Trainer Harry Speicher said the 20 CUC linemen were divided into groups or classes as they underwent training exercises in sites on Capital Hill, Navy Hill, and Hopwood Junior High School for two weeks.
The CUC field crew went through a basic course that included classroom and outdoor training on security, work procedures, construction standards, equipment operations, and several other areas of line work, Speicher added.
He said the linemen allowed the CUC linemen to immerse themselves in repair work, including the replacement of corroded electricity poles and rusted hardware.
“It’s a win-win situation for everybody. We’re getting CUC orders done. We’re actually doing CUC’s workload,” Speicher said.
They completed field jobs on Capital Hill, Navy Hill and at Hopwood Junior High School.
The program is a series of eight classes and the CUC linemen have already finished their fourth class.
Speicher said should the CUC crew complete the eight lineman training classes, they will receive Pacific Master Lineman certifications.
Should the linemen complete four more sessions, the crew will receive Line Installer Repair certificates.
Speicher said certificates will be given to the crew depending on the result of their 100-question examination on the last day of training, which is today.
“It’s a general knowledge test for the last three classes. This one is to see where they’re at,” he said. “This tells us where our curriculum will go for the next four classes.”
Based on his assessment, the CUC linemen are very receptive and eager to learn.
Yesterday, the CUC linemen worked on the conductor of a power pole at Hopwood.
Speicher noted that most of the problems they encountered are corrosion of the pole and rusted galvanized hardware.
