West Virginia American Water training facility gives employees hands-on experience
NITRO, W.Va. (WCHS) — Learning the ins and outs of a job can be challenging, especially when mistakes in the field can affect customers. West Virginia American Water is taking a hands-on approach to preparing its employees before they encounter those situations on the job.
At the company’s training facility in Nitro, employees can practice skills ranging from cutting and installing pipe to restraining water lines and installing fire hydrants — all in a controlled environment.
“What this does is it allows them the opportunity to learn things, and if they don’t have to learn the hard way out in the field, that’s what’s best,” said Joshua Burton, senior instructor of operations training for West Virginia American Water. “It’s not just best for them, but it’s best for our customers.”
Burton said the facility gives employees a training opportunity that was not available when he began his career with American Water.
“When I started working with American Water years ago, we didn’t have anything like this,” Burton said. “You had to learn everything on the fly in the field. You didn’t have an opportunity just to sit back and learn from seasoned professionals.”
The Nitro facility is one of two such training facilities in West Virginia. While it provides new employees with an opportunity to develop their skills, Burton said the facility is not limited to newcomers.
Experienced employees can return for additional training as tools, techniques and industry practices evolve.
“This is a place where our seasoned employees will get to come to upskill their work habits and skill sets and to learn new things, new tools, new tricks of the trade,” Burton said.
West Virginia American Water also plans to use the facility as an educational resource for the Kanawha Valley.
Burton said people outside the company sometimes interact with water infrastructure as part of their jobs, including local firefighters who rely on hydrants while responding to emergencies.
“Helping them understand the importance of what they do and how they operate the fire hydrants and how it could impact our water infrastructure and our water system is huge,” Burton said.
The training itself does not necessarily prevent water emergencies, but Burton said it can teach employees and others how to avoid actions that could cause problems, such as improperly shutting down a fire hydrant and creating water hammer.
More importantly, he said, the training prepares employees to respond safely and efficiently when service interruptions happen.
“It’s going to help these employees understand the safe and most efficient way to get the customers back in service when those interruptions do occur,” Burton said.
Burton said feedback from employees who have completed the hands-on training has been positive.
“The best response is, again, that this is the best training they’ve ever had because they’re not sitting in a classroom,” Burton said. “They’re up, they’re engaged, it’s hands-on. It’s learning the skills and the trades that they need that actually benefit them in the field.”
The company plans to expand training opportunities like those offered at the Nitro facility across West Virginia.