Fleet Managers at EUFMC Share Best Practices for Promoting Health Safety Culture
“The Electric Utility Fleet Managers Conference is an excellent event for sharing best practices, networking, and gaining insight into operational issues faced by utilities,” said Kerry Koberg, DICA’s Sales & Strategic Accounts Manager. Held annually in Williamsburg, Va., the June 3-6, 2018 event saw record attendance. This year, 142 utility fleet representatives from 79 investor-owned electric utilities, electric cooperatives, and electrical contractors, attended.
“Steady growth in attendance at EUFMC shows is why this conference is the industry’s leading educational event for utility fleets,” said Mike Allison, EUFMC President and Director Design and Tech Support Services at Duke Energy. “Along with a highly informative educational program, the conference is a valuable forum for addressing challenges and exchanging ideas by networking with other fleets and suppliers, and its equipment exhibits and demonstrations are a great way to learn about new technologies.”
“A highlight of the conference is the Utility Equipment Drive-Through where live equipment demonstrations inform attendees on the latest technical innovations,” said Koberg. DICA products were featured on equipment from Altec, Terex, ETI, BrandFX, Spriradrill, SDP EZ -Hauler, and the Phoenix by Versalift/TIME.
“My wife Kelly and I also enjoyed meeting Aron Ralston who shared his story of sacrifice and survival”, continued Koberg. Ralston was the EUFMC dinner speaker and author of the New York Times best-selling memoir, Between a Rock and a Hard Place. Aron is known for having survived a 2003 accident in Bluejohn Canyon in Utah by amputating his own right hand with a pocketknife.
Danny Lindsey, Power Delivery Senior Vice President at Georgia Power, delivered the 2018 keynote address. “For ten years, we had a Target Zero approach to aim for no injuries and no accidents,” he related. “It was not our intent but that approach drove people not to report incidents because no one wants to be the person who ruins the safety record. What we learned was that despite documenting successes, Target Zero can destroy a safety culture because the only thing our people heard was that all we cared about was numbers.
“Today, we’ve learned how to talk about safety, how to communicate, how to offer positive reinforcement and how to be proactive and identify issues before they happen. That approach avoids error traps and promotes risk assessment skills for employees that focus on what can happen so accidents can be avoided.”
Next year, the event returns to Williamsburg, Va., June 2-5, 2019.