Powerline Foreman

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Job Type

Full-time

Description

POSITION SUMMARY

The Powerline Foreman is a working field leader responsible for directing the daily activities of assigned crews performing overhead and underground powerline construction, maintenance, repair, and related electrical infrastructure work. The Foreman plans daily tasks, communicates job requirements, verifies employee readiness, coordinates equipment and materials, monitors production and quality, enforces safety expectations, completes field documentation, and serves as the primary on-site contact for assigned work.

The position works closely with project managers, operations leadership, safety personnel, customers, operators, vendors, subcontractors, and other crafts to complete work safely, efficiently, and within approved scope. The Foreman remains actively engaged in field work and may perform powerline tasks appropriate to individual training, qualification, and authorization. The Foreman must stop and obtain direction when scope, system status, clearance, switching, grounding, energized work, employee qualification, or other critical conditions are unclear.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Daily Planning and Job Preparation

• Review work orders, drawings, specifications, project plans, customer instructions, schedules, approved changes, jobsite information, and prior shift or crew reports before work begins.
• Confirm the assigned scope, work limits, system and equipment identification, customer contacts, access requirements, schedule, documentation, and completion expectations with the responsible project manager or operations leader.
• Conduct pre-job meetings and communicate the work plan, employee assignments, hazards, controls, work sequence, quality requirements, hold points, emergency actions, and stop-work expectations.
• Verify required permits, locates, clearances, switching instructions, grounding plans, traffic controls, customer releases, and other authorizations are in place before affected work begins.
• Confirm assigned employees possess the training, qualifications, certifications, customer access, and demonstrated competency required for each task.
• Verify necessary vehicles, equipment, tools, personal protective equipment, materials, parts, drawings, and documentation are available, inspected, and ready for use.

Crew Leadership and Work Assignment

• Assign daily work to crew members based on project needs, employee training, demonstrated ability, authorization, and safe crew composition.
• Provide clear instructions and hands-on direction regarding work methods, sequence, productivity expectations, quality requirements, equipment care, and documentation.
• Remain present and engaged enough to observe work, correct unsafe or improper practices, identify obstacles, and confirm employees understand assigned responsibilities.
• Adjust assignments and work sequence when weather, customer operations, equipment conditions, material availability, employee availability, or field conditions change.
• Monitor attendance, readiness, conduct, work pace, teamwork, productivity, and task completion and report significant or recurring concerns to management.
• Provide coaching, demonstration, and task training to less-experienced employees and prevent personnel from performing work beyond their competency or authorization.
• Lead by example through safe work practices, professional conduct, accountability, communication, equipment care, and consistent compliance with company and customer requirements.

Powerline Construction and Maintenance

• Direct and participate in assigned overhead and underground powerline construction, maintenance, repair, replacement, extension, restoration, and related infrastructure work.
• Coordinate pole setting and removal, framing, conductor installation, reconductoring, sagging, equipment installation, guying, grounding, service work, underground cable work, terminations, and related activities as applicable to the assigned scope.
• Verify structures, conductors, equipment, hardware, materials, phases, circuits, elevations, alignment, clearances, torque, grounding, and other installation details against approved information.
• Inspect the work area, structures, poles, equipment, tools, rigging, vehicles, and system conditions before and during work and respond to changing hazards or abnormal conditions.
• Coordinate excavations, trenching, boring, conduit, vaults, pads, cable pulling, backfill, restoration, and utility-locate requirements for underground assignments.
• Ensure equipment, conductors, components, and materials are protected from damage, contamination, improper handling, and unauthorized use.
• Perform restricted electrical work only when personally trained, qualified, and authorized and ensure assigned employees meet the same requirements for their tasks.

Electrical Safety and Hazard Control

• Enforce company, customer, site, and job-specific safety rules, work procedures, personal protective equipment requirements, minimum approach distances, and hazard controls.
• Verify line and equipment status, system identification, work boundaries, isolation, clearance, switching, grounding, testing, and release conditions through authorized processes before work begins.
• Do not assume electrical lines, conductors, equipment, vehicles, structures, grounds, or customer systems are de-energized, isolated, or safe to contact.
• Coordinate job briefings when work conditions, personnel, hazards, scope, system status, or procedures change and document additional planning as required.
• Maintain appropriate controls for energized systems, induced voltage, step and touch potential, backfeed, excavation, underground utilities, traffic, work zones, public exposure, lifting, rigging, work at height, and severe weather.
• Exercise stop-work authority and support employees who stop work because system status, authorization, isolation, grounding, scope, equipment condition, or safety controls are unclear.
• Immediately report injuries, incidents, near misses, electrical contacts, flashes, utility strikes, property damage, environmental releases, equipment failures, and significant unsafe conditions.

Vehicles Equipment Rigging and Materials

• Coordinate safe use and positioning of bucket trucks, digger derricks, cranes, line trucks, pickups, trailers, excavation equipment, grounds, cover-up, pulling equipment, and other assigned resources.
• Ensure operators complete required inspections and use vehicles, commercial motor vehicles, lifting equipment, specialized tools, and attachments only when properly trained, licensed, qualified, and authorized.
• Plan and oversee lifting and rigging activities, including equipment selection, capacity, setup, stability, load control, communication, exclusion zones, and protection of adjacent facilities.
• Monitor equipment condition, fuel, maintenance needs, damage, defects, cleanliness, security, and proper storage and report issues promptly.
• Verify materials, hardware, poles, conductor, cable, transformers, protective devices, anchors, grounding components, and customer-furnished items are correct before installation.
• Track material receipt, use, damage, shortages, returns, scrap, and remaining inventory and maintain an orderly and secure staging area.

Production Quality and Scope Control

• Monitor daily production, completed quantities, crew hours, equipment use, delays, rework, material use, and progress against the assigned plan and schedule.
• Inspect completed work for alignment with approved drawings, specifications, manufacturer information, customer requirements, workmanship expectations, and authorized changes.
• Coordinate required inspections, tests, torque checks, grounding records, measurements, photographs, redlines, as-built information, and customer acceptance activities.
• Identify nonconforming work, damaged materials, failed inspections, incomplete items, and quality concerns and coordinate correction before requesting acceptance.
• Recognize requests or field conditions outside approved scope and notify the project manager before performing additional work unless immediate action is necessary to protect people, property, or equipment.
• Avoid making unapproved commitments regarding scope, price, schedule, outage duration, completion date, warranty, or contract terms.

Field Documentation and Reporting

• Complete or review daily reports, job briefings, crew time, equipment hours, production quantities, field tickets, material records, safety forms, photographs, inspection records, and other required documentation.
• Document work performed, location, crew members, equipment, materials, delays, customer direction, field conditions, extra-work requests, incidents, and unresolved issues accurately and timely.
• Verify time, equipment, quantities, job codes, cost codes, signatures, and supporting information before submitting field records.
• Maintain current drawings and field redlines and record installed conditions, changes, locations, measurements, and information needed for final as-built documentation.
• Communicate progress, completed work, schedule status, resource needs, safety concerns, quality issues, customer requests, and anticipated obstacles to the project manager or operations leadership.
• Provide complete shift or crew turnover information so unfinished work, system status, clearances, grounds, equipment condition, material needs, and required follow-up remain understood.

Customer and Site Coordination

• Serve as the primary assigned field contact and communicate professionally with customer representatives, inspectors, operators, landowners, other contractors, vendors, and the public.
• Coordinate daily access, work areas, outages, releases, deliveries, inspections, customer-furnished materials, simultaneous operations, and restoration expectations.
• Address routine field concerns within assigned authority and promptly involve the project manager when resolution affects cost, schedule, scope, safety, quality, or contractual obligations.
• Protect customer property, facilities, roads, gates, fencing, equipment, landscaping, and work areas and coordinate restoration or damage reporting when needed.
• Maintain professional behavior and protect customer, project, pricing, facility, system, and company information from unauthorized disclosure.

Employee Development and Performance Support

• Evaluate employee task performance, safe work practices, productivity, quality, equipment use, documentation, and readiness for additional responsibility.
• Provide timely coaching and correction and recognize employees who demonstrate safe, productive, and high-quality performance.
• Identify training gaps and communicate employee development and qualification needs to operations and safety leadership.
• Provide factual performance feedback and document significant conduct, attendance, safety, quality, or productivity concerns as directed.
• Participate in employee reviews, incident follow-up, corrective-action discussions, training plans, and crew-development activities when requested.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• High school diploma or GED required; technical, electrical, utility, construction, or related education is preferred.
• Five or more years of progressively responsible overhead or underground powerline construction, maintenance, utility, electrical, or closely related field experience.
• Two or more years of lead, crew-lead, journeyman, foreman, or comparable responsibility directing field tasks and less-experienced employees.
• Demonstrated knowledge of powerline construction methods, tools, equipment, materials, job planning, electrical hazards, grounding, rigging, lifting, traffic control, and field documentation appropriate to assigned work.
• Ability to read and apply work orders, drawings, specifications, staking information, maps, switching or clearance information, procedures, manufacturer instructions, and customer requirements.
• Ability to plan daily work, assign tasks, monitor production, recognize scope changes, verify quality, complete field reports, and communicate effectively with customers and management.
• Valid driver's license with an acceptable driving record consistent with company requirements.
• Commercial driver's license or other equipment license when required for assigned driving or equipment responsibilities.
• Ability to complete company-provided and customer-required training, qualification, medical, and site-access requirements.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience leading distribution, transmission, underground, substation, line-extension, reconductoring, pole-replacement, storm-restoration, facility-power, or similar crews.
• Recognized journeyman lineworker, electrical, utility, or equivalent qualification appropriate to the work being supervised.
• Experience supporting oil and gas operators, electric utilities, municipalities, cooperatives, industrial facilities, renewable-energy projects, or major contractors.
• Experience with bucket trucks, digger derricks, cranes, line trucks, pulling equipment, excavation equipment, grounding, cover-up, line tools, and utility-specific test equipment.
• Experience with customer portals, electronic daily reports, timekeeping, production tracking, field-ticket systems, drawings, redlines, and closeout documentation.

KNOWLEDGE SKILLS AND ABILITIES

• Plan and sequence field work while accounting for electrical hazards, employee qualifications, equipment capacity, materials, customer operations, public exposure, and changing conditions.
• Lead crews firmly and professionally, communicate expectations clearly, correct problems promptly, and maintain accountability without creating unnecessary conflict.
• Recognize technical, safety, quality, schedule, equipment, and scope issues and obtain appropriate direction before risk increases.
• Balance production expectations with safe work practices, workmanship, documentation, equipment care, customer requirements, and proper authorization.
• Maintain situational awareness and sound judgment during outages, emergency restoration, difficult weather, long shifts, energized environments, and changing customer priorities.
• Organize multiple employees, tasks, tools, vehicles, materials, forms, and deadlines while maintaining accurate communication and records.

PHYSICAL AND WORK ENVIRONMENT REQUIREMENTS

This position performs work in vehicles, yards, rights-of-way, wellsites, utility corridors, customer facilities, construction sites, and other outdoor and industrial environments throughout the company's service area.

• Frequently stand, walk, bend, stoop, kneel, crouch, reach, twist, push, pull, grip, and use hands for tools, controls, materials, and detailed field work.
• Frequently lift or carry items weighing up to approximately 50 pounds and use team lifting or mechanical assistance for heavier or awkward tools, materials, and equipment.
• Climb poles, structures, stairs, and ladders and enter bucket trucks, equipment, trenches, excavations, and elevated work areas when trained, equipped, and authorized.
• Work on uneven, muddy, rocky, gravel, elevated, roadside, or restricted-access surfaces and near energized systems, traffic, moving equipment, excavations, suspended loads, and industrial operations.
• Work outdoors in heat, cold, wind, dust, rain, storms, noise, vibration, insects, and changing weather while wearing required personal protective equipment.
• Travel frequently to remote customer locations and work extended shifts, nights, weekends, holidays, emergency call-outs, storm response, on-call rotations, and irregular schedules as business needs require.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Powerline Foreman directly coordinates and supervises the daily work of assigned crew members. Responsibilities include work assignment, instruction, safety and quality oversight, production monitoring, coaching, performance feedback, and documentation of significant concerns. Unless specifically authorized, the Foreman does not independently hire, terminate, set compensation, approve promotions, or issue formal discipline but provides recommendations and factual information to management.

DISCLAIMER

This job description summarizes the position's general duties and requirements and is not exhaustive. Management may modify duties or assign additional responsibilities to meet business, legal, safety, and operational needs. Employment remains subject to applicable company policies and requirements.

Standard Safety & Supply is an Equal Opportunity Employer.