For decades, craftsmen and other electricity industry professionals have relied on WAPA’s Electric Power Training Center to meet their needs for comprehensive training. Every year brings new needs due to changing technology, standards and certification requirements. The EPTC is responding by partnering with other training organizations to expand course offerings and has recently adopted a fresh, new logo to symbolize that growth.
New logo bridges brands
The new logo represents the final stage of a three-year process to create a unified identity for WAPA across all communication platforms. It features the center’s stylized initials splitting a field of blue, representing hydropower, and green, symbolizing WAPA’s 15-state territory and environmental stewardship. Appearing near the graphic—either beside or below it, depending on the format—are the words, “Western Area Power Administration.”
The compact design makes a clear connection between WAPA and the EPTC while accommodating the many ways in which the logo will be used. “Both WAPA and the EPTC have strong positive name recognition individually,” explained EPTC Manager Kyle Conroy. “With the updated logo, we are aiming to cement the relationship between the two entities in the minds of our partners and students.”
To choose the new logo, EPTC staff and WAPA Public Affairs specialists employed the Decision Framework, a process WAPA recently adopted to bring greater structure to decision-making. The steps include defining the objectives, decision makers, context and timeline for the decision; identifying the criteria for success and the options, risks and stakeholders involved; evaluating the pros and cons of the options based on the criteria; and finally, deciding. The process produced a logo that will look just as clean and professional on the wall near the EPTC receptionist station as it does on staff polo shirts and class presentation slides.
Specialized training, new classes grow schedule
The EPTC’s busy upcoming schedule will give students plenty of opportunity to check out the updated logo. In addition to the regular courses, the coming months will see EPTC hosting specialty classes presented by power industry training providers.
System operators studying to take any of the four North American Electric Reliability Corporation certification exams can enroll in the preparation course SOS International will be presenting at the EPTC May 7-10. The course, which is intended to be taken in combination with online training, is also open to operators who would like a refresher on NERC Reliability Standards.
Instructors can sign up for the Systematic Approach to Training course being presented in cooperation with Quality Training Systems July 30-Aug. 2. This train-the-trainer workshop will is designed to help training professionals from different backgrounds understand how SAT concepts translate into effective language for training in any field. On Aug. 20-21, QTS will present Simulator Training Techniques, a two-day workshop on creating simulator training scenarios.
Other upcoming courses include HP 101, a free class tentatively scheduled for June 5. The course is intended to introduce electricity professionals to the human performance initiative. This is an industrywide effort to make the STAR (stop, think, act, review) and other tools for avoiding human error and increasing safety an integral part of workplace culture. “These are practices and protocols operators and maintenance crews have been employing for years,” Conroy noted. “The fresh perspective on familiar information can help to validate what students may have learned only informally.”
In addition to the specialty classes, the EPTC has added two new courses to the schedule—Switching and Grounding, May 20-24, and Electrical Fundamentals, June 17-21. Conroy added that the EPTC will be looking for more opportunities to expand and diversify the schedule, including seeking out and hosting training events designed for specific needs. “Changing the logo and exploring new strategies to meet industry training needs is just part of EPTC’s continuing commitment to remaining one of the premier training resources in the utility industry,” he said.
For more information about upcoming classes at EPTC, email EPTC or call 720-962-7800 or 800-867-2617, toll-free.
Last modified on March 8th, 2024