Pam Tompkins lead the two-day training
On August 22-23, IBEW Local 1245 hosted its fifth annual Utility Safety Operations Leadership Network (USOLN) Certified Utility Safety Professional (CUSP) certification class at Weakley Hall. The two-day training is designed to prep existing and hopeful safety professionals into the discipline of utility safety leadership, regulatory statutes, human performance and general tenets in the field of safety. At the end of the two-day course, students take a test that, upon passing, would enable them to access the USOLN, which is made up of over 100 utilities nationwide.
CUSP recipients also have the option to attend the annual three-day iP Conference, held in Louisville, Kentucky in October. The conference hosts speakers from the field of safety, along with classes and workshops hosted by leading professionals in the field of utility safety.
This year’s class at Local 1245 was instructed by Pam Tompkins, president and CEO of SET Solutions, with USOLN’s Stacy Fowler serving as proctor. Utility and contractor participants came from as far away as Texas, Arizona and as close as the Local 1245 jurisdiction, representing groups such as PG&E, Southern California Edison, Entergy, Cupertino Electric, Hotline Construction and the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority.
In all, 23 participants took the two-hour safety certification test. Within three weeks, a three-person panel will review the tests and notify the individuals if they passed. Anyone who does not pass will have the opportunity to take the test again within one year without the requirement to re-take the class if they so choose.
Local 1245 plans to host another class in 2019, and details will be posted on the union’s website in the spring.
For more information about USOLN or to review the program, visit https://www.usoln.org/
–Rich Lane, IBEW 1245 Business Representative and CUSP