APM Gas Power Delivers Top-Tier Results at Calpine Pine Bluff Energy Center!
APM Gas Power wrapped up another successful outage this summer — this time at Calpine’s Pine Bluff Energy Center in Arkansas. From mid-July through September 2025, two hardworking Core Teams delivered safe, high-quality results on a major inspection of a 7F turbine.
Despite the grueling heat and long 12-hour shifts, the team rose to the challenge with a questioning attitude and an unwavering focus on safety and precision. With heat indexes hitting triple digits day after day, every crew member played a role in keeping one another hydrated, aware, and safe.
Team Strength & Collaboration
The project involved both day and night crews, each led by seasoned APM Superintendents, Andrew Sims on day shift and Garry Townsend on nights. Each crew of eight played an important role on the roster, and the customer repeatedly praised how smoothly they operated together. Overall, the team earned an impressive 4.5 of 5 crew rating.
Even with multiple contractors on site, including HRSG and generator teams, collaboration was the name of the game. The crews communicated constantly to align scopes and maintain a safe, productive work environment.
Scope & Complexity
This wasn’t a standard CSA outage with a pre-set checklist. The team arrived to tackle an investigative teardown on a wrecked 7FA turbine, with damage yet to be fully identified. As Superintendent Andrew Sims shared, “Once we got the unit opened, it was all about adapting fast, communicating clearly, and building the plan as we went.”
Their efforts uncovered and corrected critical issues, including casing swaps and rotor handling, tasks requiring expert coordination, precision rigging, and trust among team members.
Safety & Life-Saving Rules Focus
In addition to the team’s strong daily safety focus, two Hazard Hunts were completed during the outage that made a lasting impact on site safety and morale. The first focused on airlines and electrical cords, ensuring all hoses and cords were routed overhead and out of walkways to eliminate trip and head-knocker hazards. The second centered on walking and working surfaces, identifying and correcting issues like cluttered decks, unsecured ladders, and uneven surfaces around crane pads. These proactive hunts not only reduced risk but also strengthened teamwork, communication, and pride in keeping the site safe for everyone involved.
Two Life Saving Rules stood out during this outage: Work at Height and Mechanical Lifting. With multiple shell flips and lower casings removed, the crews maintained strict adherence to fall-protection standards and scaffold integrity checks. Every lift was planned, authorized, and executed with safety as the top priority.
Mentorship
Beyond completing the outage safely and efficiently, this job became a powerful mentoring ground. The team would like to note a few specific individuals by name who played a major part in the outage success:
Eric McCowin, a Superintendent serving this outage as an Subject Matter Expert (SME), took time to teach apprentices how to measure and record rotor clearances— a valuable skill few get hands-on experience with.
Vincent Rios, also a Superintendent serving as an SME, ensured early-stage success before handing leadership to Kendall Tennyson, who seamlessly stepped up as SME/Foreman to guide the team through the final stretch.
This handoff showcased APM’s depth of leadership and the strong pipeline of emerging talent across the field.
Looking Ahead
In the end, the Pine Bluff project wrapped smoothly, with zero recordables and high customer satisfaction. The team’s adaptability under pressure, dedication to quality, and commitment to continuous learning once again prove that APM’s field leaders and craftspeople are the heart of Gas Power excellence.
Huge thanks to every member of the Pine Bluff crew — your professionalism, grit, and craftsmanship set the bar high for future outages!