This article was published in October 2022 and may be outdated.
Hydro senior leaders experience the trades for a day
Hydro leaders try out their skills at a trades showcase.
On Sept. 28, executive leadership and directors swapped out their dress shoes for steel toes to learn about the trades at Manitoba Hydro’s Stonewall Training Centre.
The idea for a trades showcase came when Mike Forbes (Winnipeg Distribution Construction) offered to show new leadership the trades to help them understand the day-to-day operations of the company.
“I just started last December, so I’m still new to Manitoba Hydro,” said Ryan McCormack, (Senior Director, Enterprise Excellence). “Here I got to see all the different situations our technicians encounter in the field. It gave me more connection to the soul of the organization and hopefully it helps me better serve the people who work here too.”
The event showed interested executives and directors a variety of trades including overhead and underground electrical construction, electrical distribution, natural gas methods, live line maintenance, and trades training. The day’s events were tied to annual training and certifications, much of which were already happening at the training centre.
“I had a great experience today,” said Janet Mayor (Director, Human Resources). “While getting a chance to try out some these work stations I observed first-hand the excellent teamwork and dedication of field employees and their attention to safety and detail in their work.”
Barret Frith (Selkirk Distribution Construction) demonstrates how to climb a pole.
Enlarge image: A crowd of people watch a man with climbing gear on a utility pole.
“I’ve been fortunate to work on many project sites in my career, but it’s always a pleasure to see and experience our core business and gain a better understanding for the work our field staff do. I always come away energized after seeing their commitment to safety, quality and our customers,” said Hal Turner (VP, Asset Planning & Delivery). “Also, happy to say I climbed further up the Hydro pole than Scott.”
The photo evidence! L to R: Hal Turner and Scott Powell (Director, Corporate Communications) were among many attendees to strap up the boot spurs and climb poles at Stonewall Training Centre.
Enlarge image: Two men in safety gear climb hydro poles in front of some people.
Transmission live line maintenance crews practice rope access training in front of the visiting ELT and directors at Stonewall Training Centre. Rope access training is a new method for transmission line maintenance crews to access energized transmission lines.
L to R: Michelle McCutcheon (Winnipeg Distribution Construction) shows Angie Driver (Director, Engineering) how to use the digger derrick at Stonewall Training Centre.
Power line technicians demonstrate hi-potting a transformer, a technique used to locate underground cable faults.
Jim Pawluk (Director, Asset Management) squeezes off a gas line with supervision from Roy Tourand (Winnipeg Natural Gas Operations).
Enlarge image: A male worker uses a heavy duty tool to squeeze a pipe while another man watches.
Mike made it abundantly clear that he had a strong team facilitating the showcase and credits all departments that participated in making sure the day ran smoothly.