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APM Specialty Blade Technicians went above and beyond in their dedication to safety and quality in several Fall 2023 outages. In five separate outages, the Blade Technicians raised multiple Safety and Quality STOP moments that prevented potential damages and protected the safety of the crew and customers. This incredible display of continued diligence ensured 100% safety and quality delivery, avoiding any incidents!

With the scope of Bucket Changeouts at the jobsites of Frontera Power Plant (mobilized from November 12th – 19th and December 10th – 12th), Duke Smith (mobilized from October 8th – November 6th), TVA Paradise (mobilized from October 11th – 31st), and Duke Dan River (mobilized from October 8th – 24th), the APM Blade Technicians remained vigilant.

Blake Fountain initiated a STOP moment when he found that the rotor stands were not level, resulting in a safety stand-down as the site reset the uneven stands.

In another Safety STOP, Jonathon “Rudy” Dukes realized a rotor turning device was in poor working conditions with a potential for a runaway rotor, so the team stopped work. After a few meetings, everyone came into agreement that the new equipment can keep everybody safe and moved forward with the outage.

Christopher Barlow launched a Quality STOP when he was correcting first stage buckets and found broken off cleaners in cooling holes when inspecting. This was no easy feat as the damage was not easy to see, but due the Christopher’s attention to detail the crew was able to responsibly proceed with a new set of buckets.

Another Quality STOP was by Dave Chow who found excessive media (which is used to clean out buckets) in the second stage buckets. The crew was able to ensure quality work by securing a new set.

When James Thompson was installing second stage buckets, he found defective C seals which if left undetected would have cracked and sent parts downstream causing extensive damage. Thankfully, James caught the defect and the team secured new equipment through a Quality STOP.

Finally, Dave Chow remained at the top of his game when removing first stage buckets and transferring to new ones. He discovered that the cooling holes had cracks and called a Quality STOP to obtain new buckets.

We appreciated Chris, Dave, James, Blake, and Rudy for their attention to detail and diligence in their inspections. Their thoroughness and commitment to safety and quality work not only benefited them at these jobsites, but also brought awareness and experience to the team with unprecedented circumstances to keep on their radar for continued great work. APM congratulates our outstanding Blade Technicians and looks forward to their future success!