Built Right | The VEC Podcast
Built Right is VEC's podcast on our company, our culture and the construction industry.
Built Right | The VEC Podcast
The Life of a High Voltage Lineman
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
To celebrate Lineman Appreciation Day, Tricia sits down with Tim Sabau, our Power Division Foreman. He talks about growing up on a farm, learning to work with his hands and the path to becoming a high voltage lineman.
So we are talking National Lyman Appreciation Day, and we have Tim Sabo with us, and appreciate you taking time this morning to speak with me. And we'll get a little background and early inspiration from you. So let's start at the beginning. Who is Tim? Where did you grow up and what was it like there?
SPEAKER_00Well, thank you guys for having me. So I grew up in Bristolville, out in the country. I was kind of a country boy. As far as uh what I like to do, I mean, regular stuff, rough housing. Uh my dad was a very hands-on guy, so um physical labor stuff was always a big deal. We had a lot of land, so there was a lot of grass cutting, there was a lot of all that stuff. Um so I kind of that's that's what I grew up doing. That's what I grew up, uh, you know, the work ethic and all that um from from from my father from just working around the house and taking care of all the stuff we had.
SPEAKER_01So I was gonna ask you, um, when you think about your childhood, were you always the hands-on climb anything, fix anything type, or did that come later? But it sounds like it probably started at a very young age.
SPEAKER_00Um yeah, I mean, we were always, it was always outside, mom and dad, you know, go outside and play, find something to do. So yeah, I mean, we always that was always a thing with us uh in the neighborhood kids, that's what we would do. We would build, we build ramps, we build, you know, jump our bikes and stuff like that. So yeah, um yeah, we would always, I guess we would always had that and did that.
SPEAKER_01Um what first put the skilled trades on your radar?
SPEAKER_00So my uncle owned a roofing business. Um, so right out of high school, I went and worked for him. Um I did and it was commercial industrial roofing and uh residential. So I got a little dose of all of that, um, which was kind of cool. Um after that I had worked for a local contractor doing construction, some carpentry work for a little bit. Um, and then uh I had an opportunity to work over at Delphi. Um, and I worked there for probably 10 years, 12 years, give or take. Um and the girl I wound up marrying, her father owned a line company. So I kind of got into the line side working on the weekends with him, doing stuff, and and kind of learned some of the stuff, the basics with them doing that. Um, and then when Delphi went belly up, uh I went to work uh as a groundman. I started from a groundman and worked my way up, and uh that's basically how I got in um to the trade and introduced to it. Understood.
SPEAKER_01So you mentioned uh your uncle who nudged you um into that line of work. Um what stuck with you when taking the roofing um experience to what you're doing today? Anything that you've brought from back in the day to today?
SPEAKER_00I mean, roofing is hard work. Really hard work, and so is line work. Um, you know, I can attest to that. I have artificial hips and have a shoulder that needs replaced. Um, so it's hard work. I mean, it's all hard work. Um, but in order to do it well and do it right, um, that's how you have to do it. Um you don't do it the right way, you get hurt. So, I mean, that's a big deal.
SPEAKER_01Uh is there a mentor or a crew leader that maybe helped shape the way you work today?
SPEAKER_00Oh, oh, absolutely. Um, I still talk to him. He I've actually tried getting him over here. Um and he uh yeah, he's he he was probably the best lineman I've ever worked with. Um he was a guy that could see 10 miles down the road and know what was gonna happen. And uh he definitely he definitely was a great uh mentor to myself and a bunch of us. Uh we had a pretty good crew and um we had a really good run for a lot of years together. Um, and that made me a better lineman. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So switching to advice for students um or young adults researching how to get into the line work, what's the real advice you wish someone had given you early on?
SPEAKER_00I don't think when you get in this trade, uh I I don't think you really know what you're getting into initially until you're in it. Um and I think a lot of this, a lot of the high voltage in in pretty much probably any trade, um, like I think you have an expectation of what you think it is, but until you actually start doing it, you don't realize what all that entails, I guess. Um yeah, that's that's that's a tough question to to to answer. Um I mean I guess I guess if I if I as hard as it was and as hard as it is of a job, maybe hey, you better understand what you're getting into. Um because I don't think you really do, and there are times, um, I mean I I remember one definitive moment um I was about to be topped out, or I might have just topped out, and I was on a poll, um, and I always tell tell my buddy that was there that that was the poll that I almost quit the trade in, and everybody has one of those. Um, you know, but it passes and then you move on, and it's never always that hard, but it has its days with that stuff. So yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um qualities that you think um you would share that would uh make someone a great fit for this career? Um what do you look for if you're out there recruiting or scouting or seeing somebody doing maybe more of a labor position that might have interest in the lineman side, what qualities are you looking for?
SPEAKER_00I think you definitely have to be you have to be motivated and you have to you have to want to to be able to work hard. I mean, that's the big thing is you've got to be a worker. If you're not a worker, this is a really tough trade to be in. Um is unf and I don't know if it's unfortunate. Everything out here is word of mouth. So people find out that you're not a good worker, you're not a good hand, that that that translates.
SPEAKER_01That uh does not set you up for things.
SPEAKER_00That we always say what they say on the East Coast is out on the west coast in less than an hour. So I mean, linemen talk, um, people in the trade talk. So I would say having a good work ethic, being uh being open to you're gonna get criticized a lot because you're gonna learn a lot. You learn more out here doing the wrong thing than you do doing the right thing. Um, and I think that's changed in the trade a lot. Um how you have to approach apprentices and and the younger guys is way different than it used to be.
SPEAKER_01Um what's that look like?
SPEAKER_00I mean, I had we had several nicknames that that you were called, and I mean when when you came up, and and that's how it was. You know, they always said check your feelings at the door. Um the times that we live in now are a little different, and you have to handle those differently. Um so managing personalities is a huge deal now. Um you know, especially with with the field we're in, with there's a million storm companies. Um you gotta be able to separate yourself somehow. So it's either how you treat the guys or how you handle things or you know, all of that, all of that's a big deal. Um, and especially guys that this is what they do for a living, they storm. You get a bad rap one time and it it trickles down. I mean, it it's a big deal. So managing personalities and how you have to handle people now is uh quite a bit different. Yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_01If someone's on the fence between college and the trades, what perspective would you offer them?
SPEAKER_00Oh, I'd go to the trades without a doubt. Um, most of these trades, not all, but most of them, uh especially on the union side, IBEW, um you get into the apprenticeship, you come out with no debt, generally. Not all the time, not with all of them, but generally that's how that works. Um, and you're probably gonna make, I mean, a uh a lineman as a first, second step apprentice, you're probably gonna make over a hundred thousand dollars. I mean, there's very few jobs out there where you can come in starting with that kind of money.
SPEAKER_01Um I know prior to us sitting down, we were having a little bit of a conversation, VEC Volunteers Time at Trumbull Career Technical Center and um Mahoney County Career Technical Center. And we're always asked, as the employer, how do we get these kids in front of uh the union side and get them employed or get them enrolled or get them into the apprenticeship program? I know you mentioned there's a little bit of time that needs to be um done. Can you explain that a little bit further?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, generally the the process for um I know for IBEW, um the all-bat program that we have in our jurisdiction here um in the uh fourth district, their uh their requirements are a little different. They require you to apply. Um, and I think I think now the qualifications, I think you have to have a Class A CDL permit in order to even apply, um, which is way different than it used to be. We used to, when I came up, we had uh once you got in the apprenticeship, you had 90 days to obtain your class A CDO, and it was way easier to get a CDL than now. Um the way it's structured with all the federal guidelines and all that stuff, um, and the expense of it has made it a lot more difficult to get in. Um those that do, you still have to go through the process of applying. Um you generally have to have two years of some sort of experience in the trade, uh, whether that be college, two years of college classes or work experience in the field is generally what they're looking for on that. Uh and then you have an interview process that you go through and then they rank you in the interview process as to where you are. And then as the need for contractors to have manpower and apprentices comes up, then that's how that list progresses. Got it. Um so it it yeah, it can be a lengthy process. Um I know it was probably 15, 10, 15 years ago they had a real shortage alignment um and they flooded the trade with the young guys. Like there's a whole group of the young guys that um all came in at the same time. So it's one big group. Um so that presented challenges because there weren't, you know. I had a lot of senior guys that mentored us and showed us those guys were the minority, and there's not a lot of us. And you had a lot of people coming into the trade all at once that are learning as they go, and that has its challenges for companies, for employees, the whole way around on that.
SPEAKER_01So let's uh pivot to a day in the life. And can you walk us through what a typical day looks like from when you get the call to when you're deployed and when you return?
SPEAKER_00So it's a lot of chaos. Um from the time I get the call, um we we activate. Once we get the green light, we get our guys rounded up. We generally have a feel. I generally know usually a couple hours, give or take, before, so we're able to kind of get guys ready, uh, make them aware, hey, we're just waiting on the call. Uh once we get the call and we get the green light, then um it's kind of all hands on deck, and everybody just kind of uh it's kind of chaotic. It is a very chaotic thing. We are pretty fortunate here because we have a core group of guys that we have that uh generally come back um every storm, so that makes it way easier. Um doesn't make it any less chaotic. Uh, there's a lot of moving parts making sure we have all our PPE, uh making sure guys that are traveling that are coming from different places, um, who has what truck assignments. Um there's a lot of moving parts. Um Zach, our general foreman, does an excellent job with all of that. He is very organized and he has streamlined that, uh, which is why I brought him in, because he's the best in the business. Um a lot of that um controlled chaos, I would say. Very much so.
SPEAKER_01And I understand um pulling in a um less seasoned individual but has the talent to be able to support you in-house. Jordan Tingler has done a great job.
SPEAKER_00Jordan has done a great job. He's been learning as he goes. Um we actually just took him out on the storm in uh Connecticut and Massachusetts a couple weeks ago, so he got a little taste of uh of what it's like out there and kind of how how things go.
SPEAKER_01See firsthand.
SPEAKER_00It's a uh it's a very things change on the take a turn uh uh and you have to be able to pivot. Uh you have to be able to react to things. Uh I mean I can tell you there are very few times out here doing any of this stuff that it ever goes as planned. Ever. So you have to understand that, know that, and know that you've got to pivot and go a different direction if you need to. Um, which is when you're not used to that, that is a huge learning curve. Um and that's all part of the that's all part of the experience and part of learning what we got, what we're doing here with this.
SPEAKER_01And how does family feel when you're out on storm? Because I know you can be gone weeks at a time.
SPEAKER_00Uh I think, and this is just I'm sure from my wife's perspective, and I know Zach's wife's perspective, uh they like it because that's our meal ticket. Um, but when you're gone for a little bit, like this last eight-day run, I was fortunate I was on vacation, so I wasn't out there with them. Uh, but the the wives are ready for you to come home. And actually, Zach just told me that this morning. He said I pulled in the driveway last night and opened the door, and my boys came running out, and and that's what it's about. Yeah, that's that's what it's all about. It's uh, you know, you go out and you work hard, you earn your money, and you that's what you get to come home to. So it's pretty cool, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um so I was just gonna ask about being um on the road for storm and what that's like, and kind of gave me a little bit of of an answer there. Do you remember your first major storm that you were called out to be on?
SPEAKER_00I was on uh Katrina was my first big one that I was on. And uh yeah, that was an experience. That was uh my first my first foray into the union side, into the storm chasing side, um, which was a whole different a whole different beast than I was exposed to. Um you know, you sleep in man camps, um, in tents, in the heat, in the in the weather, uh, you know, you eat crappy food. Um yeah, no, it's absolutely uh a different uh it was a different a whole different experience for me. Um it's it's gotten way better now. Uh most of the time, depending, uh you get a you get a decent hotel room. Um the big hurricanes, you generally get stuck in the man camps, and that's just how it works. And uh not everybody's cut out for that. Um it can be difficult, it can be hard. Um you work in that heat all day, and and you don't get to you don't get to lay down in a in a nice, I mean they air conditioned those places, but it's not really air conditioned. Uh air moving around. So yeah, it it has its challenges, and you do that for three or four weeks, and you can imagine how that uh a bunch of a bunch of cranky linemen get. Um so once again it goes back to manage being able to manage personalities and understanding where you're where you're at and what your guys are are feeling and doing. And I think we uh we have really good leadership here that um from from our general foreman to our foreman that manage all that very well. We are really lucky here that we have the people we have here. Um I know you guys had um had gone down this this path in the past, and when you first put it together, and um I know I'd actually talked to Dominic and had come over here and tried to help uh with some of the stuff to get you guys going when we f when you first started this. Um and the people here from that experience. Um I've been able to use a lot of what worked very well and what didn't to kind of shape and form what we got here now. Um so so it it's been it's always a big uh a mixed bag on some of that stuff, but um it's definitely I always encourage people, um you gotta come out and see it. Um that's that's what was cool about having Jordan come out. He got to see it and he was like, wow. He's like, yeah, it's way different. I get I get some of the stuff now, you know. And it is, it's when you actually get out there and see it, um it's a it's kind of a different beast.
SPEAKER_01Well, I'm sure too, safety is huge when it comes to the culture that you need with your cruise, um, equipment, tooling. Um how do you personally approach safety and has your perspective evolved over time?
SPEAKER_00So I actually, when I had my hips replaced, I actually took a safety guy position. Um I was an OSHA 500-501 instructor. Um and that's what I had done for probably the past eight years before I I came over here. Um it's definitely interesting. Uh it gives you a different perspective on on from being a lineman to the safety side and the liability that goes into companies. Um and I was I always tried approaching it that way with the guys that I was over top of. Um on the safety side, linemen, linemen and safety people don't generally jive.
SPEAKER_01Um how so?
SPEAKER_00Well, safety people are usually textbook people college. They they you know, they they they take the college classes and they know and they uh the application of the real world when you're out there, um sometimes if you don't have a little bit of the ability to discern what is going on and what you're doing can be very uh it can it can cause a lot of friction. That's why I always uh a lineman, if you tell a lineman why and explain to a lineman why he has to do it, you're gonna get way better results than coming out on a job and going, hey, that isn't right, fix it. That's that that's all usually where the rub comes in. Um and that comes into communication. Uh so I always tried to do that with my guys when I, you know, whenever I was out there, hey, you know, this is why we got to do it. Let's let's try and and it's never gonna be. Perfect. You could go out there as a safety guy, could go out and find something every day and ding you for something. That doesn't work. You know, nobody wants to hear what they do wrong every day. Um, and I think the safety culture has shifted from a hey, you're doing that wrong, to a uh more of an affirmative educational. Yeah, hey, let's try and do this. We gotta we gotta make sure. I always presented it to the guys of hey, we're I'm I'm trying to cover your butt. Let's try and and get let's get to where we need to get to to keep this side happy and you can get your work done. And there is, there is always a gray area. Um and that's why that's why safety people, when you don't have experience and you're you're going by what it says in the book, well the book tells me that this is what it's gotta be. Doesn't always work that way. Um, so somebody has to give. And that generally is not the lineman. So then you have an uphill battle with that. Um but I think it's uh it it had gone the wrong direction with the safety stuff, like it had gotten so overused, and I mean you through your career. Through my career. They had had there was a time when uh, you know, you had guys that had they had a policy for everything. Well, you start shoving policy down, guys that are in the field trying to manage a project, um, doing stuff like that, and having to worry about, okay, am I doing this, this? It was putting a lot of stress on guys and causing guys to miss things that they ordinarily wouldn't miss. Um, I think it's gone the other way now. I think I think there's more of a middle ground now with a lot of that stuff, even in the field uh with a lot of the power companies that we're working for, uh they're much more down the middle. They're more of a uh, hey, I see this, why are you doing that? They'll ask you, and then, oh, okay, and they'll work with you. Um, it wasn't like that for a while. There were certain power companies, if you didn't do what they told you to do, I mean you you were gone. Uh I don't think it's it's it's near what it was. I think it's more, it's been more of a uh relationship, let's work, let's figure it out type of thing, get you farther ahead, um, better results, and you know, everybody's in a better frame of mind with that. So yeah, definitely a different uh, definitely come a long way.
SPEAKER_01Uh is there one or what is one safety habit you think every new lineman should build from day one?
SPEAKER_00Um I mean, just just be responsible. Be responsible. Uh everybody, I don't care if you're a groundman or a first day, I mean, ask questions, be part of the discussion. Uh I mean, there's been times where we've been out, we've had seasoned linemen out there that, you know, good linemen that don't see something, and you uh you have an apprentice or a groundman go, hey, what's that up there? What's going on? And four guys missed it. You're like, oh. So uh being aware, being part of the team, understanding, asking questions, um, you know, having instilling the the important things, the little things, wearing your PPE, wearing your gloves, you don't touch wire that's on the ground without wearing rubber gloves, like that kind of stuff, just the basic stuff, the stuff they teach it right on on day one. Um, you know, that kind of stuff is what the important things are. It's the little things that always get you out here. I mean, it really is. It's very seldom is it the big stuff, it's the little stuff that you forget to do. You know, hey, I needed to check my gloves to make sure I didn't have a hole in my gloves. Um, you know, I uh it happens all the time. Um that's the important thing. Doing the little things that you're supposed to do. I mean, I see it all the time out here. You give guys new gloves and sleeves, and half of them don't even check them anymore. I mean, that was a that was a big thing. You always did that before you when you took them out of the bag, you rolled them up, you you did your air test. Um Our guys here are very good at it. Um they do the stuff that they're supposed to do, they do the little things, and and that's that's what has led us to be so far as successful as we have. Um and and and that that translates, um, and that starts at the top. It starts with the leadership, you know, with the guys, with the the people we have here, um, you know, from you guys up here, you know, the executives on down uh with all of that. You guys have supported all of that, and it that makes all the difference. It makes all the difference in the world.
SPEAKER_01So, what is your most favorite thing that you're doing today at VEC for the lineman um side of the power restoration team that we've put together? What do you enjoy most?
SPEAKER_00I mean, I love seeing their success. Like I love, and that's what I want. That's that's what I tell the guys, I tell all the guys that I said we we have been put in a position by you guys, the executives, to be able to build this and make this what we want it to be. You know, a lot of times out here, success goes to guys' heads, and that's what ruins good places because everybody thinks that they're entitled. You know, if everybody's on board, everybody is treated well and taken care of, you know, there's opportunities for everybody here. And and that's that's what I want for the guys. I want good guys that appreciate what we do, and we appreciate what they do. They put it, they they put their time in, um, and we take care of them, and they take care of us. And that's that's how you build, that's how you build a successful company. That's how you build it. I've been with two previous family-owned companies, and that's how they build it. Um and and that's the you you you you treat people the way you'd want to be treated. Absolutely. Um and if you do that, people will respect that, um, the men will respect that. Now, you're always gonna have people that are not gonna be happy, no matter what you do. That's part of the that's part of the animal out here.
SPEAKER_01Well, we appreciate what you've done so far with the team and the the crews that you've put together. Um, very much appreciated, Tim. So we're gonna end this uh more on a fun note of this or that. I've got five quick picks and bucket truck or climbing hooks?
SPEAKER_00Oh bucket truck.
SPEAKER_01Sunrise shift or night shift?
SPEAKER_00No sunrise.
SPEAKER_01Storm work, adrenaline or routine maintenance comb? Storm work. Mountains or beach for downtime?
SPEAKER_00Oh beach.
SPEAKER_01And coffee before the job or energy drink after?
SPEAKER_00Coffee before. All right. Always coffee.
SPEAKER_01Thank you so much for spending time with me and sharing a little bit of what uh uh uh alignment's uh day in the life and who Tim is, and we appreciate you and happy National Alignmen appreciation day.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, thank you guys. Thank you guys for everything. We appreciate it.
SPEAKER_01Very good.