SAFETY SUNDAY THE LINE BETWEEN SURVIVAL AND STATISTICS March 8, 2026 This one comes directly out of a conversation happening inside the Best Practices Classroom in the Lineman Bull$hit™ Skool community. Some of you may have seen me post about this before. Maybe you’ve heard me say it on a jobsite… or at a summit… or standing next to a bucket while we’re talking through the work. But with some of the videos circulating lately… and with a few incidents we’ve seen across the trade recently… …it needs to be said again. Because in this trade… Lessons don’t get repeated because we like hearing them. They get repeated because someone forgot. And when someone forgets… …the price gets paid in skin, bone, and funerals. THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF LINEMEN There are two kinds of linemen in this trade… Those who truly understand Insulate & Isolate… …and those who have simply survived long enough to wish they had learned it sooner. I’ve been around this arena long enough to see both... Long enough to bury brothers who trusted luck when they should have trusted best practice. Long enough to watch crews gamble with inches like the line gave a damn about their confidence. Let me say something that every lineman should understand deep in his bones… The line has never cared. Electricity is brutally honest. It does exactly what physics demands… every single time. And the moment we drift outside the protection of Insulate & Isolate… …it doesn’t hesitate. Not for a second. THE TRUTH WE DON’T SAY LOUD ENOUGH Insulate & Isolate isn’t a suggestion. It’s not a “program.” It’s not a safety slogan. It’s not something you do when management is watching. It is the spine of live-line work. No I&I… no work. No debate. No excuses. No, “this will only take a second.” You can bluff your way through rigging. You can fake confidence during switching. You can bullshit your way through a storm call long enough to look like you belong. But you cannot outsmart electricity.

I’m not polishing this one... Assumption is how brothers die... Not because they didn’t know. Not because they weren’t trained. Not because they didn’t love this trade. Because somewhere… somebody decided to assume. “It’s dead.” “It’s already grounded.” “They handled it.” “It’s just secondary.” “We’ve always done it this way…” That right there is Lineman Bull$hit. And it gets people killed. The Arena Doesn’t Care About Your Reputation You can have 30 years. You can have a white hard hat. You can have every patch on your sleeve. The lines don’t care… Physics doesn’t care how respected you are in the yard. It doesn’t care how many storms you’ve run. It doesn’t care how confident you sound at a tailboard. It cares about one thing… Did you verify? Not assume. Not believe. Not trust. Verify. Familiar Is Where It Gets Bloody Storm response tightens us up. Unknown territory sharpens instincts. But that feeder you’ve worked a hundred times… That sub you can walk in your sleep… That “simple” secondary changeout… That’s where complacency stretches its legs. That’s where the whisper starts... “You don’t need to test it again.” “You already know.” “Quit overthinking it.” That whisper has put names on grave stones. Leaders… Own This Foremen. General Foremen. If you tolerate shortcuts… You authorize them. If you rush verification… You normalize it. If you get irritated when someone double-checks you… You just told that apprentice to shut up next time. Your ego is not worth a funeral… Say it again. Your Ego Is Not Worth A Funeral… You want a Brotherhood culture? Then make it normal to challenge the switching. Make it normal to test twice. Make it normal to slow the hell down. Because the crew mirrors what you allow… I’ve Got Blood on My Hands Too I’m not preaching from a clean place... I’ve felt that production pressure. I’ve wanted to keep it moving. I’ve heard “we’re good” and wanted to believe it. I’ve been part of the culture. And I’ve seen what it costs.

Kevin , been through a couple of episodes your talking about, and that was 45 years and some ago, we take a while to get to even talking about this side of storm chasing, but yet usually at the end the inevitable happens and we go to another funeral Still a lot of strategy to review for these situations, storm chasing but you hit it on the head , just needs to get to the right heads!!

Field-Forged Training for the Arena of Wood & Wire You don’t need another compliance class. You need leaders who can make the right call in the dark… in the wind… when everyone’s tired, and someone’s life hangs on your decision. Lineman Bull$hit Academy™ exists for one reason: To close the gap between policy and reality. What We Deliver: On-Site Field Training Real-world application of OSHA 1910.269 & 1926 Subpart V ET&D Best Practices Rubber goods… EPZ… weights & forces… switching judgment No seat-time theater. Just clarity under pressure. Storm Response Leadership Development Mission-critical planning Crew fatigue risk awareness Foreman & GF decision frameworks Because storms don’t care about your intentions. Speaking & Keynotes That Hit Different Leadership measured in hearts… not headcount Brother’s Keeper culture Stewardship over status Hard conversations most companies avoid. Who It’s For • Utilities • Contractors • Storm Response Organizations • Foremen, General Foremen, Superintendents • Safety Professionals who are done playing pretend If you’re comfortable… we’re probably not for you. If you’re serious about bringing your people home… We should talk. The Standard... Better... NEVER RESTS. Not on blue-sky days. Not on storm. Not when nobody’s watching. This is for the ones willing to step into the arena. 📩 Book an engagement 🎤 Speaking • Applied Leadership • Field Training 🌩 Storm Division Advisory Lineman Bull$hit Academy™ Field-forged. Consequence-driven. Brotherhood built. ~Kevin