Trainers Meeting Held November 12 at NEPPA's Training Center

On November 12, the NEPPA Safety Trainers assembled in Littleton, MA, for their annual meeting. Each year, the trainers meet to discuss important issues they all face and any regulation updates that need to be shared to help ensure that all training sessions are current with related regulations. Techniques that make training sessions both interesting and relevant are also shared.

As in past years, the group discussed many important topics. One subject was the APPA Safety Manual and new additions and changes that have come about. The group has been united in opposing any regulation, rule or work procedure in any form that could possibly result (in the opinion of the group) in an unsafe condition for electrical line workers. This year, it was agreed that one such rule should be opposed. That rule allows line workers to work on more than one energized phase at a time on the same pole as long as those workers were in separate insulated buckets. The trainers were unanimous in opposing this allowance and recommend that all line workers adhere to the age old rule of working on only one energized phase at a time. It was also agreed that any safety manuals are to be looked upon as the minimum level of safety required and that a more stringent rule or work procedure is not only allowable but might often be desirable.

In addition, the group welcomed two new trainers added since last year’s meeting. Dave McAlpine and Shaun Oparowski were in attendance for the first time. They both gained insight from the experiences that were shared by the veteran trainers, Bob Henriksen, Bill Hesson, Lou Gabriele and Linda Calderiso. The time spent sharing experiences and difficulties and methods of resolving problems were invaluable for all. Unfortunately, John Jankowski was unable to join us this year.

All of NEPPA’s trainers recommitted themselves to conduct the highest quality training possible recognizing the importance of training line workers to work in the safest manner possible. As an organization, NEPPA is truly fortunate to have such a dedicated team of people who take their job seriously and carry the burden to not only inform each crew of the regulations involved with their work but also to motivate those crew members to put into action the safe work procedures necessary to ensure that "Everyone goes home to their families at the end of the work day, the same way that they came to work that morning ... safe and sound!"