2018 EUFMC Sets Attendance Record

June 13, 2018 - A new attendance record was set at the 65th annual Electric Utility Fleet Mangers Conference held June 3-6, 2018 in Williamsburg, Virginia. This year, 142 utility fleet representatives from 79 investor-owned electric utilities, electric cooperatives and electrical contractors, including 40 first time attendees and seven new utilities, attended the conference. Also in attendance were more than 330 representatives from over 100 manufacturers and service providers. 

 

“Steady growth in attendance at EUFMC shows why this conference is the industry’s leading educational event for utility fleets,” said Mike Allison, EUFMC President and Director Design and Tech Support Services at Duke Energy. “Along with a highly informative educational program, the conference is a valuable forum for addressing challenges and exchanging ideas by networking with other fleets and suppliers, and its equipment exhibits and demonstrations are a great way to learn about new technologies.”

 

Strategies for Managing a Safe, Productive and Cost Effective Fleet, the 2018 General Session educational program, featured presentations by fleet executives, manufacturer representatives and industry experts. Topics covered this year included regulatory, legislative and legal issues, dielectric and acoustic testing, parts and maintenance, fleet electrification, disaster response, and distracted driving and human performance issues. The EUFMC Education Report will be available on the conference web site.

 

The 2018 EUFMC Keynote Address was delivered by Danny Lindsey, Power Delivery Senior Vice President at Georgia Power, who is responsible for the planning, design, operations and maintenance of the company’s distribution and transmission systems.

 

“Achieving Safety Excellence”, Lindsey’s address discussed lessons learned about safety at Georgia Power. “For ten years, we had a Target Zero approach to aim for no injuries and no accidents,” he related. “It was not our intent but that approach drove people not to report incidents because no one wants to be the person who ruins the safety record. What we learned was that despite documenting successes, Target Zero can destroy a safety culture because the only thing our people heard was that all we cared about was numbers.

 

“Today, we’ve learned how to talk about safety, how to communicate, how to offer positive reinforcement and how to be proactive and identify issues before they happen. That approach avoids error traps and promotes risk assessment skills for employees that focus on what can happen so accidents can be avoided.”

 

EUFMC 2018 HIGHLIGHTS:

 

Roundtables where fleet executives address common challenges by sharing best practices and working with suppliers to find solutions

 

Utility Equipment Drive-Through Demonstrations with educational and technical presentations by suppliers

 

Equipment Show exhibits with more than 60 displays of vehicles, equipment, components and a wide range of technologies and services

 

Aron Ralston, an outdoorsman, adventurer and motivational speaker addressed EUFMC attendees with his story of extreme willpower and sacrifice that captured international headlines. The author of the New York Times best-selling memoir, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, Ralston was ascending a Utah canyon alone in 2003 when a boulder pinned him to the canyon wall. After six days during which time he struggled to free himself and ward off dehydration and hypothermia, he recorded his last will and testament before freeing himself by amputating his right hand with a pocketknife.

 

During the 2018 conference a mobile event app provided instant access to educational session schedules, special activities details and attendee and speaker information. EUFMC Surveys, which will be used to plan another great conference next year, are on the app until June 30th.




Catalyst

Crane Hot Line is part of the Catalyst Communications Network publication family.