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Testing The<br />
waters with a<br />
new concept<br />
from QTS:<br />
The System<br />
Operator<br />
RODEO<br />
From time to time, QTS likes to use <strong>User</strong><br />
<strong>Conference</strong> attendees as a focus group<br />
to get their take on new concepts, product<br />
enhancements, and more. In this conversation,<br />
we talked about an emerging idea – the System<br />
Operator Rodeo. The thinking behind this event<br />
is simple:<br />
Lineman can showcase skills important to their<br />
craft and compete with each other, so why not<br />
provide an opportunity for system operators to<br />
do the same? No, system operators would not<br />
climb poles, but they could compete against each<br />
other to resolve a given system condition safely,<br />
correctly, and in a timely fashion.<br />
<strong>User</strong> <strong>Conference</strong> participants debated the pros<br />
and cons to starting up a system operator rodeo.<br />
On the pro side, such a competition fosters<br />
critical thinking, system awareness, ability to read<br />
and interpret system data independently of a<br />
company’s specific system – skills that are a hot<br />
commodity in a new reality that includes higher<br />
turnover rates in the system operator ranks. On<br />
the con side, participants would have to learn a<br />
generic system to participate, which would take<br />
away from training time on the company-specific<br />
system. Logistics of such an event would also<br />
have to be considered. One option discussed<br />
was the use of the Mini Power System at the<br />
EPTC.<br />
Overall, a number of conference participants<br />
were intrigued about this idea – so much so that<br />
QTS will send out an invite in 2018 to further<br />
explore possibilities with interested parties.<br />
Could this be the industry’s next big thing? We’ll<br />
find out…<br />
www.QualityTrainingSystems.com Office: 443.755.0790<br />
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