the most common recommendations is that utility companies purchase and use battery-powered tools. One source studied a typical utility company and found battery operated crimping tools typically had a payback within eight months. To the lineman who is just beginning to use the new tools, the payback is immediate. He finds that his job is now much easier, and his pride in doing a quality job is increased exponentially.