POWERGRAMS

"There's gotta be a better way." This common phrase, heard time and again at Transmission Safety Committee meetings, helped birth that department's Innovations website three years ago. During Transmission Line Construction's monthly Innovation committee meetings, employees develop plans to implement ideas submitted by field employees that eventually "flesh" into new equipment or morph into best practices. Other work groups such as Power Delivery (PD) Safety and Training, Fleet and Transmission Shops partner in bringing these innovative ideas to fruition. In today's fast-paced work world, Transmission Line Construction employees have an avenue for submitting their ideas and seeing them develop into real-world applications. It all started in early 2011, when Transmission Construction Manager Randy Plyler issued his teams a challenge: Take a few minutes once a month to discuss innovative ideas. "It's been a game-changer for Transmission Line Construction and Substation line crews," Line Construction Manager Charles Munden said. "We started getting good ideas right away. The Innovations website is an all-around, team effort." One breakthrough Munden attributes to Innovations helped birth a method for installing and testing anchors, a process used daily by Transmission Line Construction's eight line crews. "When Transmission Line Design calls for an anchor to be installed to guy a structure, the anchor must be pull-tested," said Jay Porter, Transmission Lines Construction foreman – PD Field Forces. The test ensures that anchors used in the installation of power poles can handle upward of 50,000 pounds of force. "Three years ago, we were using a bulldozer to apply the needed amount of force to the anchor and, depending on the amount of force we were testing, we often had to double the cable," Porter said. "Our crews were using cumbersome, heavy blocks, a lot of times in muddy or swampy conditions in challenging terrains." Through the years, some employees suffered back injuries using the old rigging technique. With the new technique, crews hook the anchor to a hydraulic cylinder on a backhoe, attaching the anchor-testing device. The anchor tester dials up pressure on the backhoe to the required force, which is applied to the anchor for the power pole. Porter said the ability to set the bulldozers aside has enabled crews to reduce the work-hours normally spent loading dozers and moving them from place to place. With a backhoe, employees simply drive the equipment to where it's needed. Furthermore, the backhoe's rubber tires cause less environmental impact than a dozer, which can rip the ground as it moves. "Our crews use this practice the majority of the time in testing an anchor," Porter said. Increased efficiency is exactly what teams are seeking, Transmission Lines Construction Supervisor Les Short agreed. "If there's a job we're doing that is difficult, challenge yourself to make it safer," Short said. All the kudos goes to employees, Munden said. "Transmission employees came up with the idea, vetted it and tweaked it." When employees began adding computer training to best practice needs on the Innovations site, Transmission managers responded by providing classes for accessing information on Southern Company's website. Transmission employees are evaluating a caisson installer, Porter said. The Innovations database, originally a spreadsheet developed by Transmission Lines - Construction Engineer Kristen Bridges, now includes more than 500 ideas submitted in the past three years. Survey Support Specialist Matt Clarkson oversees the site's continuing development. Transmission Vice President Scott Moore champions the employees' ongoing discussions, information sharing and ideas to help make their jobs safer, easier and better. "Our Transmission teams and crews have responded to work situations by coming up with new ideas and creating new processes that are, in many cases, becoming best practices across Southern Company," Moore said. "It's just one more way our Transmission employees display their continuing commitment to excellence every day." See the Innovations website at: http://alxapap01ts/innovations/ TLinesConstruction/TConstruction. aspx?MyVal=Line. By Donna Cope Transmission Innovations help employees work safer, smarter SAFETY 5 Transmission Construction Lineman Clint Daugherty checks guide wire, at left, while he and Foreman Jonathan Oliver use a dynometer to measure applied force to anchor. Photos by Wynter Byrd

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