Mar 8 (edited) • SAFETY SUNDAYS
THE LINE BETWEEN SURVIVAL AND STATISTICS
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$hit™ Skool community.
Some of you may have seen me post about this before.
Maybe you’ve heard me say it on a jobsite… or at a summit… or standing next to a bucket while we’re talking through the work.
But with some of the videos circulating lately…
and with a few incidents we’ve seen across the trade recently…
…it needs to be said again.
Because in this trade…
Lessons don’t get repeated because we like hearing them.
They get repeated because someone forgot.
And when someone forgets…
…the price gets paid in skin, bone, and funerals.
THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF LINEMEN
There are two kinds of linemen in this trade…
Those who truly understand Insulate & Isolate…
…and those who have simply survived long enough to wish they had learned it sooner.
I’ve been around this arena long enough to see both...
Long enough to bury brothers who trusted luck when they should have trusted best practice.
Long enough to watch crews gamble with inches like the line gave a damn about their confidence.
Let me say something that every lineman should understand deep in his bones…
The line has never cared.
Electricity is brutally honest.
It does exactly what physics demands… every single time.
And the moment we drift outside the protection of Insulate & Isolate…
…it doesn’t hesitate.
Not for a second.
THE TRUTH WE DON’T SAY LOUD ENOUGH
Insulate & Isolate isn’t a suggestion.
It’s not a “program.”
It’s not a safety slogan.
It’s not something you do when management is watching.
It is the spine of live-line work.
No I&I…
no work.
No debate.
No excuses.
No, “this will only take a second.”
You can bluff your way through rigging.
You can fake confidence during switching.
You can bullshit your way through a storm call long enough to look like you belong.
But you cannot outsmart electricity.
And yet…
Too many crews still treat I&I like it’s optional instead of the only barrier between their body and a casket.
That right there…
…is Lineman Bull$hit.
THIS WAS WRITTEN IN BLOOD
The ET&D Partnership didn’t come up with Insulate & Isolate because someone in a cubicle needed something to do.
It came out of incident investigations...
From burn reports.
From fatality reconstructions.
From crews standing around asking one brutal question…
“How did this happen?”
Every best practice in that guidance exists because somebody didn’t make it home.
Every requirement exists because someone paid the price first.
That’s the truth behind the words.
THREE QUESTIONS THAT DECIDE EVERYTHING
Before a qualified lineman puts his hands anywhere near energy… three questions better already be answered.
Not casually.
Not hopefully.
Honestly.
1… Am I INSULATED?
Rubber on.
Cradle to cradle.
No gaps.
No shortcuts.
No, “I’ll be fine.”
I’ve seen more men hurt in that one quick move than during some of the worst storms I’ve ever worked.
2… Am I ISOLATED?
Barriers set.
Tools positioned correctly.
Clearances maintained.
Body position disciplined… not lazy… not convenient.
Electricity doesn’t care how experienced you are if you drift inside the wrong space.
3… If something goes wrong right now…
WHAT is between me and the energy?
If the answer is
“not much”
or
“probably enough”
…you’re not working smart.
You’re gambling.
And physics always wins that game.
WHY CREWS ACTUALLY FAIL AT I&I
It’s rarely because they don’t know better.
Most linemen know the rule.
The real problem is something else...
We shortcut familiar tasks.
Production whispers in our ear.
Muscle memory replaces deliberate thinking.
Confidence replaces respect.
And complacency starts riding our shoulders like a comfortable jacket.
But complacency is a killer.
This trade does not forgive comfort.
BROTHERS… THIS PART MATTERS
Insulate & Isolate isn’t about compliance.
It’s not about pleasing safety.
It’s not about paperwork.
It’s about Brotherhood.
It’s how we protect the man beside us.
It’s how we honor the ones we buried.
It’s how we make damn sure some kid doesn’t grow up without a father because somebody didn’t want to grab another set of sleeves or move six inches.
Every inch matters.
Every barrier matters.
Every layer matters.
You think it’s overkill?
So is a parachute…
…right up until the moment you need one.
THE CULTURE WE ARE BUILDING
Inside the Lineman Bull$hit™ Skool community… especially in the Best Practices Classroom…
We don’t water this down.
We don’t dance around the truth.
We talk about the things that actually keep men alive.
Because the reality is simple…
Insulate & Isolate is the reason you wake up tomorrow.
It’s the difference between a long career…
…and a short obituary.
It’s Brotherhood in practice.
Not on stickers.
Not on shirts.
Not on patches.
In practice.
If you're going to work hot…
You damn well better work protected.
Non-negotiable.
Unapologetic.
Uncompromising.
Because this trade has bled enough already.
FINAL WORD
There is no glory in toughness if you die proving it.
There is no pride in shortcuts if the price is a funeral.
Insulate.
Isolate.
Every job.
Every time.
Cradle to cradle.
Lock to lock.
No bull$hit.
Because at the end of the day…
This isn’t about rules.
It’s about going home.
And making damn sure your brothers do too.
~Kevin | Lineman Bull$hit™ Academy
Better... NEVER RESTS
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THE LINE BETWEEN SURVIVAL AND STATISTICS
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