Lineworkers attend rubber-gloving school
The North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives sponsored |
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Rick Dressler, lead lineman, insulates the wire by putting line hose on it. |
an Apprentice Training and Safety (AT&S) Rubber-Gloving school June 19-23. The school featured two sessions that encouraged lineworkers to get hands-on experience at different stations. For some, it was a new experience. For more advanced lineworkers, it allowed them to refine their skills.
Over 50 students, six instructors and several vendors participated in the school. Attendees learned how to change out a cross-arm, cut in a breaker, change out a pole and bells, and other work-related skills. They also received classroom instruction on digger-derrick inspections and light maintenance, and learned the proper procedures and inspections of hot line tools, cleaning and testing.
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Jeff Holzer, journeyman lineworker, sets a pole in a newly dug hole. He always wears rubber gloves, safety glasses and a hard hat to protect him from accidental contact. |
Les Vietz, crew foreman at Capital Electric Cooperative, instructed at station two, where lineworkers practiced installing an Oil Circuit Recloser, or switch, without interrupting power to the member.
“Most of the experienced people know how to do the generic part of the work, but we learn from each other, by talking about how we do the job. One lineworker might do it different than the next,” he says. “We learn different techniques from each other.”
Seth Lothspeich, journeyman lineworker for Capital Electric, says the school reminds him to protect himself while on the job.
“The stations help keep our skills sharp,” he says. “We don’t do these tasks every day. It’s a refresher course in safety.”
Trent Stein, journeyman lineworker for Capital Electric, joined the co-op staff in May. While he’s new at this job, his years of lineworker experience in Minnesota and Nebraska taught him the importance of continuing education.
“You can always learn,” he says. “If you don’t keep learning, you’re not really progressing.”