Event Profile

Lineworker Skills Series: Grounding and Bonding for Personal Protection

Date(s):
June 10, 2024
Venue:
Columbia River People's Utility District
Description:

Who Should Attend: 

Line crew supervisors and managers, crew foremen, lineworkers, and substation workers. 

Related Events: 

Lineworker Skills Series: Insulate and Isolate, June 11, 2024 

Course Overview: 

This one-day course will help you apply and understand the importance of critical protective bonding and grounding actions. The curriculum includes an exploration of the objectives, effects, and practical applications of bonding and grounding. Through interactive and practical learning, you will gain proficiency in handling voltage, current, and resistance using series, parallel, and combination circuits. Additionally, this course provides insights into the historical evolution of grounding practices and will refresh your grasp of electrical concepts and their application to personal protective grounding. 

Course Topics: 

  • Basic electrical concepts on the purpose of grounding. 
  • Current flow in grounded systems. 
  • Fault currents versus induction. 
  • Examples of dangerous current in towers and guys. 
  • Definitions and real-world application on grounding and bonding. 
  • Grounding trucks and how it works best. 
  • Grounding during stringing and how it works best. 
  • Resistance in grounded circuits and voltage drop. 
  • How bonding works to improve protection from ground currents. 
  • Why equipotential bonding works. 
  • Ground currents in underground systems. 
  • Making URD de-energized cables safe to work.  
  • Understanding resistances and voltage drop exposures in URD. 
  • Alternatives to grounding that work and are accepted by the industry. 
  • Case studies on digger derrick in the phase; ground fatality in a substation; ground contact injury on a grounded steel tower; ground contact injury on a grounded T-line; averted fatality at a snubbing operation; UG current risks and exposures in grounded systems; why looped systems reduce but don’t eliminate exposure risks. 

Course Instructor: 

Dan Taylor, Senior Consultant, Institute for Safety in Powerline Construction (ISPC)  

Course Schedule: 

Registration will begin at 7:30 a.m. Pacific Time and the class will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Lunch and refreshments will be provided. 

Course Location: 

Columbia River PUD  
64001 Columbia River Hwy.  
Deer Island, OR 97054  
(503) 397-1844 

Suggested Hotels: 

Best Western Oak Meadows Inn 
585 S. Columbia River Hwy. 
St. Helens, OR 97051 
(503) 397-3000 
Ask for the Northwest Public Power Association rate for 15% off advertised prices. 

Course Fees: 

Utility Member Early Bird (ends 5/10/2024): $540 
Utility Member Standard: $615 
 
Canadian Member Early Bird (ends 5/10/2024): $430 
Canadian Member Standard: $490 

Associate Member Early Bird (ends 5/10/2024): $810 
Associate Member Standard: $885 
 
Non-Member Early Bird (ends 5/10/2024): $1,080 
Non-Member Standard: $1,155 

Note: Organizations that register a group of employees will receive every fifth registration for free. For example, if you register five employees, you only pay for four; register 10 employees, you only pay for eight; and so on. There is nothing additional you need to do to receive this discount. 

Cancellation Policies: 

For in-person events: cancellation at least 30 days prior to the event, full refund; within 15-29 days, $100 fee; and within 1-14 days or no show, 100% of the registration fee. 

For More Information:

To find out more about this event, or to learn about other events, view the Training and Event Catalog.