Monica's Monday Morning Memo...sharing lessons learned and reflections from my prior work week.
I continue to be amazed by the range of impacts to our assets and how our field teams rally to safely keep our network functioning for our customers.
As part of my NY North Country Safety Expedition", I observed the damage a black bear made to one of our distribution poles near Malone, NY at the Canadian border. The most northern and remote field crew of our NY territory responded to replace the pole and lines and ensure continuity of service. (See damaged pole and responding crew in photo below). As you can imagine, there can be challenges working in such remote areas often where there is no cell phone coverage or quick access to help.
I set out on the "NY North Country Safety Expedition" to listen, observe and learn how small crews working remotely, also work safely. Visiting crews from Watertown to Gouverneur to Potsdam and through the Adirondack Park to Saranac Lake, it became evident that a critical factor is the effectiveness of the crew leader. One of #NationalGrid's safety focus areas this year is ensuring our crew leaders feel supported and are prepared to be able to fully execute their critical roles.
The crew leader (left in photo) held a thorough job briefing conversation; ensured his crew understood and was ready for the task; educated and supported his crew through the task, all while building an atmosphere of mutual respect, trust and belonging among the crew members. Well done!
#smallremotecrews
#workingsafely
#startswithtrust