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Minutes of the Fall 2007 “IUSTA” Meeting
in Washington, DC

The meeting was held on October 18th and 19th at the Pepco office building named Edison Place in downtown Washington, DC.  PHI, the parent company of Pepco, Delmarva Power and Atlantic City Electric Company was the host utility.  There were 15 attendees representing 8 utility companies.  Pepco sent 6 delegates, Delmarva Power sent 2, United Illuminating sent 2, and there was 1 delegate from Orange & Rockland, Peco Energy (Excelon), PPL, PSE&G and Ameren. The out-of-town attendees stayed at the nearby Red Roof Inn Downtown.  This location was close to a variety of restaurants and the famous museums on the Mall in DC.  Many thanks to the folks at Pepco!

Thursday, October 18, 2007
Mr. Michael Maxwell, PHI Vice-President of Safety and Strategic Sourcing opened the meeting with a welcome message after a time of networking and continental breakfast.  He gave a presentation about the parent company, Pepco Holdings, Inc. and the structure around Training, Safety, Strategic Sourcing, etc. He talked about a recent Diversity University initiative that compared the 4 major ages in the workforce today.  Copies of the handout were made available.  “Max” also touched on the continuing problems (industry wide) in recruiting and retaining safe, trained, qualified, efficient and productive workers.  He said 70% of PHI employees are age 40 or older.  It is going to be a big challenge to keep up with the need for new employees.
“Max” also spoke briefly about some major Capital Projects that PHI is working on.  There will be (2) new 230 kV transmission lines, and several new substations added to the system in the near future.

We did an around-the-room introduction of each attendee, giving name, job title and company affiliation, background, years of service, etc.
Jeff Dixon (IUSTA Secretary), from Delmarva Power provided an Attendance Roster for each person to complete name, address, telephone, e-mail, and FAX data. That data was typed into an Attendance Roster and attached to the e-mail that these minutes were sent out with.

DISCUSSION  ITEMS  FROM  THE AGENDA

• Mr. Michael Martin from Pepco gave a presentation about a new safety initiative that is being implemented across PHI.  In Pepco, the program is called ACES (Awareness Creates Employee Safety), and Mike is one of the coordinators of the group.  It’s a variation of a program that was acquired from a consulting group (Behavioral Science Technology).  The foundation of it is BAPP, which stands for Behavioral Accident Prevention Process.  It is crucial that the program be a “no name, no blame” activity, and Pepco has pledges that no discipline will be issued as a result of ACES activities.  Pepco has a lot of Bargaining Unit workers involved as Coordinators, Observers, Data Entry, etc.  A fundamental principle of BAPP is that “safe acts protect’ and “at-risk behaviors exposes risk” and when an employee engages in risky behavior an incident, accident, or injury is much more likely to occur.

Those that serve ACES as an Observer attend a 1-day training session. They have about 20 Observers from the Bargaining Unit, so far.  After training, the Observers visit crews working in the field and document what they see, both the good observation items, and the ones that are termed “at risk behaviors”.  The Observers talk to the crew members about what was observed and a back-and-forth discussion takes place.  After that, the Observer turns in the document, and all the data is entered into a central database that can generate reports.
If an Observer sees a violation of any of PHI’s Cardinal Rules, the ACES Observation ends immediately, work is halted and corrective measures are implemented.
Note:  Cardinal Rule violations are subject to progressive discipline.  PHI’s Cardinal Rules are also attached.
Each Observer has a set number of observations to do each month, and works with the Field Supervisor to reach the goal.
So far, ACES has been extremely well received, and has already put Pepco in a better safety performance area compared to last year.  The consulting group said they were certain that Pepco could greatly improve their safety performance as a result of implementing BAPP, because a lot of their clients have done so.

• Next, there was a round-table discussion about any new, improved, or different training techniques that are being used.  Jeff Dixon from Delmarva Power said his company is creating a Substation Training Room located in a substation control house approximately 8 miles from the Operations Center.  The facility was previously used by the Roving Substation Operators, nut their numbers have really dwindled, and the few remaining were transferred to the Operating Center.  Jeff also said a struggle he is having is that they are using a modified version of the TampaPro Training Modules from Tampa Electric.  It is working somewhat, but one problem is that these Modules assume a new hire has no experience and must be instructed in everything.  The 4 new Helpers in Delmarva’s Substation group are transferees from other areas, and they know a lot of the material in the early modules.

John Floyd and Jim Livingston said Pepco has re-vamped their Line School.  What used to be a 3 year program to progress from Helper to “B” Rate, is now a 15-month progression.  Their Substation training plan has been reworked to go from a 7-year progression to a 4-year one.  Jim also gave out literature from Single Source Solutions from Jonesboro, GA.  He said this company can provide training on Load Tap Changer maintenance and can provide parts for circuit breakers and regulators.  They also can provide filtration devices for oil-filled equipment and air filtration apparatus, too.  The company website is: SingleSourceSolutions@Comcast.net
George Greytak and Diane Kindle reported on what is happening at United Illuminating.  UI implemented a new Substations training program a few years ago, after a 3-4 year period when 45% of the Substations’ workforce retired.  The new program is providing a lot more material than what was covered before.  UI has also implemented a uniform tracking program for documenting formal OJT in the field.

The general consensus of the people present was that utility companies that have a working relationship with local colleges are not seeing real good returns on the investment.  The prospects are few in number and usually not real good at the skills required.  Some companies are using online education providers like Phoenix, Bismarck State College, etc.
Note: Delmarva Power has a partner program with Bismarck.  It’s called EPCE, which stands for Energy Providers Coalition for Educators.  There has been very little interest in this venture so far.  More information can be found at: www.epceonline.org

• John Floyd from Pepco demonstrated an electronic game of Jeopardy! That is available commercially.  It can be used as a training resource and makes all students eager to win (you have to learn the material to win!), and the game can become quite competitive.  Maybe it’s time to introduce a new tactic in your teaching sessions.  For more information, contact John at Pepco, or Saundra Wilson (Supervisor of Customer Service Training at Delmarva Power, 302-709-7108).

4.)     We had a group discussion of Personal protective Equipment.  The group was split on when FR clothing is required.  For some, it’s whenever you go into an energized substation.  For others, it’s a task-driven requirement; sometimes yes, other times no.  All agreed that if we have to comply with the new language in standard NFPA70-E, major changes are required.  Rodney Walker had a copy of a DVD from Westex about FR clothing. It shows the effects of arc blast on a manikin while wearing different types of clothing.  More information is available at www.Westexinc.com

On the topic of using barricades, only one company   is using them to define a safe work area in a substation.  Delmarva Power used to use them several years ago in the Bay Region (Eastern shore of MD & VA), but they discontinued the practice after cases of confusion and near-misses, and a new Manager.

5.)     After lunch there was a time of discussion about accidents, incidents.
Jeff Dixon from Delmarva Power made a presentation that was an update of the circuit breaker (OCB) accident with injury that happened in February.  His report begins on the next page:

                        For the Fall IUSTA Meeting               October 18th, 2007

Delmarva Power, New Castle Regional Office, Newark, DE
Oil  Sampling  and  Testing  Program
After  the  Accident  in  February,  2007

BACKGROUND:  One employee from a 3-man crew was injured when flaming oil suddenly erupted from a 69 kV OCB.  Employee was ~ 21 feet away, tank flange was ~ 10 feet high.  Employee suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns over 50% of his body.  Still not back to work.  Spent ~ 2 months in a burn-specialty hospital, then several weeks in a regular hospital.  Is home now, but still has occasional procedures done, some physical therapy, etc. Skin at the burn sites and the grafting sites are very tender and sensitive.

AFTER  THE  ACCIDENT:  Two separate committees were formed.  An “Incident Re-Construction Team” and a “Circuit Breaker Failure-Cause Team”.  A little about both:

• Incident Re-Construction Team

A timeline of events was created.  What happened minute-by-minute from the time the crew arrived at the job-site, all the way through to the end of the day.   Where they parked their vehicle, what work was done, who traveled to what part of the station at what time, etc, etc.
Did they report their location to the System Operator? Where everyone was standing when the OCB failed.  What tools and equipment were in the vicinity. Where the vehicle was.  What was seen, heard, smelled, etc.
Everything about what happened at the scene.  How they responded to seeing the victim’s clothing on fire.  What they did, who they called, how they rendered aid to the victim, gave instructions to the ambulance crew, and the helicopter crew.  Etc., etc.
Very thorough re-construction of the event.
Their Conclusions / Recommendations:

• Reinforce the requirement for all crews to report in to the ESO when arriving at the substation.  The crew that included the injured person was the 2nd crew at the job-site.  Const Mgt was there with a contractor and left before the incident happened.  (DONE)
• Pursue issuing fire-proof blankets for each truck in Sub C&M Dept. (DONE)
• Review the procedure for reporting an emergency:  The Emergency Button feature on the Co radio, calling ESO, calling the Job Supervisor, etc., etc. (DONE)
• Review the jobs in Sub C & M that require FR clothing and the ones that do not. (STARTED, NO UPDATE ON THAT, NO CHANGES IMPLEMENTED YET)
• Update the Emergency Notification List for all employees in Sub C & M, and make it a regularly-scheduled item (e.g.: once per year?)  (DONE)
• Register the official street address of all substations with the local fire company, the NCC EMS, etc.  (STARTED)
• Review all substation locations and be sure the Company Name and Substation Name are on a sign in a conspicuous place. (STARTED)

2. OCB Failure-Cause Investigation Team

The failure was most likely caused by water in the oil that froze into ice and floated to the top, providing a phase-to-ground path.  The resulting fault caused a rapid build-up of pressure and heat, causing the flaming oil to spew out from the flange where the tank is attached to the frame.  No conclusive proof of how the water got into the tank.  It could have been from the atmosphere (i.e. rain, sleet, snow) getting in if the tank bolts were not properly tightened or the gasket was defective.  Tank bolts were bent during the failure and explosion.  Or, maybe the water was in the oil when the last maintenance was performed and new oil was put in the tank (~ 6 months prior).  But, no evidence of water was found in the other tanks.  Also, when the Fire Co arrived, they hosed down the OCB after the oil had already spewed out, and the gasket seal had been broken.
The Team’s recommendations:
a.) Resurrect the Oil Sampling and Testing Program.
It was abandoned or put on the back burner in Spring of 1998 due to manpower reductions (explain).
b.)  Get a sample and test results from all Transmission-Class OCB’s.  Do all the 69 kV OCB’s by 12/31/07.
c.)  Get samples from OCB with the breaker Open and the disconnect switches Open.
d.)  Investigate to see if the oils storage tank at the NCRO has been contaminated with water.
e.)  Implement a requirement to test all oil at the job site before putting it into any equipment.

Status to date (October 10th):
Sub C & M bought a new Oil Test Set from Doble.  It’s a “Domina” moisture tester.  It gives a test result for ppm of water, oil temperature, and relative saturation.  The crew verifies the oil level is OK.  Then they drain off some oil from the valve and piping and look for free water.  The crew takes a sample from each tank.  They test each sample on-site with the Doble Domina Test Set and also a dielectric break-down test set.  Then they take a second sample and a syringe sample from each tank and have them sent to PEPCO’s laboratory to repeat the same tests.

So far, they have done ~ 85 OCB’s; and have ~ 15 left to sample and test.  So they are on-target to meet the goal for the 69 kV OCB’s.  Some had to be done on OT, and some of the remaining ones have to be done on OT.
The crew found one OCB that had low oil level (none showing in sight-glass). That OCB was re-scheduled, and the crew added oil to the tank, when they were finished with the sampling and testing.

So far, the test results obtained from PEPCO’s lab have matched very closely to what was found in the field.  No OCB has had to be taken out of service based on the lab test.
The Test Result Guidelines:
      If the dielectric break-down test result is 22 kV or lower…….or, if the relative saturation is 80% or higher, the OCB does not go back in service until the oil is filtered.  Only happened to 2 OCB’s.  None were found to have free water in the tanks.

Some interesting items:
Now using HDPE plastic bottles for the oil samples.  Recommended by outside laboratory services provider H2B a few years ago. Used to only use glass containers.  Had a special procedure for preparing oil sampling containers.

Also, they have found some problems with disconnect switches while doing this work at a few locations.

> > > > > >     End  of  Report   < < < < < <

Other items reported:

• Neil Williams mentioned a special type of meter-pulling tool is available.  He is going to pursue getting more information for the next meeting.

• George & Diane from UI reported a very serious near-miss incident occurred at a substation at an industrial site owned by Sikorski Aircraft.  Apparently a contractor crew hired by Sikorski removed some blocking tags and racked in some switchgear breakers before workers were finished.                                                      

• Greg Barbuto from O & R reported a very serious near-miss incident that occurred in a substation yard outside the power plant wall.  The plant was formerly owned by Mirant and recently sold to Alliance.  O & R workers found tags filled out improperly, breakers that were reported to be open and racked out but were found to be racked in.  Apparently the Plant Manager did some of the switching and reported what had been done to the System Operator.  It was not clear what training or qualification the Manager had to perform this work.  Greg provided a single-line diagram of the sub and showed where the mistakes had been made.  An investigation is continuing, but the O & R Bargaining Unit people are not happy!

• After a break, we had the nominations and elections for new officers for 2008.

They will be:
Office of President:                Mr. Neil Williams, Ameren
Office of 1st Vice-Chair:         Mr. John Urchak, PSE&G    
Office of 2nd Vice-Chair:        Mr. Rodney Walker, PECO
Secretary:                              Mr. Jeffrey Dixon, Delmarva Power
 

7.)     We had some lengthy discussion about the schedule for the Spring and Fall meetings for 2008.  It is possible that we may meet in St. Louis (Ameren to host) on April 10 & 11 or April 17 & 18.  Then in the Fall, maybe October 16 & 17,it may be possible to meet in Allentown (PPL to host) or maybe at Edison NJ (PSE&G to host). 
A lot of the discussion was around other options, including maybe meeting at the same place and time as IOUTA and having some vendors set up their wares in an area nearby.  We decided to form a few sub-committees to pursue some options.  The following volunteers and assignments were made:

• Rodney Walker and John Floyd: look into possibility of having vendors.
• Diane Kindle: contact Danny Raines at Georgia Power and get information about how the money is handled and talk about the possibility of having a joint meeting.
• Diane, Neil, Tracy Smiley :  IOUTA Committee
• George Greytak and John Floyd:  Constitution and By-Laws revisions for next meeting.

Respectfully Submitted by Jeff Dixon   11/2/07