While we are all preparing for the upcoming “COVID winter,” November is also a good time to get your bucket truck ready for the winter months. Although OSHA does not have a specific standard that covers working in cold environments, it does offer a “Cold Stress Guide.” (see link below). Your Operator’s Manual will include guidelines as well. https://www.osha.gov/dts/weather/winter_weather/windchill.html Per OSHA, it is important for employers to know the wind chill temperature so that they can gauge workers’ exposure risk better and plan how to safely do the work. For example, at 40 … [Read more...]
Trick or Treating … Bucket Truck Style
And you thought the wind uprooted this tree when your bucket truck was called into take care of it!!!! :twisted: The bucket truck business can be pretty spooky as evidenced by some of the blogs we have written! So just in time for Halloween 2020, let us show you what we mean: Spiders and Buckets and Lifts, Oh My! This one conjures up visions of Halloween and spider webs, but then we remembered another one of our blogs about maintaining your bucket truck and pre-op checks. No spider webs on trucks allowed! Airing It Out … How to Bleed the System This is too easy. Bela … [Read more...]
Staying Safe on the Job
Whether you are stuck at home or trying to go away for a vacation, summertime is also a time for bad weather. Hurricanes, thunderstorms, and derechos can keep utility equipment operators busy no matter what is going on. Staying safe means never skipping your daily pre-operations check or knowing where the manual is … and much more. Everyone knows that bucket truck operators are busy for days and have lots work to do after storms -- repairing wires, fixing traffic lights, and trimming downed trees/limbs. There are two important pieces to staying safe on the job -- having the right … [Read more...]
Little PTO
Who can forget the muscle cars of the 60’s and 70’s? The Pontiac GTO was the poster child. Here’s how Ronny & the Daytonas put it: Little GTO You're really lookin' fine Three deuces and a four-speed And a three-eighty-nine Oh wait, this blog is supposed to be about PTO’s, not GTO’s. :roll: So, what the heck is a PTO? Per Wikipedia, a power take-off (PTO) is any of several methods for taking power from a power source, such as a running engine, and transmitting it to an application such as an attached implement or separate machine. PTO and pump attached to an engine shown … [Read more...]
Airing It Out … How to Bleed the System
Now that winter is over ... time to "get the lead out" and the AIR!! What does that mean anyway ... "get the lead out?!" Oh well, back to the important part of this blog. ;-) Have you ever tried working the upper controls of your bucket truck and the system seems sluggish? It’s a frustrating thing because you just can’t get the boom to move as much as you want it to – the system doesn’t respond crisply. Obviously, your first step is to consult the unit’s maintenance manual. A blocked control orifice could be causing your problem, or you may have air in the lines that carry hydraulic … [Read more...]