August 15, 2006

Monticello Steam Electric Station, Mount Pleasant, Texas

John Javetski

Next to godliness

Just as containment is crucial to fuel handling, housekeeping is fundamental in preventing coal fires and explosions. At Monticello, housekeeping across all active parts of the fuel-handling system—beginning at train-receiving tunnels and continuing through tripper and crusher houses and conveyor belts—is a daily duty. Equipment is shut down to allow effective cleanup and washdowns. Entire structures are washed down less frequently (usually weekly) with the help of contract labor.

Personnel who work in fuel-handling areas understand that housekeeping is everyone's responsibility. They clean up spills when they find them, investigate to find the sources, make repairs themselves or write work requests, and follow up on the repair process. As a result, Monticello is noticeably cleaner than it used to be (Figure 4).

4. Classic before and after. Shown on the left is part of the fuel-handling system that had been upgraded before housekeeping was made a higher priority. At right is the same area today, at a much higher level of cleanliness. Courtesy: TXU Power

Attitude adjustment

In power generation, as in other industries, old habits—like inattention to housekeeping—die hard. However, their death can be accelerated by a culture change driven from the executive suite.

To succeed, management must set a new standard, define expectations, support initiatives by removing barriers to employee participation, measure progress, and provide feedback. Plant staffers' involvement and buy-in are critical to the success of any change initiative. At Monticello, employees' attitudes reflect the new culture's emphasis on taking personal responsibility for cleanliness—and its impact on safety. Everyone is as proud of what they do, and they are determined to go home safe at the end of each day.

That's not surprising, because safety was a priority at Monticello long before the introduction of PRB coal made it something not to take for granted. The last time an employee suffered a lost-time injury was July 1992, almost 8 million man-hours ago. More recently, the Monticello plant staff has worked over 16 months without a restricted-duty injury.