Rethinking Pre-Job Briefs for Safer, Smarter Crews

Ken Lulow | Line Worker Solutions

Steve Yahns | Vimocity

Alright. Well, hey, everybody. Thanks for being with us again. I've got Ken Lulu again with us here today. Ken, how are we doing?

Good, Steve. Thanks for having me back here.

Yeah. Thanks so much for being here. And we're just gonna actually dive in to, a topic that actually just came about. We had a question about pre job briefings and a way to maximize the time, spent with the crews. So I'm just gonna go ahead and just dive right in. First question, just what makes a pre job brief truly effective and not just a box to check?

Alright. So I believe that, like, the job briefing to me is probably one of the most crucial and most important parts, and it always is a feels like it's a box that's just getting checked because everybody's so eager to get actually get out and start doing the work. But half of the work, I feel, is done mentally during the job briefing. So it's really there's purpose in that job briefing.

One of us mentally run through the scope of the work, what the hazards are, and understanding that what your role is. So depending on, you know, foreman, your apprentice, it's when the job briefing happens that we communicate everybody's roles, expectations for those roles, and go even a little further if you're the foreman running it or you're the lineman running it, whoever's running the job briefing, why you're doing your role, what makes your role important for the overall scope of the job, And then make sure that they understand, like, repeat back what they're doing and why it's important, how it makes the job flow together.

Give some purpose. It gives them, like, some, responsibility into that job, and then identify the hazards together too. Like, there's always gonna be the major hazards that you've probably already gone through and, you know, we have live electrical. We've got in the bite.

We've got heavy loads. We got slips, trips, and falls. But there's lots of other hazards too. Just, like I said, the five hundred other hazards that are around that you can identify together as a group and asking every person on the crew to identify some hazards that they might see, again, gives them some stake in the game there.

It gives them the a voice. It feels like they have a voice to speak up. So when something really is going on, they've already participated. They've already spoken up, said a hazard.

They're gonna participate and call out that hazard too that could have been an accident if they hadn't called it out. Sure. You might get yelled at, right, for saying something that they think is stupid or whatever it was that happens sometimes on the cruise. But at least it's encouraging those individuals to speak up and and have some ownership in that, job that's going on.

And I think it actually even though we might spend a little more time on the job briefing, everybody knows their roles, knows why they're doing those roles, how it plays into the overall scope of the project, Everybody works together faster. Like, you actually make up time by having a job briefing like that than you would saying, do this when I tell you to. You don't know why you're doing it, so there's hesitation. You're thinking it through, and you're just not you don't work in sync.

So going over everybody's roles, expectations, make sure everybody, you know, can articulate it back, what we're doing. It makes the overall scope of the job just so much safer, so much more efficient.

I love that. Trying to get a team approach to these pre job briefings, right, instead of just one primary person just reading off, you know, like, a to do list. I love that approach. I think too, like you said, that way folks, you know, are tuning it out less likely to tune it out because they are involved.

They are playing a role. They are either being called on or or encouraged to participate. But, like, I think you hit on it. They're kinda delegating a little bit.

Right? And in a way, you're empowering folks to become leaders, right, a little bit. You're kinda creating this this environment where you can cultivate future leaders. I love that.

Just in a brief time briefing.

Yeah. And that's I mean, that's our ultimate job as leaders is to develop other leaders. So you're you're showing that, and that's what you're doing.

So it's I love that.

That's great. What's one thing that most crews forget or be pushed through during pre job briefs that can really hurt safety or performance?

It I think it really does the same thing. It's coming down to communicating your expectations.

A lot of times, we just go, this is the job. We're gonna set a poll and, you know, transfer the wire, but we don't go over what your role is. And so, like, individuals that aren't used to that crew kinda feel lost. Even the lineman might feel lost.

They'll know, okay. I'm supposed to be the one in the air. Am I getting the materials? Am I getting the, you know, equipment out?

And so nobody really knows exactly what role that they're supposed to fill. They just kind of stay busy. And so those leaked accesses somebody thinks that somebody else is gonna do this, and then pieces get overlooked. And then that leads to accidents or, you know, so we didn't grab the right material or, the right piece of rigging.

It whatever it was, and then it leads to an accident.

Yeah. I think oh my gosh. That's that's so good. Like, you can never overcommunicate, it sounds like, in a scenario like that. Right? Like, even if it feels like you're overcommunicating, if it's establishing clarity, is you need to. Right?

I feel like on the jobs that you should be talking all the time.

Yeah. Because you're not just I mean, yes. You're trying to get the job done, but you're also talking about, you know, risky situations. Right? And making sure everyone goes home safe, and I don't think you can overcommunicate when you're talking about that. So No.

Oh, that's great.

What's a good way to maybe tailor that pre job brief to, like, different tasks or crews, like, when timing's tight, when you just got a few minutes?

When timing's tight, I mean, I don't know that that's a good excuse sometimes. There's there's times there's emergencies when there might be, like, a life safe safety kinda situation, and you have to spring into action.

But all the other job briefings that you've had previously prepare you for that moment because those individuals are used to looking for those hazards. Those individuals are used to knowing their roles. So you have to spring into an action.

You know, you can spring into action, try to avoid the hazards, whatever it is you gotta navigate to be safer where just saying that we're on a time crunch, I feel like that's self imposed. There's not like, who made the time crunch? Because the outage can't take so long. We only have the road for so long. And, again, if you have that job briefing and you do include everybody, it's gonna go faster because everybody knows exactly what they're supposed to do.

And and the other thing too that I feel is important that gets overlooked in the job briefing is what's our emergency plan if something were to happen? Mhmm. Like, always have that just run through. If something were to happen, it's something on the you know, climbing the pole, who's gonna be the rescue person?

Who's gonna be the one calling nine one one? If we're in a remote area, who are we gonna send to, meet EMS at the end of the road to help bring him down here, like, running through that plan? Because in an actual accident, it's pure chaos. And if you haven't practiced that, it's gonna be terrible.

So just running through that on the job briefings.

And another thing too that job briefings that I feel never gets touched on or hardly ever is if somebody's got an allergy or somebody's got, like, a bee allergy and they have an EpiPen.

We don't ask those questions. We don't know. So if somebody got stung, we don't know how to respond, how to react. We might not have time.

We might not know where they keep their lunchbox or where they keep, you know, their pen in their backpack, something like that. You only let the whole crew know, but at least let somebody know so that if something were to happen, you could respond fast. And and two, if you had, maybe you're on some medication for for whatever reason or maybe, diabetic and you need to kinda monitor that. Just somebody that can be aware that you have that condition and watch out.

And that should be part of your job briefing that goes there.

Before every morning or, you know, before every job just just to get that ingrained. You know, how are we gonna respond in case something happens?

And, another thing too is just the mental check-in. Like, how are you feeling? Like, Steve, how are you doing today? You good?

And, eventually, you you know, if we trust each other, you're gonna be like, you know, not really. So we know we don't wanna put you in a situation where it's where you're dangerous. Right? So somebody can kinda step up and take that a little extra in your place just so we don't put you in a bad position.

And I think that needs to get a little more practiced out on those job briefings on the job sites and just the whole emergency plan too.

I love that you meant mentioned that kind of mental checklist, right, that we need to do with ourselves, but also with each other. Right? And I think I don't know. Oftentimes, the culture kinda wants to just to tell us to go just tough it out tough it out.

Don't let anybody know something's going on. We also know that that's not really toughing it out. Right? We talked about that before.

Like, it's all about, you know, humbling yourself and admitting, like, maybe that you do need some help or you just need to talk about it with somebody. How do you help like, how do you as a somebody who's working maybe in a leadership role or just, like, a lead of your crew help to kinda promote folks feeling comfortable about speaking up? And maybe it's not in front of the group, but speaking up to, like, somebody who's trusted. How do you promote that?

By leading off. Like, you gotta be vulnerable first and, you know, when a lot of times when you're in the leadership position, you're looked up to as the leader. Right? And, like, if you think about maybe look at your dad or some mentor that you had and you thought they were Superman Invincible, but they're not.

And it's when I can remember the first time I saw my dad crying, like, how is this possible? It's just having that then I felt, no. Oh, it's okay for me to do it now too. So it's being vulnerable first and letting the crew know that, yeah, I'm a person.

I'm human and just having that connectivity, that bond. And if they if they see you setting that example that you were vulnerable with them. You've just built some trust, you know, and they're they're gonna feel that it's okay. You set it.

You set the example for me too that I can feel comfortable doing that.

Oh, it's so good. That's, like, true strength right there. Right? Being not being afraid to show vulnerability when timing when you need to. Right?

Oh my gosh. So good, Ken. Thanks again. Just, appreciate your time here. Appreciate the nuggets you've given us on pre job briefings. And, once again, everybody, continue to look out for more content from Ken. He's gonna be contributing to our community so much on, future live events, but also some really cool engaging, additional content through some small short courses.

So, Ken, thank you so much again for being with us. Thanks, Steve.

Had a great time.

Alright. Take it easy.