Ronan O'Mara

I began the role of Field Supervisor on a permanent basis for Western Power in their Picton Depot on Jan 2023. Previous to that I had acted in the Field Supervisor role when needed for over 5 years which accumulated as almost 400 days experience.

Whilst performing these roles I am responsible for the daily supervision and coordination of field crews in conducting planned and unplanned network activities and ensuring all assigned work was completed in a safe, reliable and efficient manner whilst maintaining the integrity of the network.

Some of my Key responsibilities in the role are:

· Evaluate and accept works packages from Works Program and Planning

· Communicating well both electronically and verbally to my managers as well as communicating

important information to my team. I also communicate well to all stakeholders internally and externally.

· Ensure necessary KPI’s are met including schedule adherence, SLA’s for maintenance, streetlight and service work.

· Approving timesheets, monitoring timesheet hygiene within my team.

· To ensure good Work Order hygiene by monitoring the schedule and using ellipse & FMS.

· Performing audits by using to ensure that work undertaken by Western Power teams and contractors is consistent with organisation policies and standards and to keep non-compliances to a minimum.

· Working with SEQT on investigations using the ICAM method.

· Dealing with customer complaints resulting in good outcomes.

· Ensuring adequate resources are available for completion of works.

· Ensuring all team members training is current, and that they hold the correct authorisations for the tasks performed by using network compliance tools and Fetch.

· Working with other Field Supervisors to ensure good outcomes for the Picton Depot.

· Presenting at VM meetings and Safety Meetings.

· Demonstrate and promote personal behaviours which are in line with business values, the code of conduct, standards and expectations.

In my role as Team Co-Ordinator for unplanned works I have had up to 14 people in my team with a wide range of skills, personalities and motivation levels to manage. I believe I have done this well through open, calm communication and leading by example when it comes to following procedures and driving a strong safety ethos within my team.

Some of my main responsibilities in the role have been to:

· Schedule planned work, up to six weeks in advance, by liaising well with the works scheduler and using scheduling tools such as WSMS & P6;

· Complete ENARs with minimal come back from evidence retention and ensured all customers including LSE and sensitive were notified using the correct procedures and timeframes.

· Carried out all works to schedule in a safe and efficient manner;

· Ensured prompt attendance to faults resulting in minimal customer outage hours;

· Communicated well with traffic management, cable location, electrical contractors and other stakeholders to ensure smooth running of multi-crew projects;

· Use all Western Power IT systems to plan work including Ellipse, WSMS, DM, ENMAC, SPIDA, GEOVIEW etc.;

· Ensured that all incidents that occurred were reported and recorded in the correct manner;

· Delegated work according to the skills of my crew and mentored apprentices at every opportunity.

· Performed the duties of Incident controller during level 3 events.

· I maintained fault roster with very minimal issues from 2019 to 2021

I joined Western Power in February 2013 as part of its UK recruitment drive. Based in Picton, I became a member of a very efficient and safe working crew. I became the onsite leader within my crew, gaining their respect by driving safety and taking on responsibility where possible. I also acted up into the position of Team Coordinator on several occasions exposing me to great experience within this role.

My main roles and duties in the crew were:

· I performed the planned HV and LV isolations both overhead and underground for my crew. This involves following switching schedules, issuing permits, briefing crews, insuring work is carried out safely and to standard and commissioning new switchgear and equipment. Whilst carrying out these switching plans I communicate well with the control centre. I also act as RIC for my crew when needed.

· I carry out a toolbox briefings, Identifying on site hazards, referring to our SWMS and filling out WRAPs for each task I perform.

· Scoping of future work to make materials lists, find access routes, identify potential hazards, identify network modifications, recording them appropriately and liaising with land-owners, contractors etc.

· I am on the on-call roster in my depot, which exposes me to fault finding and solving within our area, often in pressurized environments. In this role I strive to keep customer outages to a minimum but most of all doing so safely.

· Whilst in this position I regularly performed higher duties of Team Co-Ordinator for my crew managing both maintenance project and unplanned fault works.

Upon completion of my apprenticeship, with merit, in 2003, I commenced this role, overseeing construction and maintenance of LV and HV overhead and underground networks. I oversaw my own crew of four linesmen/electricians.

My responsibilities in this role included:

· Organising and delivering work projects on time and within budget;

· Continually maintaining and driving a safety first ethos within my crew;

· Ensuring quality workmanship was achieved across the board to keep re-work to a minimum;

· Possessing a broad and in-depth knowledge of my work; and

· Having a strong working relationship with my colleagues, management and other stakeholders

During my time at the ESB, I also performed the roles of Work Organiser and Coordinator for major shutdowns of up to 20 crews.

In 2009 I started working with a cable jointing crew to gain experience in this field. I gained experience at both LV and HV jointing, mostly of XLPE cables, installation of HV switchgear and LV panels and HV substation fit out.

In 2011 I got promoted to the role of Commissioner and I enjoyed many responsibilities in this role, including:

· Ensuring that all electrical apparatus within my area was installed to the correct electrical and safety standards;

· Primary and secondary commissioning of all protection devices including Nulec reclosers and circuit breakers, and ensuring the correct protection settings were applied; and

· Issuing Declaration of Fitness documents for newly constructed lines.

I was also a trained first aider and a safety representative for my yard. I take my safety and the safety of my colleagues very seriously and I have never had a lost time accident in my 13 years of working for the ESB.