Taupotreeman

Worked on the 330Kv and 500Kv in Oz. Pacific power showed us the video nasties as part of the induction. None of this play acting. One video was an American utility worker who filmed himself in hospital as his body slowly died. He got a shock through his right hand, earthed through his big toe. 13KV. They amputated his toe, then his lower leg, then opened up his upper leg as it started to swell. The guy kept a video diary of the whole lot until he died about 2 weeks later. Watching that as an induction into line clearnce has stuck with me since and everytime I think about taking a short cut the image of that guy's face creeps into my mind.

Mark, they are pretty much testing for everything. I've been involved in setting up random drug testing after working on sites with guys lighting up. Don't get me wrong; I don't have an issue with what people do in their own time and I'm first to admit I've been there and done that. It's just when it comes to it affecting the ability to work safely. That goes for the booze as well. I've turned up to work in the morning with my foreman rolling in still blind drunk after coming straight from the club. I have a few colleagues who are national contract managers. I spoke with one only two days ago. He has just fired 6 guys who were randomly tested after one of the staff noticed they looked a little out of it. 4 were sent packing for failing cannabis testing and 2 for alcohol. These guys work around EHV conductors so there's no room for error. Forestry has gone into the testing pretty hard as drugs used to be rife throughout the industry. Most outfits will offer rehab after a failed test unless that test was done after what could be considered gross misconduct. Anyway, Hijacked tree menders thread enough. If you want to start a seperate thread I'm more than happy to throw more info into that thread.

You're going to need a work visa whatever you want to do outside of a holiday. You could apply directly for a temporary working visa which usually gives you anywhere from a year to 3 years. Even though you are over 30 you should still be able to get one. You would have to show that you have sufficient funds in the short term to support yourself along with a return ticket. All that could be done from the UK or from NZ once you are here. Once you have that working visa it will open a few more doors for you and if you take the time to ring the forestry outfits and explain what you have. Most usually mean that you are legally able to work in NZ rather than having full residency but if push comes to shove you can always go for a groundie or machinery operator position with one of the larger tree outfits. If you get caught working without that visa you'll get booted out of the country and refused entry for five years. If you're really serious about it you could always hire yourself an immigration lawyer to point you in the right direction. That's what we did and if you get a good one they are worth the expense.

If you PM me I'll keep my eye out and send you a couple of contact numbers if I see anything.

Have a look on the trademe website under jobs. There are usually always jobs for log haulers, machine drivers etc. on there. It's heavy work and the guys are pretty hard core and full on. Drug testing etc is mandatory. There's also usually jobs going in the local papers. Central North Island is a huge forestry area so you need to look in places like Taupo, Rotorua, Coramandel etc in the weekly local rags.

That's worse than spot the ball! Looks mighty warm down there bro but can't wait to see the photos.

Nightmares for ever after visualising that!

I'd have a vertex vent in that colour.

When you're willing someone to reply to your post just so you can post again. When you're telling everybody you know (and don't know) that your a member of an online arb forum.

What about an Arbtalk debt collection service? Bunch of hairy ass chainsaw wealding guys turning up on the doorstep en masse? You'd pay upwouldn't you?

17? Man it seems like a long time ago when I was 17. Yeesh. Welcome to the house of fun.

Depends if you're paying for it. If it's free then you'll burn almost everything and anything. Better to have something on your fire for free than to have to pay or have nowt eh? As for my faves? I like a mix. I like Cypress or Fir for kindling and to get a bit of go in the fire and then I throw the good stuff on. I have some old daddy Gum I cut down about a year ago and it's almost seasoned now. Burns hot and long. Some of the NZ natives are hot enough to melt fire grates. Willow I don't bother with and I never used to bother with Poplar either but a lot of people I talk to around here reckon they are happy to burn pop. It just doesn't last long. What's a bugger to split? Seasoned old daddy Gum. Even a hydraulic splitter won't bust apart the the knotty bits and if you can bust em open they explode. Had a mate of mine took a swing at a hunk with an axe and thought he was going to lose his teeth with the vibration.

Same as above. Use good quality oil and keep the filler area clean. Happens to me all the time.

I thought for just a moment that I'd stumbled across a Geoffrey Archer book review by mistake. I'll have to go back when I have time and read your stories properly. Nice to have something completely different on here

Sorry Terry, should have stated that the neutral screen core doesn't give you cart blanche to go grabbing conductors. It is a secondary protection only for those stupid enough not to adhere to the minimum approach distances. As I said, insulated should not be used to describe any conductor. That includes telephone wires too.

Nah didn't feel it bro. Was out with the dogs but didn't even feel a rumble. Must have been too deep. 150kms is a long way down so that probably helped. Reckon they're following your every move.

Yeesh, Adam, what are you doing Bro. No sooner do you look at moving to Auckland than they get their first earthquake in donkey's years then Taupo gets hit by a 6.5.

You might need to explain to me what exactly that is but Bivouac outdoors nz have a rope protector as do altitude and accessgear. Not sure what type you are after though.

Some utilities did run some testing on insulated conductors several years ago. Not sure how much further they went with it but at the time it consisted of leaving a felled tree across all three phases of a 11KV feeder to see how long it was before there was any noticable trickle or similar. This was a controlled experiment on a closed circuit. Today people assume because the conductor has black rubber or plastic around it it is insulated. This, as far as I am aware, is a myth. The black outer is just weatherproofing and nothing more. Further, if any line was fully insulated it only takes a pin prick hole to negate that insulation. As many lines have rubbed against trees then there is every likelihood that any outer would have been worn away. In NZ they do use what is known as neutral screen core. This means that between the outer layer and the inner, live, core there is a wrap of aluminum which is neutral. Should something cut through the wire the elctricity is immediately earthed through this wrap rather than through whatever has cut through it......if that makes sense.

If it's of any help consolation, I've seen Gums in worse condition than that bounce back. He might have to try a little harder.

Repairing of the wall could have been part of the compromise along with replanting of trees somewhere else. As I said, it's a compromise not a victory for one argument over another. What I mean is if the wall is that important then council could have said to the tree owner 'we'll grant you permission to remove the trees if you repair and maintain the wall and replant at your cost'. This then puts the emphasis back on the owner and he has to ask himself the question "do I want the trees out that badly?" There is of course the H&S issue that was raised earlier. Who pays if the trees cause the wall to crumble on to a passer by?

Killing the trees is completely the wrong way to go about it and I sure as hec don't condone that action. Not knowing the entire hsitory of the tree/wall battle it's hard to comment too much further but suffice to say that there are surely other ways around the issue? The council could surely have looked at other possibilites rather than a flat out no and, the owner could surely have gotten a couple of independant reports and advice on what to do. Armed with this an amicable compromise may have been reached. Some councils though do need to get off their perch as do a lot of the general public.

To be honest, and at the risk of causing an all out arb war, I think soemtimes we go a little over board in trying to preserve trees. Looking at these ones they are going to cause damage to walls footpaths etc in the short and long term. Would it not be easier, and better on the whole, to agree to let the guy remove the trees if he replants a certain number in a better spot either in a green space or somewhere else? This is often the case here where a tree can be removed (if it doesn't have great aesthetic or notable qualities) as long as the applicant agrees to replant some semi mature saplings somewhere more suitable. This whole tree removal process and the issues within it caused the government here to look at the whole resource consent process and then slackened it right off. This now means that trees have very little protection under the resource management act. If councils had played the game of give and take a little more from the start the resource management act may never have needed to be changed at all. I value trees but i sometimes wonder if we go just a little too far.

Which was there first, the wall or the tree?

One of the worst noises for my head when I'm trying to sleep is a barking dog that some ignorant git won't tell to shut up. Drives me bonkers.