Registrations for this year’s Finepoint Circuit Breaker Test and Maintenance Training Conference have increased 22% over last year, and the conference has grown consistently every year since its inception in 1994. The conference will be held Oct. 1-5, 2007, at the Omni William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

More than 490 delegates attended the 2006 conference, representing 210 companies, 46 states, and nine countries. Substation and switchgear professionals have cited the focus and practicality, the opportunity to tour a factory, the in-depth half-day seminars and the hospitable atmosphere as reasons for returning to the show again and again.

Conference Focus
The primary objective of the Finepoint Circuit Breaker Test and Maintenance Conference is practical training. All of the sessions provide participants information they can use in the field and share with coworkers.

A unique aspect of the conference is that most speakers are electric utility delegates, not suppliers. As a result, participants are able to access practical information from a user's perspective.

Many conference topics focus on low-, medium-, and high-voltage circuit breaker maintenance. However, related substation and switchgear topics such as oil testing and filtration, SF6 gas handling and leak detection, lubrication, safe work practices, thermal imaging, and asset management issues are also covered.

Factory Day
Since 1996, a day at a circuit breaker manufacturing plant has been a highlight of the Circuit Breaker Test & Maintenance Training Conference. This year’s factory day will feature co-hosts: Pennsylvania Breaker and Pennsylvania Transformer Technology, and ABB.

When the idea of a circuit breaker conference was first discussed, the primary objective was to provide participants with a schedule packed full of useful training and education. Finepoint noted with interest that other conferences touted tours and night life of their host city that were not related to their conference.

“We asked ourselves, ‘why not offer a tour that is directly related to the issues being discussed at the conference?’” said Bill Myers, president of Finepoint, the conference’s host.

As a result, Finepoint approached the ABB high-voltage circuit breaker division who had attended the first two conferences. ABB agreed to host a day at its facility, which included product presentations, a factory tour, and a testing methods training session.

The concept was expanded the following year when a nightly expo became a part of the conference. Now, participants have an additional three hours of time each evening to talk with the speakers, the suppliers, and each other about what they learned that day. Some of the most important discussions take place there, and participants also have time to thoroughly explore all the exhibits.

In-Depth Seminars
Many other conferences offer seminars that are a part of their program for an “extra charge.” However, at Finepoint’s annual conference, these extended half-day seminars are included in the registration fee at no additional cost.

Offered in addition to more than a dozen useful presentations each year, the 2007 conference includes an "SF6 Gas Handling and Management" seminar jointly presented by the EPA and DILO on Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 3, and a "Circuit Breaker Timing and Analysis" seminar jointly presented by Kelman and Vanguard Instruments on Friday morning, Oct. 5.

Hospitality
A unique feature of the Finepoint Circuit Breaker Test and Maintenance Training Conference is the exposition. It is not your typical daylong, pipe-and-drape exhibition floor. It is where hospitality mixes with technology between professionals and old friends.

Instead of walking down row after row of exhibits, each evening participants sit down with complimentary food and drinks for discussions with exhibits surrounding them. Eighty exhibitors are on hand to display products and answer questions. The exhibits are set around the perimeters of several rooms and in the hallways, with tables and chairs for meetings and discussions.

The Expo is open every evening from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. throughout the entire 17th floor of the Omni William Penn Hotel. Since the conference presentations end each day at 5 p.m., participants have an hour to check for phone messages and e-mail before heading to the 17th floor for three hours of exhibits and complimentary food and drinks.