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In an interview with The Courier’s Lou Wilin, One Energy CEO Jereme Kent discusses challenges the company has faced as well as its current status: “we’re back and we’re growing.”

March 15, 2021 – Wind Study | Question 11

In this week’s homework questions, we need your help scheduling our construction timeline!

To build Wind for Industry projects, One Energy uses what’s called a “linear construction model,” which means different crews are responsible for different stages of the construction process. Once one stage is completed, the next crew can begin their work on the following stage.

🔗Download today’s homework questions to help us figure out timing and construction rates! Then come back Friday for the answers.

 This series is also available via Facebook and Twitter.

March 12, 2021 – Climb to the Top | Hank Doster

Hank Doster is exhausted from all his climbing.

From working at least 2 jobs at a time while attending school full time and traveling for film production projects, Hank believes he didn’t skip any steps on his climb to the top.

And now as Corporate Communications Manager at One Energy, he says it was all worth it. Watch to learn about his journey and what it’s like running the Storytelling department – for a company whose story is anything but typical!

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the climbs!

This series can also be found on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

March 12, 2021 – Wind Study | Answer 10

On Monday, we posted a Wind Study homework question explaining capacity factor and how One Energy uses that metric to determine a Wind for Industry site’s wind resource.

We asked for your help calculating the annual capacity factor for individual turbines and the site as a whole, as well as comparing sites to see which would have a higher capacity factor.

🔗 Download those homework questions here and check your work in the answers here!

And be sure to share this educational series on Facebook and Twitter!

One of the difficulties of running a business is finding an appropriate way to outfit your employees. While it is not a legal requirement to supply “ordinary clothing” for work – items like winter jackets, work uniforms, and rain gear, for example – expecting your workforce to spend thousands of dollars individually to comfortably complete their job is unreasonable. 

State-mandated labor laws provide a framework for employers to follow when utilizing their workforce. If you are working in an industry with additional regulations, there are likely other guidelines your employer must consider (OSHA, MSHA, etc.). However, while many employers look to the law when determining how to outfit their employees, it can mean a lot to work for a company that takes care of its employees above and beyond the minimum requirements.

When it comes to construction, most workforces are expected to perform in all elements: rain, snow, sleet, wind, and very high or low temperatures. They need to be prepared for anything. Do they need fire-resistant clothing? Waterproof clothing? Insulated gloves? What do they need to bring themselves and what should be provided for them?

Basic PPE is an obvious requirement that employers must provide (hard hats, gloves, earplugs, masks, etc.). The pandemic makes it even more difficult, as no gear should be shared among groups of people without extensive sanitization protocols. All gear should be individualized and provided to employees to use for work purposes.

Even the “ordinary clothing” employers are not legally responsible for providing should be considered. Are these items things workers normally have and wear? I don’t know about you, but I do not casually wear lined Carhartt pants on the weekends, or a high-visibility rain jacket, or a fire-resistant long sleeve shirt to lounge around in at home. But at many companies, I would be responsible for equipping myself with (and paying for) those items. In total, my gear probably costs at least $5,000. This is not an instance where “business casual” will suffice. Here at One Energy, we believe that items required by an employer should be supplied by the employer.

Then there’s the issue of items that can provide additional comfort for workers when completing their job requirements – things like hand warmers, yak tracks, heated clothing, bandanas, etc. At One Energy, we believe these items should be provided at the employer’s discretion.

What we have regularly done at One Energy is trialed new gear with individuals who feel the item would be a value-add to the construction and operations groups. If it turns out to be a good addition, we will often buy the product for the entire team. This type of back-and-forth communication with crews is beneficial to both finding the best products available and maintaining a sense of well-being as a team. A comfortable workforce equals more productivity (when my fingers are numb, I am the slowest cable terminator of all time).

I recommend the following rules for employers in the construction industry who are outfitting their teams.

Outfitting rules of thumb as an employer, or the “New Minimum”:

  1. Buy and issue critical PPE to all employees.
  2. Buy your workforce everyday work uniforms.
  3. Buy your workforce “job required” gear.
  4. Determine if there are any specialized or unique items needed for specific work activities and stock that distinct PPE to be issued on an as-needed basis.
  5. Create a catalog of items that your workforce can choose from. Regularly update that catalog.
  6. Allow for your employees to demo new products that may be more comfortable for them.
  7. Set up an annual review of employee work attire and see what needs to be replaced and/or allocate a dollar value for replacement (for example, assuming 10% of my gear needs to be replaced every year, I would allocate a $500 budget to new gear).

The items noted above may seem obvious. Here is something that is not. I am a woman in construction. When I show up to work, I don’t put a power suit on, I put on a pot of coffee and my most durable gear for that day’s weather. I have also hired many women to work in construction, and finding quality gear to outfit them with has been perplexing. This industry is male-dominated, and it is PAINFULLY obvious. I regularly order men’s clothing for myself because I know they have a range of products that will work. For women in construction, there is a wide selection of pink hardhats, boot-cut jeans, and too-large-for-my-hands gloves, but comfortable and durable workwear for women is rare. What if there is a pregnant woman on your staff? I have recently investigated maternity workwear and came up with nothing. (On that note, if you read this and know of construction clothing or brands suited for women, please leave a comment!)

When industry standard doesn’t set the bar high enough, employers need to adjust. Workplace outfitting is one instance where that adjustment is straightforward and pays for itself. If a team is outfitted well, they look more professional, act more professional, and ultimately get more done.

 

          Chelsea Bumb is the Head of Construction at One Energy.

          Learn more about Chelsea and the One Energy team.

How big are they, exactly?

Well, for the turbine pictured here, the three blades that make up the rotor are ~140 feet long each and the nacelle that sits on top of the tower is ~265 feet in the air. That’s the size equivalent of a football field, spinning on top of a 26-story building!

Notice how small the crane to the left looks in comparison to the turbine? The crane is in an upright position (or “boomed”) at ~85 feet in the air (or as tall as the length of a blue whale!).

Learn more about how One Energy constructs these big turbines on page 4.7 How to Build a Wind Turbine

Last week, Congressman Bob Latta visited One Energy and the North Findlay Wind Campus. The visit was featured on Hometown Stations Lima, as the Congressman toured our headquarters and viewed our wind turbines up close. Educating our community is a core pillar of what we do, and we were pleased to share the positive impact of Wind for Industry with Congressman Latta and his team.  

March 08, 2021 – Wind Study | Question 10

What’s a “capacity factor,” and what’s it got to do with wind energy?

In this week’s Wind Study, we’ll explain what the term capacity factor means, and how it relates to power production for potential Wind for Industry projects. After that, we’ll need your help solving two related math problems featuring capacity factors and percentages.

Download this week’s Wind Study questions here. 

🔗 Download this week’s Wind Study homework questions here. (This series is also available via Facebook and Twitter.)

Check back on Friday for the answers! 

Prepare to be thunderstruck… with science!  

In this episode of Science Shorts, Project Engineer Michelle explains the difference between AC and DC (or alternating current and direct current) power 

Watch to learn how electricity goes from a generation source (like a wind turbine) to an object (like a light bulb or your cell phone!). Michelle will cover everything involved in electricity currents, from electrons, voltage, power, and direction of flow, to how it works with wind turbines, and more!  

Subscribe to our YouTube channel and don’t miss any future Science Shorts!

March 05, 2021 – Wind Study | Answer 9

On Monday, we posted a Wind Study homework question examining the wind resource assessment process we go through when planning Wind for Industry projects. We asked for your help rounding and sorting wind speeds into “bins” and adjusting wind data to represent wind speed at the height of a wind turbine hub.

🔗 Download those homework questions here and check your work in the answers here!

And be sure to share this educational series on Facebook and Twitter!