PROJECT PROFILE:
Contractor: Carroll Electric
Location: Berryville, Ark.
Equipment Used: Jarraff 4 Wheel Drive All-Terrain
Tree Trimmer & GEO-BOY Brush Cutter Tractor
Specifications: Row Maintenance in 11 counties
 |
| The Jarraff All-Terrain
Tree Trimmer keeps Carroll Electric’s crew members safely on the
ground while the trimmer’s fiber glass boom reaches cutting heights
up to 75 feet. |
Since 1937, Carroll Electric, Berryville, Ark., has been dedicated
to providing northwest Arkansas and southwest Missouri with “safe,
reliable electricity at the lowest possible cost.” For
more than seven decades this dedication has spurred the Carroll
Electric team to explore every avenue that would allow them to
better serve the cooperative’s members, including the addition
of new services. In 1982 the cooperative chose to employ an in-house
tree and brush service that would fully comprehend the needs of
its members.
According to Rex Hendrix, right-of-way
manager of Carroll Electric, “Our
crews most definitely have the interest of all of our members in
mind as they perform our work.” Each crew member is
trained by a certified arborist on how to employ proper pruning
techniques. This dedication is recognized by the community
the crews serve. “We have had several members request
that we have our in-house right-of-way crews do the work on their
property versus contractors,” Hendrix said.
Employing
an in-house crew also streamlines communication. The
communication process between the cooperative’s departments
is much more efficient and effective than it would be with an outside
contractor. Hendrix said, “[Each department’s]
efforts complement each other. Our [ROW] crews can prepare
right-of-ways for the next step, which is our construction crews
coming in to build the lines. It allows everybody to be on
the same page and prevents lost time.”
In addition
to the proper removal and trimming of trees, Carroll Electric’s crews work to educate members about power line
safety. This includes teaching people about the hazards of
utility lines and explaining where and where not to plant trees.
Continual Growth
When Carroll Electric began handling tree trimming in-house, the
team consisted of three crew members. In a continual effort
to provide its customers with better service, the cooperative has
been steadily increasing the amount of ROW maintenance it handles
in-house. In order to manage the increased trimming responsibilities,
Carroll Electric has gradually added crew members and equipment
for the past 25 years.
Today, 60 crew members handle 70 percent
of the cooperative’s
ROW needs in 11 counties. The cooperative’s service
area spans over 2,800 square miles, bringing electricity to 68,000
members. Carroll Electric’s ROW crews work to trim
9,000 miles of power lines every five years. They also return
to several trouble areas each year to clear storm damage or re-trim
trees that grow more quickly than normal.
In addition
to the Carroll Electric crews, contractors are employed to handle
the work that the in-house crews do not manage. Hendrix
said, “With the new equipment we are putting in place we
are hoping to narrow that gap and do more of it in-house as we
progress.”
Customer Service Tools
 |
| Carroll Electric’s vegetation
management crews clear right-of-ways, making way for its
construction crews to come in and build utility lines. |
The cooperative’s equipment complement has grown from two
buggy trucks and a tractor to a
35-unit arsenal made up of three
Jarraff All-Terrain Tree Trimmers (Jarraff Industries, St. Peter,
Minn.), four mechanical trimmers, eight ground clearing machines,
four Geo-Boy Brush Cutter Tractors (Geo-Boy, St. Peter, Minn.),
and 16 right-of-way bucket trucks with chippers.
This
equipment allows Carroll Electric crews to remain committed to
their mission. They are able to maintain ROWs efficiently,
keeping costs low and electricity flowing. “One
trimmer has proven, on average, to take the place of five bucket
trucks in rural areas, reducing the amount of man hours and labor
for hand climbers and ground crews,” said Hendrix. The
Geo-Boy also contributes to the mission in that it keeps community
members safe while providing them with uninterrupted power. “The
[Geo-Boy] bull hog has a minimal amount of debris thrown from it
during operations. This greatly improves public safety and
reduces the chance of property damage,” Hendrix said.
In order to effectively serve Carroll Electric’s members,
the equipment must be maintained and kept in working order. To
do so, the operators are trained to properly maintain the equipment
and make minor repairs. The cooperative also employs four mechanics
at a garage in Berryville, Ark. and two at a smaller garage in
Bentonville, Ark. These mechanics handle most of the major
repairs.
When more difficult maintenance questions arise,
the cooperative relies on the equipment manufacturers. Hendrix said, “[Jarraff’s
staff] can lead you to any problem that you may have. They
can help you diagnose it on the phone, they know exactly what part
you need and, in most cases, they can have that part to you by
the next day. On a couple of occasions, we’ve been
stumped on some issues and they’ve never failed to fly down
and get out in the field with us to correct the issues.”
Safety is Key
The importance of safety is deeply seeded within Carroll Electric,
not only the safety of its customers but of its crews as well. “We
have an in-house safety coordinator that comes in and puts on different
classes and helps us with all this training,” Hendrix said. All
of the employees are required to go through an Electrical Hazard
Awareness Program in order to become certified to clear vegetation
around power lines. Beyond the initial training, crews attend
safety meetings each month. These meetings cover everything
from electrical safety to driver’s safety.
Aside from basic
power line safety training, crews are also trained on how to use
the equipment that the cooperative employs in the field. “We train our operators by utilizing the manufacturer’s
representatives to come in and make sure that we understand the
equipment that we use and that we are able to maintain it in a
safe fashion,” Hendrix said.
“The safety of our customers is a top concern, which is why
we work so closely with them to help them utilize our equipment safely
and effectively. Working
with Carroll Electric is great because not only are they very conscientious
about maintenance and safety, but they also have great communication
within the company, which ensures that everyone is well informed.” said
Heidi Boyum, president of Jarraff Industries.
As an
in-house vegetation management crew at an electrical cooperative,
the employees are exposed to additional safety training. Hendrix
said, “They are involved in all of our lineman safety meetings.
We try to make sure that they are very educated on electrical safety.”
It
is also important that any contract crews that are brought in to
handle a portion of Carroll Electric’s work be held to
the same safety standards as the in-house crews. The key
to achieving this is communication. Contract crews go through
an orientation process to make sure they understand the voltage
they will be dealing with. Carroll Electric also provides
the crews with any additional safety equipment they may need to
perform the job safely. While the crews are in the field
a trained journeyman lineman from Carroll Electric serves as a
team leader to ensure that everyone is working safely.
Storm Restoration Challenge
 |
| After the January 2009 ice storm
Carroll Electric’s
in-house trimming crews worked with crews from other states
to quickly restore power to its members. |
Carroll Electric makes it their mission to serve its customers
in every situation. This was illustrated during the
severe northern Arkansas Ice Storm in January 2009. The in-house
right-of-way crews teamed up with several crews from other states
to help minimize outage times and restore power to the cooperative’s
members.
One of the biggest issues during this ice storm was accessing
the power lines. “We normally try to get assessment crews
out ahead of time to assess the damage before we can actually get
our trucks to the areas of need. Our assessment crews during
this ice storm had to carry chain saws to cut the trees and clear
the roads before they could even get to the power lines,” Hendrix
said.
The ice storm caused residual problems for four
to five days after the initial storm had hit. Crews would
cut their way in to repair the power lines and then had to turn
around and cut their way out again.
During the January 2009 ice
storm, as with all of Carroll Electric’s
work, safety was the first priority. Hendrix said, “We
want our crews to slow down and double check all of their safety
equipment before they begin the work.”
The equipment
employed by Carroll Electric also proves its worth during storm
restoration projects. Hendrix said, “The
Jarraff is an off-road machine and the operator has an enclosed
cab. The machine can maneuver into areas and allows our crews
to continue working with minimal adjustments for the weather. It
prevents employees from having to get out and physically do the
work in bad conditions.”
Just as important as being able to spring into action during
an emergency restoration situation, are the preventative measures
taken to minimize potential problems during a storm. Properly maintained
ROWs ensure that Carroll Electric will be able to better serve
their customers rain or shine. “We prepare right-of-ways
to withstand small storms and in case of major storms the maintenance plan will
help reduce the number of problem trees and help provide faster restoration time,” said
Hendrix.
Customer
Service Standards Reach New Heights at Carroll Electric
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