WEBVTT
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Language: en

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>>What I like most about my job is
I get to work with some extraordinary people

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on a complex system.

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>>Stephen: It's a challenging job. Everyday
it's something new.

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>>Josh: I feel like I'm a part of something.
I feel like I'm needed because I'm helping

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the community out. We're providing power for
pretty much everybody in the Colorado Springs area.

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>>Ian: When I hire a plant system operator,
a plant system operator apprentice at Martin

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Drake the things I look for are a strong mechanical
aptitude guys that understand whole system

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pictures as well as being able to get into
the details of the equipment. Look for possible

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past experiences in heavy industry.
It's also very helpful people that have had

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military experience. In particular, Navy Nuclear
operations, Airforce power production. Those

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types of individuals have a pretty good head
start when they come to the power plant to

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operate our systems.

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>>Josh: I'm a plant systems operator at Martin
Drake facility. Our routine, during a daily

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basis, we come in for a shift turnover for
the first 15-30 minutes of the day. We go

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over the past shift's major issues or major
happenings that happened during the day just

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to make sure we're caught up in our understanding
of everything that went on. Then the first

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actual things that we do in the plant, is
that we go out and make our first set of rounds.

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They are a pretty detailed set of rounds.
You want to make sure that you are putting

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hands on all pieces of equipment; when you
check for oil flows, temperatures, for pressures,

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for vibrations. Then after our first set of
rounds, normally we have clearances come in

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which is our lock-out tag-out process. And
then once the clearances come in we normally,

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it's about lunch time, we set out for lunch
and then the rest of the day is just about

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solving issues and problems that happen in
the plant.

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>>Jared: One of the things you'll experience
on the job is definitely extreme working temperatures,

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whether it's real cold outside or real warm
up in the steam it will get to a couple

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of hundred degrees in there. As far as other
hazards, there's definitely electricity you've

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got to be aware of, steam, high powered steam,
high pressure, high temperature.

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>>Josh: There's also a lot of high noises
and a lot of loud noises around the plant.

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We have to wear ear protection. We have to
be able to deal with the loud noises we have

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to be able to communicate on your radio concisely
to make sure that everybody can understand

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what you are saying. Working in high elevations.
Working in confined spaces to where you are

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in small areas.

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>>Chris: There are lots of tools, on this
job would be small hand tools up to rather

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large pipe wrenches. Helping mechanics and
I.N.C techs out.

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>>Bill: What I like about my job is that it's
different everyday. When you come into a power

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plant, especially a combined cycle power plant,
we're cycling all the time so there's start

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ups and shut downs everyday. There are different
things going on all the time. That's what

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I love the most about my job.

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>>Tom: One of the best things that I like
about my job is that I feel like I've accomplished

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something at the end of the day.

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>>Stephen: The most rewarding thing is basically
that we're able to power, be a part of power

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in our community. And you know we are a municipality.
And, you know a lot of us live in Colorado

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Springs, so we're all, kind of on the same
team. And, it feels good to be a

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person that helps produce that power that's
so essential for everything else that drives

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our community.