This document discusses the evolution of crew leadership in the electric utility industry from the early 1900s to present day. It describes how crew leadership started with foremen directing large crews with little experience to build power lines. Over time, foremen gained more experience, new tools and vehicles were introduced, safety regulations increased, and paperwork requirements grew. Modern crew leaders now need greater technical knowledge, computer skills, safety focus, planning ability, and people management skills to be effective compared to early foremen who drove hard productivity and shared little information.

1. Crew Leadership
A Look Back

2. Crew Leadership
A Look Back
The Origins of Crew Leadership
 The Egyptian slave drivers were
widely known for accomplishing
large projects
 The most effective slave drivers
treated their slaves better than
other slave drivers

3. Crew Leadership
A Look Back
• The beginning of the generation and
delivery of electric power
• Trial and error starts the building of
experience
• Line foremen directing large crews with little
or no experience
• Line foreman develop good rigging skills
• Line foremen using horses and mules to pull
wagons, set poles and string wire

4. Crew Leadership
A Look Back
• The first motorized vehicles appear
• Derricks developed to assist in setting
poles
• Foreman have more experienced
workers on their crews
• The majority of the work is
constructing new lines
• Early methods for “hot work” are
developed

5. Crew Leadership
A Look Back
• Line crews performing more
maintenance
• Voltage levels are increasing
• Foreman having to train crew
members in “hot work”
• First lineman’s handbook published
• REA established-electrification of rural
US begins

6. Crew Leadership
A Look Back
• Live line work starts to increase and
becomes routine activity on voltages
below 44kV
• Foremen using pickups to lay out the
work
• Line crews starting to perform URD work
• More training of lineworkers is occurring
• Line trucks with digger derricks widely in
use

7. Crew Leadership
A Look Back
• Live line on transmission voltages
is occurring
• OSHA established
• Utilities requiring more paper work
by foremen
• Aerial lift trucks are now being
widely used
• Line crew sizes are being reduced

8. Crew Leadership
A Look Back
• Utilities confronted with deregulation
• OSHA established
• Company information systems are being
computerized -crew leaders having to
learn computer applications
• The amount of live line work is increasing
• Material handling aerial lift trucks improve
productivity
• Safety regulations have increased and
become more complex

9. Crew Leadership
A Look Back
Regularly exercised their authority to hire and
fire
Did not seek input from subordinates -gave
directives which were rarely questioned by
subordinates
Drove slack employees continuously – “Drive
the laggard”
Did not do much paper work
Tended to not share information and told
subordinates only what they needed to know
for the task at hand
Good riggers
Good planners -Got a lot of work done
Typically placed productivity above safety
Hawaiian Electric crew building a line through the rugged Koolau
Mountain Range toward Windward Oahu

10. Crew Leadership
A Look Back
• Straw Boss
• Bull Foreman
• Gaffer
• Foreman
• Line Gang Foreman
• Line Foreman

11. Crew Leadership
A Look Back
• Must lead by example and support the company and its mission
• Must place safety above productivity
• Must be customer oriented
• Must be good at paper work and record keeping using a computer
• Must have a greater technical knowledge
• Must clearly understand his/her authority
• Must be a good planner
• Must have greater understanding of subordinate personalities
• Must be able to delegate and clearly communicate

12. Crew Leadership
A Look Back
“To be effective
today's crew
leader needs to be
more
knowledgeable and
have more
Supervisory skills
than ever before”