Electrical Maintenance Technician
Philip Atkinson is an Electrical Maintenance Technician at The Drax Group. The Drax Group operates Drax power station in Goole, Yorkshire, the largest renewable power station in the UK.
Summary
- I maintain equipment at Drax power station to bring power to the UK.
- I started my apprenticeship at 22 years old and during the apprenticeship I completed a BTEC in engineering, a HNC Level 3, and at the end of the apprenticeship completed an end point assessment (EPA). Apprenticeships are great as you are hands on, learning, and getting paid.
- I spent four years training, two years in a training centre, doing college work for my BTEC, and practical courses, and another two years on site completing my NVQ Level 3, alongside working in the power station.
Sectors
My job role is repairing and maintaining electrical equipment throughout Drax power station.
Mathematics skills are used daily, through testing, such as trip testing using a graph to calculate the measurement of current and time in which an electrical protection should trip. Also understanding the correct types of measurement symbols for things such as volts, amps, and continuity. Which can also include things such as ohm’s law triangle (V=I x R) and the power triangle (P= I x V).
Good time keeping in my job is essential. Every day I start with a safety kick off, and tasks each day are very varied.
For fabricating and installing, I need a good understanding of measuring and methods of measuring to produce quality product.
In my role communication is key, especially in handovers as you need to be able to talk and describe things accurately to help the next person understand what has been completed and what needs to be finished. Each day we receive a job card filled with information which describes the job we are to work on and what must be done. It provides information which will help me to complete the task successfully.
Location
Electrical Maintenance Technician
My job role is repairing and maintaining electrical equipment throughout Drax power station. Mathematics skills are used daily, through testing,...