Susan DeGrane

Susan DeGrane is a Chicago-based freelance writer. She has covered electrical contracting, renewable energy, senior living and other industries with articles published in the Chicago Tribune, New York Times and trade publications. Reach her at sdegrane@att.net.

Demand High for Substation Work: Antiquated infrastructure fuels need for trained lineworkers

Susan DeGrane

Aging infrastructure, increasing demands for electricity and the transition to renewable energy are fueling contracts for substation work. Those factors are also driving the need to keep training lineworkers, who as...

Newkirk Electric Associates’ Benton Harbor, Mich., 345-kV substation upgrade project | Newkirk Electric Associates

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Aug 13, 2021

IBEW Celebrates 130 Years

Susan DeGrane

This year marks the 130th year of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. For a look inside the early history of the union, IBEW members, NECA members and history buffs may want to visit the Henry Miller Museum...

Safety Leader

Your Business

Aug 13, 2021

Red Flag Warning: OSHA 10 and 30 do not satisfy standard training requirements

Susan DeGrane

Bringing clarity to contractors about construction safety and OSHA standards has become a quest for Palmer Hickman, director of code and safety curriculum and training at the Electrical Training Alliance, Bowie, Md. He said...

Safety

Jul 15, 2021

The Perfect Storm: Weather-related disasters yield opportunities, insights into safety

Susan DeGrane

2020 set records for multibillion-dollar, weather-related disasters. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s annual tally of hurricanes, tropical storms, floods, heat waves, droughts and wildfires since 1980...

Line Contractor

Safety

Jun 15, 2021

Instruction Comes First: OSHA requires training and evaluation for crane operators

Susan DeGrane

On July 18, 2008, Deep South Crane & Rigging Co. gave just a few minutes of instruction to a crane operator unfamiliar with the controls of one of the world’s largest pedestal cranes, a VersaCrane TC-36000. Normally, training...

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Safety

May 14, 2021

The Shift to Virtual Training: Relying on electronic instruction, JATCs maintain apprenticeship standards

Susan DeGrane

Before COVID-19, it would have been rare to find a first-year electrical apprentice learning DC theory on a laptop at their kitchen table. But since the pandemic, this situation is not so unusual. Joint Apprenticeship...

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Apr 15, 2021

Moore Electrical, IBEW 131 Help Pfizer Gear Up for Vaccine Production

Susan DeGrane

In March 2020, Brian O’Donnell, business manager at IBEW 131 in Kalamazoo, Mich., received a call from a contact at Pfizer Inc. concerning extensive plant modifications. Pfizer is headquartered in New York and has several...

A man wearing a mask and gloves holding a vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

Line Contractor

Safety

Mar 15, 2021

Lineworker Boot Camp: ALBAT intensifies training to keep labor pipeline flowing

Susan DeGrane

As one of seven NECA chapters focused on outside electrical construction, American Line Builders (ALB) represents 41 electrical contractors in the District of Columbia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio...

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Feb 15, 2021

The Contactless Office: Preparing the workplace for employees' safe return

Susan DeGrane

Since mid-March 2020, the Blue Cross-Blue Shield (BCBS) headquarters has been eerily quiet, staffed mostly by a skeleton crew of electricians and building engineers. As with many businesses across the country and world, the...

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Jan 15, 2021

NECA and IBEW STEM Programs Draw Students to Trade Careers

Susan DeGrane

Employers are increasingly recognizing the value of STEM education in the development of capable students who will eventually be qualified workers. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math—four academic...

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Safety

Nov 13, 2020

Calculated Distance: Lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic

Susan DeGrane

When the novel coronavirus struck the United States in March, the Carolinas Electrical Training Institute (CETI), Charlotte, N.C., and the Electrical Training Alliance of Jacksonville (ETAJ), Jacksonville, Fla., were...

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Safety

Aug 14, 2020

Wind Power Practice Makes Perfect

Susan DeGrane

Wind power continues to gain momentum throughout the United States. As opportunities for electricians to work with wind turbines grow, the goal is to limit the injuries and deaths related to this hazardous line of work. Of...