Different crews need different data
A journeyman lineman working on a utility company's transmission system and a tree crew groundman clearing storm debris for vegetation management are doing fundamentally different work. The safety requirements are different. The certifications are different. The equipment is different. The onboarding data a utility company needs for each is different.
Despite this, many storm restoration contractors use the same generic form — or worse, the same spreadsheet template — for every crew type. The result is confusion for workers filling out irrelevant fields, missing data for fields that should have been there, and extra back-and-forth to collect what was missed.
What a lineman signup form needs to collect
Linemen working on utility systems have some of the most detailed onboarding requirements in storm restoration. A lineman signup form should collect:
- Personal information: Full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, phone, email, mailing address
- CDL information: CDL class (typically Class A for linemen), license number, state of issue, expiration date
- Classification: Journeyman lineman, apprentice lineman, foreman, operator, groundman — this determines what work they can perform on the utility's system
- Equipment: Bucket truck (with boom height), digger derrick, service truck, pole trailer, material trailer — utilities need to know what equipment your crew is bringing
- Certifications: OSHA 10 or 30, first aid/CPR, utility-specific training certificates
- Consent fields: Drug test consent, background check authorization, safety acknowledgment
- Availability: Earliest available date, estimated travel time to staging location
The lineman form template is specifically designed for this data set.
What a tree crew signup form needs to collect
Tree crews performing storm restoration and vegetation management have different data requirements:
- Personal information: Full name, date of birth, phone, email, address — same basics as linemen
- CDL information: Often Class B is sufficient for tree crew equipment, but some operations require Class A. The form should capture the specific class.
- Role: Climber, bucket operator, groundman, crew foreman, chipper operator — tree crew roles are different from line crew roles
- Equipment: Bucket truck, crane, chipper, stump grinder, log truck, skid steer — tree work equipment differs significantly from line work
- Certifications: ISA Certified Arborist, TCIA accreditation, chainsaw safety certification, aerial rescue training
- Experience: Years of tree work experience, storm restoration experience specifically, types of trees and environments worked in
- Consent fields: Drug test and background check consent
Learn more about the tree crew form template.
What a general restoration PII form needs to collect
For roofing crews, general restoration workers, debris removal teams, and other contractor types, a general PII form covers the essentials:
- Full name, SSN, DOB, phone, email, address
- Trade or specialty
- CDL information (if applicable)
- Equipment list
- Relevant certifications
- Drug test and background check consent
- Travel availability
This form is less specialized but covers the base requirements for most utility and general contractor onboarding processes.
The problem with one-size-fits-all forms
If you send a lineman form to tree crews, workers see fields like "Journeyman/Apprentice Classification" and "Digger Derrick" that do not apply to their work. They leave fields blank, guess at answers, or contact your office to ask what to put. You end up with incomplete or inaccurate data and a frustrating experience for the worker.
If you send a generic form to linemen, you miss critical fields like CDL class, journeyman classification, and utility-specific certifications. You discover this when you are trying to submit the roster and the utility company rejects it for missing information.
Either way, you create extra work for your office and delay your mobilization.
Configurable form templates solve this
The solution is simple: use a purpose-built form template for each crew type. When you create a storm call, you select the appropriate template — lineman, tree crew, or general — and the signup form includes only the fields relevant to that crew type.
Workers see a form that makes sense for their trade. They fill it out quickly because every field is relevant. You get clean, complete data without follow-up.
How Storm Call Pro handles multiple crew types
Storm Call Pro includes pre-built form templates for lineman crews, tree crews, and general PII collection. When you create a storm call, you pick the template that matches the crew type you are mobilizing. The signup link generates a form with the right fields.
If you run both line crews and tree crews, you can create separate storm calls with different templates for the same event. Each crew type gets their own signup link and their own roster.
Try it free — plans from $49/month.