POWER April 2013 - 27

COAL PLANT OPERATIONS
4. Every detail counts. Paradise Electrician
Bruce Stewart completes repairs on a
light fixture. Courtesy: TVA
5. Operational excellence. Paradise Assistant Unit Operators Dale Welborn and Marty
Mefford confirm the procedure to add water to a stator cooling system. Courtesy: TVA
" We can't allow ourselves to become
complacent, and daily activities cannot be
considered 'routine.' "
-Assistant Plant Manager Billy Sabin
spent some time in the classroom learning
fundamentals but largely focused on more
ad hoc hands-on training-team up with a
more senior person to show you the ropes.
Today, there is a much more holistic training
philosophy for the entire staff. Onthe-job
training remains very important
but is now conducted as part of an array
of human performance-focused training
that extends over the employee's career.
For example, operators attend refresher
training programs every quarter, and human
performance reviews are regularly
conducted to sharpen job skills.
Plants don't operate and maintain
themselves, so progressive utilities, such
as TVA, recognize that people are their
number one asset. As Sabin noted, it's the
behind-the-scenes work of many people
that keeps Paradise running with high reliability.
He also credits the involvement
of all employees in important decisionmaking,
from job design to plant outage
planning. Sabin describes the process usApril
2013 | POWER
ing the mnemonic 4Es: Engage staff in decision-making;
Empower staff to do their
jobs with the right training and equipment;
Encourage staff to accept only operational
excellence in all that they do; Energize
the staff by offering opportunities for
personal growth and the plant's culture.
When this approach is implemented well,
as demonstrated by the recent Unit 2 longrun
records, remarkable accomplishments
are possible (Figures 4 and 5).
" This level of performance cannot be
achieved without the proper oversight
and critical decisions from our corporate
partners, as well as site employees, " said
Sabin when interviewed by POWER after
Unit 2's record run was announced.
" Countless hours making sure these units
stay online means fixing the right things,
prioritizing the right work, and attention
to detail when it comes to planning. We
can't allow ourselves to become complacent,
and daily activities cannot be considered
'routine.' That attention to detail can
www.powermag.com
be the difference between a unit staying
online and coming off. "
More Records Fall
According to Sabin, Paradise broke several
other long-run records during FY12:
a simultaneous Unit 1 and 2 record run
at 137+ days set on Nov. 4, 2011; a prior
Unit 2 long-run record of 216+ days set
on Jan. 7, 2012; and Unit 3's third-longest
run at 130+ days set on Apr. 10, 2012. The
equipment is obviously running better than
at any time in the past.
Operating records are important, but
safety comes first at Paradise. During
FY12, Paradise experienced its best ever
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
recordable injury rate of a minuscule
0.23-a single injury away from a
perfect record.
" Paradise employees should feel proud, "
Sabin said. " It's one thing to accomplish
a world record, but when we look back at
the year we've had, it's obvious that they
have worked very hard, day in and day out,
to continuously improve our performance
and do our part to keep injury rates low for
the people of the Tennessee Valley Authority.
I can't say thank you enough for all the
work they do. "
Our congratulations to the staff of TVA's
Paradise Fossil Plant for demonstrating that
operational excellence rests largely with staff
quality rather than equipment vintage. ■
-Dr. Robert Peltier, PE is POWER's
editor-in-chief.
27
http://www.powermag.com

POWER April 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of POWER April 2013

Contents
POWER April 2013 - Cover1
POWER April 2013 - Cover2
POWER April 2013 - Contents
POWER April 2013 - 2
POWER April 2013 - 3
POWER April 2013 - 4
POWER April 2013 - 5
POWER April 2013 - 6
POWER April 2013 - 7
POWER April 2013 - 8
POWER April 2013 - 9
POWER April 2013 - 10
POWER April 2013 - 11
POWER April 2013 - 12
POWER April 2013 - 13
POWER April 2013 - 14
POWER April 2013 - 15
POWER April 2013 - 16
POWER April 2013 - 17
POWER April 2013 - 18
POWER April 2013 - 19
POWER April 2013 - 20
POWER April 2013 - 21
POWER April 2013 - 22
POWER April 2013 - 23
POWER April 2013 - 24
POWER April 2013 - 25
POWER April 2013 - 26
POWER April 2013 - 27
POWER April 2013 - 28
POWER April 2013 - 29
POWER April 2013 - 30
POWER April 2013 - 31
POWER April 2013 - 32
POWER April 2013 - 33
POWER April 2013 - 34
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POWER April 2013 - Cover3
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