Every professional continues training throughout their career, and for mission-critical professionals, continuing education is especially important. Teachers, lawyers, doctors and engineers complete refresher courses, keeping up to date on methods and tools of the trade. The same goes for utility professionals working in substation maintenance.

Maintenance precedes reliability; you can’t have reliability without maintenance, so apprentices, substation electricians, and asset managers will benefit from continued training at the Finepoint Circuit Breaker Test and Maintenance Training Conference on Oct. 5-9 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Some utilities have cut training from their budgets during the latest recession, but maintenance is still critical.

“Prudent utilities need to strengthen their training programs, not slash them, to prepare their workforce for the inevitable recovery and rapid growth,” said Bill Myers, Finepoint’s organizer. “A sudden rush of baby boomer retirements, coupled with recent downsizing and a lack of training, can plunge an entire substation maintenance program into chaos.”

A small investment in substation training can go far in keeping skills fresh, increasing competence level, and generating new solutions to problems.

Myers encourages professionals to talk with their management about the Finepont conference and about their company’s participation. “Remind them that this conference is the best deal in the industry for a full week of training and networking,” Myers said.

The conference registration fee includes all training events and meals, a full day at a high-voltage circuit breaker manufacturing plant, over a dozen useful substation maintenance presentations, and two half-day, in-depth maintenance training seminars.

“The Finepoint Training Conference will not be cancelled,” Myers said, “but the registration deadline is only four weeks away.”

Electric utility companies giving presentations at the conference this October include Alabama Power (Danny Bates), Progress Energy (Charles Currin), United Illuminating (Tony Picagli), Sunflower Electric Power (Corey Linville), Bonneville Power (Shawn Syhlman), BC Hydro (John Bradley and Bernhard Spalteholz), and Chugach Electric (Steve Cannon). For details, please visit the Agenda page at the conference website. One unique aspect of the conference is that most speakers are the electric utility company delegates themselves, not suppliers.

The full day at a circuit breaker manufacturing plant has been another unique feature of the conference since 1996. HVB AE Power Systems, Inc., located in Suwanee, Georgia, is known internationally as a premier manufacturer of dead tank high voltage circuit breakers. Invitations to participate in the factory day tour are at the discretion of the factory day host and are limited to the first 300 people who register for the conference.

A half-day Maintaining Westinghouse AA-7/10/14 Mechanisms seminar is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 7. An estimated 60,000 AA mechanisms are still in service, and ABB is presenting an updated version of their AA mechanism training session at the 2009 conference. The seminar will cover the history of breaker operating mechanisms, design and theory of operation, key components and how they work, and maintenance and troubleshooting issues. Working models of the AA mechanisms will be available for the duration of the conference to make sure participants get the most out of this course.

A second half-day Oil Analysis & Processing seminar is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 9. Have you ever processed transformer oil only to find that it tested worse after filtering? Ever wondered what the differences are among oil dielectric test methods? TJ/H2b has learned that an enormous amount of information resides in the particulate of samples and will share this information plus address several industry hot topics related to corrosive sulfur. Velcon Filters' portion of the seminar will include contaminants in transformer oil, filter cartridge construction, and filter system design. Participants will learn the importance of understanding differential pressure and vacuum gauge readings as well as other helpful oil handling components.

Each evening, the Hospitality Expo will provide another training format for participants. Over 90 suppliers offering substation/switchgear products and services will be available to answer questions and discuss applications. These exhibitors are the leading companies supplying the electric utility industry. Be sure to visit the Exhibitors page for detailed information. From 6 to 9 p.m. the Expo mixes hospitality with the latest technology. Hundreds of substation and switchgear maintenance professionals will mingle with exhibitors while enjoying complimentary food and drink.

“There is much knowledge to be shared, many questions to be answered, and so few opportunities for this type of training,” Myers said. “Past participants have asked for these specific topics, we have found the experts, and now the opportunity is yours.”