ISPC Tailboard Talks

In episode 11, host Mark Forster and co-host Jerry Havens are back in Harnessing Safety: The Importance of Fall Protection where they are joined by special guest Kat Clemmons-Lea, Co-owner/Vice President of JELCO, a manufacturer of fall protection equipment since 1892.

In the ISPC Tailboard Talks segment, Mark and Jerry, discuss training, care, maintenance, and inspection of fall protection equipment. They go over OSHA’s requirements and what you need to know to make sure your fall protection PPE will do its job. In this episode’s special guest segment, Mark and Jerry talk with Kat Clemmons-Lea about her career, the history of JELCO, and what makes JELCO one of the top fall protection manufacturers. Then Kat shares some exciting news about JELCO that you won’t want to miss.

This episode is sponsored by:

1. [0:00] Introduction

In episode 10, host Mark Forster and co-host Jerry Havens are back for episode 10 called So you want to be a lineworker? where they are joined by special guest Curtis Bradley Jr., VP-Safety, Quality, and Training for the Desoto Group and Founder of Premier Lineman Consulting and the author of a book called “Selected to Lead” A foreman’s guide to success and his latest book called Welcome to Linework, An Apprentice’s Action Guide..

In the ISPC Tailboard Talks segment, Mark, Jerry, and Curtis discuss what it takes to be a valued apprentice, building a solid work ethic and teamwork skills, Effective communication on the job site, the importance of physical fitness and personal well-being, and Curtis shares his take to anyone out there trying to decide whether or not to become a lineworker what it takes.

This podcast is sponsored by:

Gritty Tools www.grittytools.com

Eliminating Workplace Injuries One Tool at a Time.

Timeline:

1. [0:00] Introduction

In episode 09, host Mark Forster and co-host Jerry Havens are back for episode 09 called Are We Just Talking the Talk? where they are joined by special guest Derek Grimes, Director of Safety for El Paso Electric.

In the ISPC Tailboard Talks segment, Mark, Jerry, and Derek discuss the core elements of an effective safety program, having good safety conversations, types of safety conversations and how to make sure those conversations aren’t avoided, stories that can enhance safety conversations, as well as leading by example.

This podcast is sponsored by:

Timeline:

1. [0:00] Introduction

In episode 08, host Mark Forster is back for episode 08 called Partnering for “LIFE”. In this episode, he highlights some lifelong partnerships that are being developed through a grassroots approach to safety and training in the electric utility industry to help save lives every day.

In the ISPC Tailboard Talks segment, Mark sits down with special guest Brent Jeffries, VP of Field Operations and Safety Training at Bierer Meters. They discuss tool safety and the efforts that Brent and Bierer Meters have taken to help ensure that people in the industry understand the reality of what meters do and the potential dangers they can pose to workers.  

Mark continues his conversation with Brent Jeffries, discussing Brent’s journey in the utility industry and the creation of the  constantly growing Electric Culture of Safety (ECOS). Then Mark lets the cat out of the bag about a partnership being formed by ISPC and Bierer Meters to create a state of the art training facility on the Bierer campus in Blythewood, South Carolina. Through partnerships and a grassroots approach, the training facility will be used to train the next generation of lineworkers.

This podcast is sponsored by Bierer Meters (bierermeters.com) and the Electric Culture of Safety (electriccultureofsafety.com)

1. [0:00] Introduction

In episode 07, Mark Forster is back for the episode about “The Power of Association,” where he covers how public power associations work together to support their members, sharing resources throughout our industry to make us all better. In the ISPC Tailboard Talks segment, Mark reminds us that June is Fire Safety month and covers the top 7 ways to prevent fires both at home and in the workplace. Mark is then joined by special guest Annie Wittenberg, Learning Program Manager for Northwest Public Power Association (NWPPA) to discuss this episode’s topic, what NWPPA offers its members, how they support their members, and more.

Timeline:

1. [0:00] Introduction

In episode 06, hosts Mark Forster and Jerry Havens are back to discuss the topic of how community colleges support electric utilities. In the ISPC Tailboard Talks segment, they discuss how to prevent ticks and other insects from getting on you, and what to do if they do. They are then joined by special guest Matthew Teeters, Operations Manager for Upper Peninsula Power Company (UPPCO), where they learn about Matthews’ career journey to becoming a utility manager, as well as continuing the discussion on how community colleges support the utility industry.

1. [0:00] Introduction

In episode 05, hosts Mark Forster and Jerry Havens are back to discuss the topic of becoming a leader. They highlight the process of a leader’s responsibility in regard to holding job briefings. Then they discuss leaders setting expectations for good quality job briefings, visiting or auditing the job briefings, and providing feedback about the quality of the job briefings to their team so corrections can be made. Special guest Curtis Bradley (VP of Safety for the Desoto Group, author of “Selected to Lead. A Foreman’s Field Guide to Success,” and trainer) discusses his journey to become a leader from a very modest beginning and some of the challenges he had to overcome in his journey.

This episode is sponsored by Bierer Meters. Together we are changing our Electric Culture of Safety.

1. [0:00] Introduction

In episode 04, hosts Mark Forster and Jerry Havens are back to discuss the importance of hydration. They highlight some steps to take to avoid dehydration, and they go over warning signs, helpful statistics, and the effects dehydration can have on cognitive function.

Special guest Mike Starner, Executive Director for Outside Line Services for NECA (National Electrical Contractors Association) tells Mark and Jerry a little about himself and his journey to where he is in his career and the industry today.  The rest of their conversation covers all things safety.

This episode is sponsored by Bierer Meters.

1. [0:00] Introduction

In Episode 03, we sit down at the 2024 T&D Trainers Conference in San Antonio, Texas with some of the industry’s best to discuss consistency in training, training a distributed workforce, and keeping training up-to-date with the changing needs of how apprentices learn.  Hear what issues other companies are dealing with, what they are doing to close the gaps, and some insights on how to improve your training programs.

1. [0:00] Introduction from the T&D Trainers Conference

In Episode 2 of the ISPC Tailboard Talks podcast, we discuss some of the highlights with both ISPC and T&D PowerSkills since the last podcast. We touch on the upcoming Trainers Conference and Tradeshow and how, even though it is sold out, there is still the ability to attend virtually. We talk about a LinkedIn post last week where the US DOL announced 12 million dollars of funding for not-or-profit organizations who provide occupational skills training, support participation in Registered Apprenticeship programs, or other on-the-job training, and supply employment placement assistance for veterans – all part of the Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program. We discussed this episode’s ISPC Tailboard Talk topic, “The Framework” around Job Briefings. We then dove into a great conversation with our Founder/Owner Ron Schenk and had a great conversation about our three companies and everything in between.

• Introduction