AT&S Conference
2020 AT&S Conference
Registration for the January 15-17, 2020 Apprenticeship, Training and Safety Conference is now open. Line personnel can look forward to hearing topics including; Fault locating, self-rescue, reasonable suspicion, personal protective grounding and bonding, 200/600 amp product evolution and application, cutouts, and how safety empowerment is the key to preventing disasters. Tech Talk, the vendor showcase, is on track to being one of the largest events to date with many new vendors participating. For registration information contact Christina Roemmich, director of safety services at croemmich@ndarec.com.
NDAREC presented the following honors at the AT&S awards and graduation banquet:
Outstanding Apprentice Award: Mitchell Krebs, Roughrider Electric Cooperative, earned the outstanding apprentice award for completing the apprenticeship program with the highest grades on examinations combined with favorable on-the-job evaluations.
The Certificate of Safety Achievement: This recognizes those cooperatives that participated in the Rural Electric Safety Achievement Program (RESAP) and partook in a three-year onsite audit. The following cooperatives received their certificate of safety achievement after demonstrating continuous improvement and an outstanding safety program: Cass County Electric, Central Power Electric, McLean Electric, Slope Electric and Verendrye Electric.
Life Saver Award: This award recognizes heroic actions that contribute to life saving efforts of another person. Nathan Burke, Verendrye Electric, received recognition for his heroic actions when he responded to the need of another. His quick thinking and skills lead to the preservation of human life.
Safety Award: NDAREC recognized six member-cooperatives for having zero OSHA-recordable injuries from Dec. 1, 2016 to Nov. 30, 2017. The following co-ops received the safety award: Cavalier Electric, McKenzie Electric, McLean Electric, Mor-Gran-Sou Electric, Slope Electric and 3 C Construction
Outstanding Safety Performance Award: This award recognizes outstanding performance in safety. To achieve this award, a cooperative must have not had a lost-time case accident for five consecutive years. Roughrider Electric Cooperative has worked nearly 1,650,000 hours and Slope Electric Cooperative has worked nearly 391,000 without a serious injury. It is commendable for any cooperative to go without a lost time injury in a twelve-month period but to go five consecutive years is remarkable. There achievement speaks towards a strong culture of safety.
NDAREC hosts 56th Annual Apprenticeship Training and Safety Conference
The North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives (NDAREC) hosted its 56th annual Apprenticeship Training and Safety (AT&S) Conference on Jan. 15-17, 2020, at the Ramkota Hotel in Bismarck. The conference is an opportunity to reflect on what is happening in the industry and recognize the accomplishments North Dakota’s electric cooperatives have made in training and safety. The conference also recognizes the exceptional means in which the apprenticeship program trains tradesmen. This year, NDAREC recognized 14 graduates from two programs – lineworker and meter technician.