Gas Power Delivers Top-level Safety & Performance in Florida, Idaho and Indiana!
This month, we are mixing it up! Since the Gas Division received such high praise in recent outages, we will be spotlighting THREE Gas Power jobs in one blog! From Florida to Idaho, this article is jam-packed with positive praise to share.
Our first shoutout covers Martin County Clean Energy Center in Indiantown, Florida! After several planning meetings with GE Vernova and the Site Manager, a core crew traveled to Florida to begin their outage. Led by Superintendents, Clay Harrell and John Godwin, the team of 24 conducted their scope of replacing stage one buckets. Safety and Quality were the top priorities of this crew, as the outage was completed with zero setbacks. Clay Harrell had this to say about the team, “They have an understanding that following safety procedures and the time to evaluate each task allows for a smooth successful job. They don’t let schedule pressure dictate their attitude”. After 3,204 manhours, the job was completed with pristine execution.
Next, we’re showering praise for Rathdrum Power in Rathdrum, Idaho. Mobilizing in March of this year, the crew of 13 craftspeople came prepared to execute their scope of a rotor swap, five-compressor package, an AFT can gasket swap, and a lower-half piping gasket swap. Led by Superintendent, Josue “Chisel” Velazquez and SME, Jorge Huitron, the team put in a total of 5,700 manhours over the span of two months. Thanks to the learnings from the Mechanical Lifting Life Saving Rule, the crew conducted a valuable STOP Moment while onsite. While lowering the rotor, the crane in use unexpectedly stopped functioning approximately 8 feet above the rotor stands. This caused an unplanned pause in operations, lasting about 30 minutes. Once the crane became operational and the rotor was safely landed on the stands, all work was immediately halted as a precaution. “Chisel” had this to say about the STOP work, “This STOP moment reinforced the importance of prioritizing safety over schedule. It allowed the team to prevent any potential hazards related to crane failure, maintained site safety standards, and preserved strong trust with the customer by handling the situation with transparency and caution”.
Last, but certainly not least, we extend a hearty congrats to the crew who performed at Duke Vermillion Generating Station in Cayuga, Indiana. Led by Superintendent, Bill Jenkins, a crew of 15 craftspeople traveled to Duke Vermillion with the scope of a 7EA Hot Gas Path. This was a new site to APM, so the crew worked closely with the site Field Engineer and property management to ensure a successful outage. The crew ran into several high wind/tornado-related STOP moments, but never veered from the priority of safety, ensuring everything was secure and stowed accordingly before proceeding with their next tasks. Thanks to this emphasis on safety, the crew completed the 6,900-manhour outage with utmost excellence.
We are immensely proud of these three crews for their dedication to details, and especially their commitment to keeping safety #1. All three jobs were completed with 100% safety and quality at the forefront of operations. Congrats and HUGE kudos to all crew members at Martin County, Rathdrum and Duke Vermillion for your outage success!