Recommendation on Safety Training/Trainer in the Seattle Area

Status
Not open for further replies.
tom baker

tom baker

First Chief Moderator & NEC Expert
Staff member
Location
Bremerton, Washington
Occupation
Master Electrician
Any recommendations for a Electrical Safety Training company or trainer in the Seattle area? - Mainly arc flash, can be a national company if they can do on site training.
Thnxs
Tom
 
Earlier this year, I attended a four hour seminar led by Robert E. Fuhr, P.E. It was sponsored by the Electric League of the Pacific Northwest, and it was approved by L&I as continuing education credits towards my Electrical Administrator license requirements. I have also attended several shorter presentations that he has made. He is a good speaker and an effective instructor. He is also a member of this forum. Here is a link to a description of his arc flash training class, taken from his web site:
http://www.powerstudies.com/LVElecSafetyOutline.htm
 
Some other good programs I can recommend.

Shermco - Jim White
AVO Training - Dennis Neiztel
E-hazard.com - Hugh Hoagland
Western Electrical Services - Dan Hook (Local in Seattle)
Brainfiller - Jim Phillips

Be careful, there are some horrible programs out there, this is from the FAQ's and is important to keep in mind when selecting a trainer, because if your training is wrong, your whole program will suffer forever.

How to select a training provider

Ask for a resume for the instructor, what are his qualifications? What boards and commitees has he sat on regarding the topic? What professional papers has he published?

Ask for references and actually call some of them, most training managers will be happy to give you feedback on a class and trainer.

What is the work history of the trainer? Is he just reading a canned course or is he really an expert in the feild with real life experience?

Look at the company, and the courses they offer. A red flag is a company that provides CPR, ladder safety, forklift, and oh yeah, we do arc flash training too. Look for a company that also provides arc flash surverys, engineering studies and other power system services. You want a real expert.

Your training should fit your specific needs, an Electrical Contractor has very different training needs than a large manufacturing plant. There is no such thing as a one size fits all training course. I used to customize every class I did based on the clients needs.

If the trainer does not ask you questions about your existing ESWP's, arc flash syudy, PPE program and request a pre training meeting, thats another red flag. Unless it is an open enrollment course, which is usually not as effective as one at your facility made just for you.

Remmember your training is a much larger investment than the course fee, you are setting a culture in motion that will determine how you do everything, from your PPE program, to your hazard analysis method, to your disipline program for non-compliance.

One more thing, if someone says they offer a 70E "Certification" course, run.
 
Thanks! I will pass the information along to one of my clients. I have not gotten into electrical safety training and probably won't.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top