NLC Week 6

This week was the best so far! The bar has been raised though. The week started off good with two more 100% test scores…More stickers for my helmet. Monday in the Climbing Pit we began we started off with up-downs then moved on to learning how to “wreck out” a crossarm and install a new crossarm and insulators...The catch…It has to be done in 7 minutes. Time starts when you gaff in to the pole and time stops when your feet touch the ground. It was a lot of fun! My first time was just over 10 minutes. We also have to go up the pole circle around the top to the other side in 40 seconds. My first time was 55 sec. I changed my climbing technique and dropped it down to 41 seconds. Thankfully, we have three weeks to practice. Tuesday in the Distribution Pit we began learning how to change out insulators on the poles without crossarms and setting up an EquiPotential Zone (EPZ) which connects all the phases and neutral to ground so in the event of the line becoming energized this creates a direct short in which the fault current is diverted around the lineman working on the pole…SFETY FIRST! And my new crew won a skills builder competition…Another sticker! Wednesday was our first day in the Transmission Area. It was a little intimidating and exciting to look up at the 55 foot poles when all we have been climbing are 30 foot poles and only to the top of those for about a week and a half. The instructions were simple…Go up, belt over the bottom and middle insulators and climb up to the top insulator…TWICE! After each climber climbed twice, then we could begin practicing removing and installing the side-stack insulator. The first climb went well. It was slow; I stopped about half way up to get my senses together and get to the top. Finally, I made it and then came back down. The next climb went a lot faster, I was still a little nervous, but it was fun. After our group finished, I got to go up and practice taking the insulator off and put it back. My first time up, I did it 6 minutes under the required time….WOOOOO!!! Thursday was a couple more tests and another county fair so we rotated through the stations and practiced our new found skills…What a great week!!!