POWERGRAMS

POWER TO ALABAMA A new training program in Alabama Power's General Shops is not only transforming the way workers learn their own jobs but also enabling them to learn a broader range of skills across three disciplines. In 2012, General Shops' officials began working with Alabama Power Training Center specialists and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) to create a formal training program for those who work in the transformer, electrical and steel shops. The result is a four- to five-module program for each shop, with the first module in place in 2013 and the first apprentice workers recently completing that program. Apprentices get iPads with all of the necessary equipment and operational and procedural manuals loaded on them. They take what they learn in the classroom out to the shop floor to put those new skills into action. Steve Bedsole and Steve Patterson are the Alabama Power training specialists who led the development of the program. "We approached this as 'This is the shops' program.' Our role was to facilitate, collect their thoughts and ideas and develop the training around their thoughts and ideas," said Bedsole, training analyst. Mike Springrose, Repair Shop manager for the General Shops, said there are many benefits to the training program. "In the past, our training program was on-the-job training," Springrose said. "We would put you in a job in one of the shops and that would be the work path you would follow. Now, you can learn jobs in the other shops and follow your own path to a greater degree." Wayne Barnett, IBEW representative at the General Shops, said when the union saw how the workers benefited from the new training, the IBEW got behind the pilot program. "You can work here less than 10 years and be qualified in all three shops," Barnett said. "That opens up opportunities to these men and women, and we are certainly in support of that." Bedsole praised the IBEW's role in the program. "This is a good example of the successes that can take place when management and IBEW partners," he said. While mentoring and on-the-job training are still a big part of operations in the shops, the use of technology and the cross-training component is a major departure from the past, said Geoffrey Belcher, Safety and Training Support supervisor. "The shops are unique unto themselves with the different disciplines," Belcher said. "We had all of these written procedures for the different operations and now we have volumes of documents in each employee's hands, which they can access whenever they need them." There are ways of measuring how apprentices are grasping the information but the best measure is still watching how well the workers do hands-on work. "There was some apprehension from a few individuals in the beginning, but now that the program is rolled out and working, even those individuals are asking us to develop more," said Patterson. "The program was designed not to fail anyone, but to identify weak areas so they can be strengthened, resulting in a more confident and well-rounded mechanic." Barnett said some of the journeymen are seeing what the apprentices are learning and want to go through the program themselves. He said overall morale is enhanced because apprentices are coming out of the program eager to show what they can do. By Mike Tomberlin Innovative program uses iPads, variety to broaden workers' horizon 2 Alabama Power's nationally honored Renew Our Rivers cleanup campaign is kicking off its 16th year. Nearly 14 million pounds of trash has been removed from waterways like the Coosa River near Wetumpka. ON THE COVER: Transfer Shop Apprentice Wilby Owens Patterson leads training for Chris Pardue, Steve Woods, Wilby Owens, Ryan Ivey, Dwayne Hughes and Mike Ellison Jr. Steven Thompson, Mike Ellison Jr. Photos by Nancy Prater

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