2014, August

OPPD-Ft. Calhoun Walks the Talk! I meet many different people and everyone says that they will contact me for training. Some of the same folks I have seen no less than nine times in so many years keep on repeating the same old line. There are thinkers, talkers and people who take action. The safety professionals at OPPD-Ft. Calhoun have spent more time, money and resources than any single generator of power that we have ever had the pleasure of knowing. This summer we will present another Sling and Rigging Hardware Inspection Program on location for them.

I was asked to present a sling and rigging overview training course for helicopter rigging at the 2014 HAI Conference in Anaheim, California. It was an honor to present the program with Robert Libby, Advanced Helicopter Training, Inc. in a preconference educational program. Jeff Gordon, Southern California Edison also presented a brilliant program on the planning that should be involved in all helicopter rigging applications. Both Mr. Gordon and Mr. Libby commented that while helicopter rigging is an extremely important factor in any successful mission, it often is totally overlooked when compared with land based lifting operations. Helicopter lifting slings like any rigging device, when used improperly can result in injury or death.