EPRI to Host Power Switching and Safety Reliability Conference

The Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. (EPRI) will host the 12th Annual Power Switching Safety and Reliability Conference on Sept. 15-16, 2008, at St. Anthony’s Hotel in San Antonio, Texas. The conference will provide a forum for managers, supervisors and operations personnel to exchange information about switching policies and procedures that contribute to improved safety and reliability.

The conference will address a number of management strategies and policies, and industry issues ranging from detailed switching procedures and associated software to programs for training, audits and incident investigation.

The theme for the 2008 conference is Human Performance: Communications and Consequences.The preliminary program includes the following presentations, with at least nine additional breakout sessions to choose from.

• Proper/Professional Communications and Decisions Making
• Near-Miss Incidents
• Capturing Undocumented Knowledge
• Corporate Initiatives in Human Performanance
• Unauthorized Removal of Equipment Grounds

More than 150 utility representatives from nine countries attended the 2007 conference, which focused on situation awareness, human performance, and redesigning control rooms and procedures to provide for safer, more reliable power switching operations.