Problems are inevitable. The unexpected occurs no matter how much you practice and plan for every outcome. So it’s all in how you respond in the moment. Are you cool under pressure? I can be. Unless I’m trying to park downtown. In my defense, it is impossible to be calm with incomprehensible parking signs and horns blaring all around.
This issue of LINE CONTRACTOR is not about parking, but it is about the problem-solving skills required for line work.
In “Keeping Power in Play,” Chuck Ross interviews experts about defending the U.S. electric grid, sometimes called the world’s greatest machine, against cyber disruptions. Learn about national cybersecurity policy, computer simulations and some practical steps to take. The article is on page 4.
In “Traveling Trainers,” Susan DeGrane introduces us to a couple of guys who share their experience helping lineworkers in rural and remote areas. These locations often have limited resources and training opportunities. On-site training can be expensive, and those at remote jobs also need to know advanced first aid and medical stabilization in case an accident occurs far from help. Talk about being cool under pressure. Meet the trainers on page 8.
Also in the category of remote—to those of us in the lower 48—Susan writes about the Alaska Joint Electrical Apprenticeship and Training Trust, which serves line and inside wire apprentices. This model is catching on across the country. Read “Instructions in Fiber” on page 3.
For lineworkers who are out by themselves, hand them the Tailboard on page 11 and make sure they have a check-in procedure to ensure lone worker safety.
Another threat to the grid comes from extreme weather and high electricity demands. I bet Alaskans are familiar with that. Claire Swedberg writes about demand response programs that put consumers in charge of timing their own electricity consumption. “A Balancing Act” is on page 12.
This issue concludes our third year of LINE CONTRACTOR magazine. We’ll see you in 2024 with more creative solutions for problems in the industry. We promise to be cool if you do.
About The Author
Julie Mazur
Managing Editor, Electrical Contractor magazineJulie Mazur is the managing editor of ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR, Safety Leader and Line Contractor magazines. Before coming to ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR, she was an editor at Knight-Ridder/Tribune newspapers and the Los Angeles Times and taught English as a foreign language in Egypt and Japan. As managing editor, Julie oversees the whole publishing arc. She plans and assigns the stories for every issue, works with writers and designers and interacts with the printing plant. She has a mass communications B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. Go Bears!
Permanently retired from ziplining, Julie is an enthusiastic sports spectator and radio listener. She likes to read, exercise and cook.
