Each year Granite holds meetings around the world where over 220 Field Engineers, Supervisors, and Safety Managers participate in training on the latest innovations in quality, safety, and productivity practices.

A key portion of these events include hands-on training at the Houston Training Center using a 25 MW steam turbine to evaluate critical lifting techniques in a “train how you work” environment, perform bolting using hydraulic tools, and communication and coaching towards improved crew management.

This year Granite implemented concepts from Human & Organizational Performance (HOP) to eliminate, prevent, catch and detect human errors. Going beyond the typical training settings, instructors threw challenges at students such as introduced errors and playing the role of customer management and other subcontractors in test scenarios.

The modules included:

Special Bolting Practical using Riverhawk, ITH, and HYTORC technologies and corresponding procedures/checklists to introduce the fundamental HOP principles of risk important steps, critical steps, and unintentional errors. The session concluded with a review of how to apply these principles in broader application to pre-task briefings and interactions/observations directly from the "point of touching".

Critical Lift Planning & Rigging Practical involved a pre-task briefing, process and procedural compliance, and the actual lifting and moving of a turbine casing and a generator field rotor. Following the lifts, effective debriefing tips were reviewed and put into practice.

Crew Management module introduced the importance of communication and coaching in minimizing "Operational Gap" (how managers IMAGINE work is being done v. how the work IS being done) and the effects of hazardous attitudes and local factors that may heighten risk.

Keynote by Jeff "Odie" Espenship of Target Leadership reinforced the leaders' role in setting a culture focused on operational excellence through the proper utilization of checklists, procedures, pre-task briefings, and ongoing communication.

At the conclusion of the training, one participant stated, "The class really hit home and gave a lot of good tools about communicating and not taking shortcuts because it can come back to you in a bad way." Another participant said, "I will relay to the crew about how taking shortcuts or being complacent on the job can really affect the safety, quality, and productivity."