NLC Week 3

Another week has come and gone! Time is simply flying by at an amazing rate. The week started off great. Monday morning I got the test results from the previous week. I got 100% on both exams so that is a great way to kick off the academic portion of school. It also meant that I received a couple stickers for my bare helmet. We also began the second chapters of the Linework Fundamentals and Electrical Systems books. In the field we were in the distribution pit and we began getting level 1 competencies signed off. I got the adjusting the Bucksqueeze competency on the first try, I can’t say the same for circling the pole. I thought I was locking my knee out when I was going around but the instructor saw something else so needless to say I got to practice a bit more. I got signed off by lunch and Spence said “It looked a hundred times better” so having to redo that competency really paid off for me. Especially considering that one day I will not have a journeyman focusing just on what I am doing, so I need to have all the techniques down. My crew also won our first skill builder competition…Another sticker!!! Tuesday was more class in the morning learning about the transmission and sub-transmission portion of the electrical system, as well as, rigging and calculating the weight of poles and crossarms. In the field we were in the distribution pit getting signed off on more level 1 competencies. We had to make up a handline and rig items to a handline to send up the pole. My handline was the best of the day….No, really the instructor actually took out his phone and took a picture of me and my BEAUTIFUL handline. Then, he set it aside to use as an example. Rigging went well, I had to rig, hoist and call out commands for a shotgun (insulated tool), bolt, insulator and an 8’ crossarm…It went great and my crew won a second skills builder competition. Wednesday was more class then off to the underground area to do the last of the level 1 competencies for the week. I got signed off on landing wires to a main service panel and making connections in a junction box in the ground. It was fun. Thursday began with our second set of exams then both classes (Edison & Tesla) gathered to hear a couple of guys campaign for class president. Then after a vet meeting (the VA is really messing the vets over right now) we were in the field for “county fair” it was a great time rotating through the stations. We had a competition to install a crossarm…My team won! Then at the end of the day, another vet meeting this time with the NLC Director of Operations…That was fun.

Waiting for the groundman to "Do work".

The groundman..."Doing work".

Up about 15 feet.

It's a 9.75 (I thought it was a 10).

Running the linetruck.

Again.

Landing the secondary conductors in the main panel.

Again.

That's how ALL main panels should look.

That's a 10.

Doin' work in the J-Box

NLC Week 2

So the second week of training at NLC is done. This was our first week of academics and learning in the field. The school and staff are extremely organized and the course work is very well thought out.  The day is split into two parts; classroom and field/lab. Two hours of class room instruction in the morning and six hours in the field or in the lab. The classroom portion in the morning is a good thing, because if I had to actually use my brain to think in the afternoon, I would be in BIG trouble. This week we covered Linework Fundamentals #1 (LF#1) and Electrical Systems #1 (ES#1). LF#1 was focused on safety protocols here at NLC (which I’m sure will translate into the field as well) and on one of the more important topics of customer service. Surprisingly, nobody likes it when their power is off; whether it is a planned outage for maintenance or some type of emergency such as a storm or an auto accident involving a transformer or utility pole, the customers just want their power back on. Also, if work is being done in a customer’s yard, it should look better than it did before the work was started and appear as if the workers were NEVER there. ES#1 focused on the power grid from the starting point of power generation all the way to distribution to the customer. There are quite a few steps in the process and a lot of equipment that is involved. Some basic electrical terms such as volts, amps, conductor, insulator, etc. were also introduced. Thursday was our first tests, they seemed to go well. The field was great!!! Monday my group was in the climbing pit so we began with learning tool and equipment inspection/maintenance. Once that was done we went through putting all of our equipment on correctly. Good thing because there is always one guy in the bunch that wants to put his hooks on the wrong feet, to which an instructor will chime in “What, are you gonna climb out of a barrel, I thought we were here to climb poles! Fix your hooks!” It looks pretty funny though. Once we belted on to the poles we worked on proper foot position (climbing on the quarters) and adjusting our Bucksqueeze, which is the belt that goes around the pole and provides 100% attachment and fall arrest. Then we got to climb and work on technique and form. Unfortunately, the instructor had us hammer our screwdriver into the pole at about the six foot mark…So that’s as high as we went. Then we worked on going around the pole. On Tuesday we were in the distribution pit learning how to make up handlines for storage. Handlines are what are used to haul items up to the lineman working on the pole. We also learned how to tie insulators, crossarms and tools to the handline and prepare the items to go up the pole. We also learned how to communicate with the lineman working on the pole as we are raising and lowering the items. Finally we learned how to prepare a line truck for work, set out cones and signs and setting the outriggers. After all that was done I got to operate the boom. I wasn’t nearly as smooth as the instructor was, but hopefully after 30 years in the trade that will change. Wednesday, we worked on the underground secondary connections which is want brings power to the customers after the transformer. Finally on Thursday, we took our tests and went to the field for “county fair” where we rotate through all three stations. The BEST part of the week was being up on the pole playing some football. We were only supposed to be up about 6-8 feet, my hooks were set in at about 15 feet! It was AWESOME!!! We also learned about Up-Downs, not the kind I remembered from High School football though. If the ball is dropped...EVERYBODY climbs down then back up. I got to climb, play football and exercise all on one pole. Next week, we start getting our level 1 competencies signed off…WOOOOOO!!!!

Here is a link to the class Photobucket page 

http://s1186.photobucket.com/albums/z365/NLC_EDISON_2011/

 Here are some Week 2 pictures

Morning Tailboard.

The Climbing Pit.

Junction Box.

Terminations inside the J-Box.

Up about 15 or 20 feet.

Beautifully made up handline.

The view from 15 feet.

Playing football to build confidence.

Operating the boom.

Belting on.

This Guy.

Again.

Getting ready to do work.

Look mom, no hands!

Load testing my Bucksqueeze...It works!

A little farther.

The screwdriver...aka "training wheels"

The Bearded Man!

NLC Week 1

The first week of class went well. Started the week off bright and early around 4:30 A.M. (After the Army, I forgot that hour even existed). I left the house here in Sacramento about 5:30 to pick my buddy Paul up in West Sacramento by 6:00 (I know Paul from the Electrical Technology class I graduated from earlier this year). Neither Paul nor I have the ambition to crawl around in attics or crawl-spaces for a living as electricians, so we both signed up and enrolled in NLC to learn Utility Linework. We are both Veterans so we are using the Post-9/11 GI-Bill to pay for classes. The Post-9/11 GI-Bill covers the tuition and lab fees and I get a $1,000 supplies stipend to pay for books, tools and supplies. Unfortunately, any electives and the additional $1,400 worth of required hand tools and climbing equipment is an out of pocket cost, well worth it though. We went up the CA-70 through Marysville and got into Oroville around 7:20 so it wasn’t too bad of a drive. We were one of the first people there, so we waited until the doors opened at 8:00 and began the process of checking-in. The whole process was really organized; last names beginning with A-M were on the left side of the door and N-Z on the right side. The school has 96 students and runs two classes concurrently, we are known as either Team Edison or Team Tesla, Paul and I are in Edison. Then we are broke down by last name into 4 man crews, I am in team 1. (This kind of reminds me of the structure of the Army). At 30, I am the oldest guy on my crew, the rest of the guys on my crew are pretty much just out of high school. The rest of the day Monday consisted of typical first day orientation stuff completing paperwork and learning the rules. You know...Here's what you can and can't do, here's what will get you kicked out of the program and lastly here's how you succeed! Tuesday Team Edison received our hand tools and climbing equipment, which was like a REALLY EXPENSIVE CHRISTMAS, and we learned to tie the essential knots (Bowline, Running Bowline, Bowline on a Bight, Clove Hitch and Square Knot). While we did this the other class Team Tesla did CPR & First-Aid. Most of the guys bought all of the hand tools and climbing equipment from the school, however, there were a good number of guys who had used items which saved them a TON of money. Had I known we could use “used” climbing equipment, I could have saved close to $1,500, oh well. On Wednesday we did CPR & First-Aid while Team Tesla got their tools and equipment. Thursday we spent the day in the field rotating through the three stations (this is known as County Fair) which are the Climbing Pit, Distribution Pit and the Transmission & Underground Pit. Finally we got to get on the poles. It was great. My instructor wasn’t so happy that I climbed up to about the 5 or 6 foot level, haha. Starting Monday academics begin and we begin working out in the field as well. Monday my group will be in the Climbing Pit learning climbing fundamentals, Tuesday we will be in the Distribution Pit learning about distribution principles and Wednesday we will be in the Transmission & Underground Pit learning about underground connections and transmission principles. Thursday is “County Fair” day and we rotate between the three stations every couple of hours. Every day we will begin with two hours of class lecture then we move to the field for six hours of fun in the sun (or rain). Tests are in Thursday mornings. This is going to be an AWESOME 15 weeks.