How Does a Journeyman Lineman Spend the Workday?

General Journeyman Lineman Duties

Journeyman linemen play a vital role in providing, restoring and maintaining power to homes and businesses. They troubleshoot power problems, both underground and at towers and poles. All line equipment is maintained in part by journeyman linemen. A lineman's workday can include building new power line poles and towers, working with all the transformers, regulators, lines and other necessary components. If trees and other shrubbery are too close to power lines, they work to remove the hazards. Sometimes journeyman lineman even work to improve the conditions of the vehicle access ways they use to reach certain power poles and towers. Journeyman lineman play a vital role in providing electricity for the communities in which they work.

Physical Demands

A career as a journeyman lineman is physically demanding. At the simplest level, a lineman often works very long days with frequent overtime. They must be able to work well into the night if necessary. It is not always easy to see at night even with helmet lights and other lighting equipment. Good vision is necessary. A journeyman lineman must be a good climber because they will be climbing poles and power towers throughout the workday. Steady footing and good upper body strength is needed. As a lineman climbs a pole they will need to be able to carry 40 to 50 pounds of equipment. A journeyman lineman must be able to life 50 pound and often as much as 100 pounds. A Journeyman lineman needs the physical strength to use all the tools necessary. A great deal of bending and reaching is required even while working at heights of up to 100 feet.

Outdoor Work Conditions

Most of a journeyman lineman's work is done outside. They work in extreme heat or work when it is frigidly cold. Like mail carriers, this is another profession in which employees work in the rain, sleet, wind and snow. A journeyman lineman must be in excellent health in order to safely and effectively fulfill all the duties of a typical workday.

Potential Hazards

A journeyman lineman faces many potential hazards in an average workday. Journeyman linemen deal with high voltage on a regular basis. Proper training and equipment reduce but do not totally eliminate the risk of electrical shock. Linemen face work at high elevations each day, laboring at heights as high as 100 feet. Safety equipment for climbing minimizes but does not completely eliminate the risk of falling and injury. Journeyman lineman often work on power lines that are near busy highways and roadways. A career as a journeyman lineman is not for someone who seeks a job with minimal risks to her safety.