My boss says that once you start a pull you can’t stop because you’ll never get the cable started again. Is that true?”

Your boss has probably had a bad experience at one time or another when that was true. However, in our experience, that is not the rule. This situation usually only occurs in removing underground cables. Depending on how long the cable has been in the duct, the type of cable, type of sheath, type of duct and its condition all play a part in the ability to get the cable out of the ground. The greatest amount of force required is usually at the beginning of the pull. Once the cable breaks loose, the amount of force required to move the cable drops way off. It’s much like pushing a car. The greatest force is getting it rolling and from there it gets easier. From a time efficiency standpoint it makes sense to keep going once you’ve got it started. However, if you must stop for safety or rigging problems, you shouldn’t have any problem restarting the pull.

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