Utility Pros

Safety Minute: Bucket Truck Operational Reminders

When an aerial device arrives on site, before work begins, operators should conduct a site survey to identify potential hazards. After following proper setup procedures...

Base Your Preventative Maintenance Schedule on Actual Work Conditions

Fleet managers know that preventative maintenance is critical to keeping bucket trucks and digger derricks running safely and at peak efficiency. But the key to keeping costs low and uptime high is a maintenance plan that goes beyond...

5 Things That Contribute to Quick Response After a Storm

Whether it’s rain, wind, snow, ice or a combination of all of the elements, utility companies need to have a storm response plan in place so they can dispatch crews quickly to restore services. An extensive response plan includes ensuring equipment and people are ready to go at a moment’s notice. Here are five steps to make sure you are ready...

Maintaining Your Insulated Booms: Part 4 – Repairing and Refinishing Fiberglass Booms

Damage to the booms outer gel-coat can reduce the dielectric strength of the fiberglass. Tech Tip 149 covers procedures in repairing small areas of gel coat surface damage. Before making any gel coat repairs...

Maintaining Your Insulated Booms: Part 3 – Maintenance of Fiberglass to Steel Joint

One of the most common fiberglass maintenance points on a unit is the caulking or sealant at the fiberglass to steel joint. Improperly maintained joints can lead to corrosion of the steel boom section, moisture and...

Maintaining Your Insulated Booms: Part 2 - Photographing Major Fiberglass Damage

Major damage to an insulated boom must be reported to the manufacturer for analysis to determine if it can be repaired. To receive the appropriate support and possible repairs from the Terex Services team, it is important to take quality photos that depict the damage the most accurate way...

Maintaining Your Insulated Booms: Part 1 – Understanding the Extent of Damage

In this four-part series, Utility Pros will summarize and share four Tech Tips produced by our Product Support Team. Tech Tips cover the most common questions our Terex Services Team receives regarding repairs and replacements and is meant to provide...

Worksite Environmental Factors to Look for When Setting Up a Bucket Truck

An entire utility crew is responsible for contributing to safe and efficient operations at a worksite. One important aspect is being able to identify the environmental factors that can affect proper set up of a bucket truck. If it’s determined...

Digger Derricks: Among the Most Versatile Tools – When Used Correctly

Digger derricks are built to tackle a myriad of tasks ─ from digging holes then lifting and setting poles to turning in screw anchors, putting linemen in the air, and setting transformers. Like the people who use them, digger derricks are hard working tools used to solve a variety of challenges...

Best Practices When Handling Transformers with Your Bucket Truck, Part 4: Understanding Proper Set Up

Here is the final part of the series on Best Practices When Handling Transformers with Your Bucket Truck. Today, we cover our last part on what line workers should know: Understanding Proper Set Up...

Best Practices When Handling Transformers with Your Bucket Truck, Part 3: Knowing Your Load

Over the last couple of weeks, we covered the first 2 parts of this series on knowing your jib and some best practices on inspecting your jib before handling transformers in this 4-part series. This week, we move to the third area that line workers should know: Knowing Your Load.

Best Practices When Handling Transformers with Your Bucket Truck, Part 2: Inspecting Your Jib

Most bucket trucks sold to the utility industry are equipped with jibs, which makes it very handy to lift and handle transformers. However, not all jibs are the same and the user should evaluate the type of work when choosing the equipment for the job.