Apprentice Lineman
Geneva, City ofDescription
Are you looking to kickstart an exciting and rewarding career in the electrical utility industry? The City of Geneva seeks a motivated and safety-minded individual to join our Public Works Department Electric Division as an Apprentice Lineman. In this role, you will have the opportunity to learn from a highly skilled and experienced team, develop your technical skills and play a vital part in maintaining the electrical infrastructure that powers our City. Under general guidance and supervision, the Apprentice Lineman performs various types of line work in connection with the construction, operation and maintenance of the City's electric distribution system, while also completing the necessary ALBAT course materials and syllabus to become an official Journeyman Lineman. The apprenticeship is a four-year commitment. Pay is commensurate with progress through the program as defined in the current CBA between IBEW 196 and the City of Geneva.
Examples of Duties
The Apprentice Lineman will work as part of three crews, the Lineman Crew, Field Service Crew and Power Generation Crew, to gain overall experience in accomplishing the following tasks. Duties will progressively increase as the incumbent progresses through the Apprentice program
Including but not limited to:
Lineman Crew
Underground Electrical Work:- Restores power
- Performs multi-step switching routines to de-energize sections of cable
- Installs conduits, vaults, manholes, transformers, switches, handholds, fault indicators
- Pulls wire of various sizes
- Terminates cable according to manufacturer’s directions
- Removes fences, trees, and bushes to access equipment
- Identifies spike and ground cables for repair or removal
- Takes oil samples from equipment
- Trenches in new house services
- Performs infrared surveys of equipment to determine possible points of failure to correct
- Hand digs around energized cables
- Inspects, tests, energizes, phases, checks rotation and switches high voltage cables for a new or modified installation
- Loads materials for job and maintains stock on vehicles
- Installs, removes, repairs overhead wires, poles, pole assemblies, switches, capacitor banks, arrestors, animal guards, and fuses
- Repairs lines using hot sticks, rubber gloves and sleeves, and other related tools
Field Service Crew
Locating (Electric and Fiber Optic):- Interprets map books to locate lines
- Uses specialty radar equipment to locate cable faults
- Switches and grounds cables
- Uses specialty locating equipment to locate power and fiber optic cable
- Reads and interprets electrical schematics
- Analyzes and diagnoses problems
- Troubleshoots all parts, including ballast, bulb, starters, capacitors, sockets, fuses, connectors, cables, splices, etc.
- Installs and repairs conduits, cables, bases, concrete, contactors, photocells, and astronomical time clocks
- Reads and interprets prints
- Installs new and maintains existing fiber optic system for City building, school district, and county building within Geneva city limits and township
- Splices, terminates in enclosures and patches panels, installs jumpers, tags and records as-built information on all installations or changes
- Tests and troubleshoots non-functioning fiber optic system or confirms the system is operating within required parameters
- Installs duct banks, handholds, strings overhead cables
- Installs, reads, tests, repairs and programs meters
- Develops meter programs
- Interfaces with customers/contractors regarding metering and service requirements and specifications
- Calculates billing quantities, power factor and billing for large industrial customers
- Investigates customer billing complaints
- Maintains inventory of various metering components including: CT’s arrestors, meters, wire, meter cans
- Delivers shut-off notices
- Disconnects/reconnects service
- Sizes, tests and installs CT’s and PT’s
- Coordinates tree trimming in accordance with annual contract
- Schedules contractor to perform tree trimming on daily basis
- Instructs contracted trimmers where to work, what to trim and to what specifications
- Ensures safety of contracted trimmers by putting circuits in 1-shot mode when trimmers are working near them
- Prepares Notice of Tree Trimming for Trimmers to deliver in work areas
- Responds to tree trimming inquiries and complaints
- Performs tree trimming in-house when necessary and subsequent brush removal
- Provides information for the budget regarding the annual contract to the Manager of Electric Operations
- Ensures safety rules are followed by contractors working near electric lines
- Manages substation loading
- Manages feeder loading
- Communicates with ComEd when ComEd needs a substation offline, when performing load transfers on substations, on substation metering issues and on planning for future loads
- Prepares switching routines
- Executes switching orders
- Performs capacitor operation and maintenance
- Inspects substations, monthly
- Performs battery maintenance
- Performs transformer and switchgear maintenance
- Programs relays
- Performs maintenance and repairs to SCADA
- Maintains records of work
- Updates prints
- Troubleshoots equipment/control problems
- Tests and repairs equipment
- Designs modifications to controls for SCADA
- Operates and maintains substation switchgear
- Oversees contractors performing work in substations
- Operates and maintains Power Quality metering
- Loads and updates software on PC’s that work with SCADA and Relay equipment
- Stakes jobs for field engineering work to be done
- Performs service drop change outs and upgrades
- Researches power quality complaints for Line Patrol/Inspections and TV interference and communicates findings to the customer
Provides management or customers, as appropriate, with information regarding transformer loading, primary conductor loading, secondary conductor loading, service loading, customer demand and energy usage, metering functions and capabilities, feeder power factor information, and budget figures
Power Generation Crew
Power Generation:- Starts engines by/within requested or scheduled order to operate (Engine maybe started by others) (GGF may be unmanned during operations)
- Communicates to PJM/IMPA/ComEd start time, run time, shut down time, and availability
- Communicates with the supervisor on-call to report engine issues, concerns, status, and operation
- Performs as needed visual inspection of plant, looking for leaks, gauges that are out of range, and listening for unusual noises
- Reorders consumables, as needed
- Troubleshoots engine and communication problems requiring reading and interpreting prints and engine codes. Calls for assistance, as needed, and to maximize City’s runtime/profitability
- Operates and maintains 2000 KW generator
- Maintains records of various data, for various purposes
- Performs building maintenance (radiators, filters, ventilation, trailer)
- Maintains engines for maximum run time/profitability, adds oil, clean filters, replaces spark plugs, fixes leaks
- Keeps building, tools and equipment clean and organized
Typical Qualifications
Ideal candidates will possess the following qualifications. Any combination of education, training and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the essential functions of the job may be considered:
Education and Experience:
The job requires knowledge normally acquired through a high school education, with the proven ability to apply studied materials in a practical manner. This position will require the incumbent to successfully complete four years of on-the-job experience while obtaining satisfactory test scores in order to meet the requirements for promotion to a journeyman lineman position.
Licenses and Certifications:
A valid Illinois driver's license is required for this position. Incumbents must successfully obtain their commercial driver's license (CDL) Class A, within one year of hire.Supplemental Information
- As an apprentice, the incumbent will be introduced to new aspects of the essential functions after they have successfully completed the required curriculum, training and testing for the prior module. A schedule of the tasks and duties can be found below:
- During the first six months of employment, the apprentice will be permitted to work on dead secondary lines and frame poles.
- During the second six months of employment, the apprentice will be permitted to work on energized secondary lines, with a journeyman lineman on the same pole.
- During the second year of employment, the apprentice will be permitted to work on energized secondary lines and dead primaries, provided a journeyman is working on the job with him and his work is under the direct supervision of a Line Foreman. The journeyman need not be on the pole with the apprentice lineman.
- During the third year of employment, the apprentice shall do work according to the discretion of the Line Foreman. Work must be under the supervision of a journeyman lineman, or a Line Foreman but need not be by both. In this year, the apprentice will not be permitted to work on energized primaries alone.
- During the fourth year of employment, the apprentice will be permitted to work on energized primaries provided a journeyman lineman is on the same pole with him. Whenever the apprentice lineman works on energized primaries with a journeyman lineman, a Line Foreman must be in charge of the crew.