The Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities will be holding mobile crane certification and examination classes for digger derrick, service truck, and mobile crane operators.  OSHA’s updated crane standard REQUIRES that operators of lifting equipment be trained, evaluated and tested in order to obtain certification.

Background Information:

Although the new standard, 29 CFR 1926 Subpart CC, specifically exempts the digger derrick and the operator from meeting the requirements of the standard, the exemption applies only when it is used for work within the provisions of the power generation, transmission and distribution standards, or for construction work within the telecommunications standard.  The exemption does not apply if the digger derrick is used for lifting materials or to operate in working environments outside the scope of the standard because the equipment is essentially being used as a mobile crane.  For example, unloading materials from a truck, lifting a motor from a pump house to assist your water department, or providing assistance to any other city department will mean that the exemption no longer applies.  When equipment is used as a mobile crane, all provisions of the standard apply, including the operator certification rule.  OSHA also now requires that an operator be certified in specific areas when they operate equipment outfitted with a boom and winch and able to lift at least 2,000 pounds.  This includes service trucks in your public works, or water departments.

The new standard has very specific operator requirements, one being to obtain operator certification from an independent testing organization accredited by a nationally recognized organization.  OSHA’s updated crane standard, 1926.1427 in Subpart CC, requires that for a testing organization to be considered accredited to certify operators, it must be accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency based on that agency’s determination that industry recognized criteria for written testing materials, practical examinations, test administration, grading, facilities/equipment and personnel have been met.  IAMU is an Accredited Assessment Center through the National Center for Construction Education Research (NCCER).  We are authorized to conduct both hands-on assessments and practical examinations which are part of our Mobile Crane Operator Certification Program.  Additionally, we are offering Qualified Hand Signal Person and Qualified Rigger programs (available at a future date).

Who Should Attend:

Digger derrick and service truck crane operators who do not currently hold a mobile crane operator’s certification.

What Do These Classes and Certification Consist Of:

Classes will be a week long, requiring classroom instruction, an on-line exam that has a 80% pass requirement, a practical exam for certification of mobile crane, and then finally a short class and practical exam for the signalperson and rigging qualifications. Students who pass the written and practical exams receive nationally recognized certification from the National Center for Construction Education Research (NCCER).

Where Do These Classes Take Place:
IAMU Training and Office Complex
1735 NE 70th Avenue
Ankeny, IA  50021

When Will Classes Be Held:

Dates have been scheduled for the remainder of 2021 at the IAMU complex.  Please click HERE or visit the IAMU website for available dates.

June 14th - 18th
July 19th - 23rd
August 23rd - 27th
September 27th - October 1st
October 25th - 29th
November 8th - 12th
December 6th - 10th

Mobile Crane Operator Certification/Examination Class Schedule:
 
Monday
9:00 to 4:30 p.m.
Classroom

Tuesday
8:00 to 4:30 p.m.Classroom

Wednesday
8:00 to 4:30 p.m.
Classroom/Exams

Thursday
8:00 to 4:30 p.m.
Practical Exams

Friday (if needed)
8:00 to 4:30 p.m.
Retake Exams
Class/Exam
Examination retakes are $100 and may be taken during any scheduled exam date.

Additional Notes:

• There is a maximum of 12 participants per class session.
• Lunch will be provided Monday through Thursday.
• All participants will attend classroom days. Exams will take place on the Thursday of each class session. Depending on the number of participants, Wednesday evening and Friday may also be used for exams.
• Each participant will need to create an account with NCCER before class; step-by-step instructions are included with the study guide.  Please bring your account number with you to class.

For additional information about the classes and online registration for each event, click HERE .

Questions?

If you have any questions in regards to the classes, or requirements, please contact:

Margret Meade, IAMU Safety Outreach Coordinator (mmeade@iamu.org )
Phone:  (800) 810-4268

Let’s talk about signature blocks – or as they are also known: the modern-day, electronic business card. Having a professional-looking signature block that everyone in your utility or city uses can give your organization more credibility with those who receive your emails. Plus, by providing multiple ways to contact you, signature blocks can make it easier for people to get in touch with you.

A good email signature for new emails should include the following elements:

1. First name and last name
2. Title and department
3. Email address and telephone number. At a minimum, you should include your office number. If your organization pays for or reimburses your cell phone, you should include that number as well.
4. Utility/city logo and utility/city name
5. Utility/city physical address
6. Utility/city website
7. Social media icons linked to official utility/city profiles
8. Disclaimer – A disclaimer is a block of a legal text. To learn more about disclaimers and their importance, check out these tips and examples of good email disclaimers.

You can choose to use the same email signature block for both new emails and replies or you can create a shorter signature block for replies. Here are some elements to include if you create a separate reply signature block.

1. First name and last name
2. Title and department
3. Utility/city name
4. Direct mobile number and email address
5. Utility/city logo

For a best-practice email signature block:

1. Use one font type. Make sure the font you choose is a safe font (e.g., Arial, Verdana, Georgia, Tahoma, Courier, Times New Roman, Trebuchet, Palatino, or Lucida)
2. Use two to three colors at most. Use your utility/city colors if you have some.
3. Unify visually social media icons (in size, color, style, shape, etc.).
4. Use a maximum of three to four social media icons in one signature block.
5. Put the disclaimer text below the signature block.

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning
Wednesday, May 19, 2021
​CLICK HERE to register
​FREE to IAMU mewmbers
 
Presented by IAMU Associate Member ISPN
 
Business continuity and disaster recovery planning should be the forefront of every business during 2021. Specifically relating to issues of the current pandemic around customer support, operations and the associated lessons learned. How has the increased network traffic influenced customer installs now that customers are working from home, schooling and teaching from home and telehealth sessions increased? How should you think about redundancy from a back-end support and operations standpoint? How can your company better plan for this in the future? This session will discuss the key areas of business continuity, disaster recovery and focusing on moving forward in 2021. ​

Taking care of these 5 key tool components—providing routine maintenance and correcting problems as soon as possible—will increase the life of the tool and keep workers safer.

Click here to read the EMC Loss Control Insights article

Registration is now open for the 2021 IAMU Golfin’ Fore Scholars Event. Join IAMU at Pleasant Valley in Iowa City for a fun-filled day on one of Iowa’s great golf courses. All proceeds will go towards the IAMU Scholarship Program.
 
Purchase a raffle ticket at the event for your chance at walking away $1,000 richer! Thank you to Jester Insurance for their donation of the gift card.

Click here for more information.

The Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities, through the IAMU Education and Research Fund, is pleased to announce that it has awarded scholarships to four Iowa students in communities with IAMU utility members. Each student will receive a $1,000 scholarship.
 
This year’s scholarship recipients are:

• Gunner Kirchhoff who will be graduating from Atlantic High School. Gunner will be attending Northwest Iowa Community College, enrolled in its Powerline Technology Program. The IAMU member utility is Atlantic Municipal Utilities.
• Dauson Heitritter who will be graduating from Central Lyon High School. Dauson will also be attending Northwest Iowa Community College, enrolled in its Engineering Design Program. The IAMU member utility is Rock Rapids Municipal Utilities.
• Megan Driscoll who will be graduating from North Cedar Community School. Megan will be attending Marshalltown Community College, enrolled in its Powerline Technician Program. The IAMU member is the City of Mechanicsville.
• Nicholas Brown who will be graduating from Algona High School. Nicholas will be attending Northwest Iowa Community College, enrolled in its Powerline Technology Program. The IAMU member utility is Algona Municipal Utilities.

 
To be eligible for consideration, candidates must:

• Live in a residence that is a verified customer of an IAMU member or attend a high school that is a verified customer of an IAMU member.
  
• Be a 2021 graduating high school senior or have previously graduated from high school.
• Be attending a post high school education program located in Iowa in the fall of 2021.

 
Preference was given to applicants entering a utility-related career with a special preference to applicants entering utility-related trades programs leading to careers in difficult to fill utility careers such as electric line worker, water treatment or distribution operator, or operator qualified natural gas positions.
 
“IAMU is committed to supporting the future of Iowa and its municipal utilities,” said Troy DeJoode, IAMU executive director. “That commitment involves helping the next generation of professionals to get the education and training that they need. For the last several years, we have emphasized making high school students aware of the tremendous career opportunities that exist in public utilities. This scholarship program is an extension of that priority.”
 
For more information about the IAMU Scholarship Program, visit the Scholarship Program page on the IAMU website.

When you see the Swoosh, the Golden Arches, or the Apple with a “bite,” you likely immediately know the company associated with the logo and what the company sells. You may even look for the logo when you’re making a buying decision. Why not help your customers easily recognize your utility by branding it with a logo and tagline. By formalizing your utility this way, customers will more easily recognize your utility and any messages that you deliver.
 
The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a “name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers.”

When creating your utility brand, think about:

• Culture
• Colors
• Key words

 
You may want to consider:

• Making the brand fun and lively so customers find the utility approachable.

• Going for simple words and images. You can always use a clever acronym to shorten a longer utility name. And, basic shapes and outlines may be easier to replicate and more effective than intricate pictures.

• Asking employees and customers for ideas. Then, asking for feedback on proposed branding before you implement it to make sure the branding will be well received.

 
Once you have branding, use it everywhere:

• On the sides of utility vehicles
• On the front door of your building(s)
• On letterhead and business cards
• In email signature blocks
• On any newsletters or notices

AttorneyConnect is a proactive program designed especially for IAMU Safety Group Insurance Program members who want to make the right decisions regarding legal topics.
 
EMC Insurance Companies and the AttorneyConnect program answer your legal questions to resolve issues before they end up in court.
 
Through the AttorneyConnect program, each municipality or municipal utility policyholder within the IAMU Safety Group is eligible to receive up to 90 minutes of consultation per calendar quarter with a Bradshaw, Fowler, Proctor & Fairgrave, P.C. attorney at no additional cost.
 
Here are some of the issues for which assistance is available:
 

• Proper hiring procedures
• Job reassignment issues
• Termination questions
• Employee handbook dos and don’ts
• Employment practices and compliance with state and federal laws
  
• Workers’ compensation matters
  
• Injured worker return-to-work concerns
  
• Contract review and recommendations
• Governmental immunity
• Law enforcement civil liability issues
• Open records and meeting laws
• Public works civil liability issues
• Zoning and land use matters

 
Up to 90 minutes of no cost legal consultation on the above subjects is a tremendous benefit to participating Safety Group members. For more information, here’s the link:
 
https://cdn.ymaws.com/members.iamu.org/resource/resmgr/services/safetygroup/Attorney_Connect.pdf
 
You can also contact Dave Eaton, IAMU Risk Reduction Representative or your local EMC Insurance Agent for more information. Dave Eaton Ph. 319-850-9000 deaton@iamu.org.

Have you considered implementing a Pay As You Save® (PAYS®) program for your municipal utility? Are you interested in participating in a potential initiative to launch PAYS® in Iowa? Are you interested in lowering energy and demand costs while improving customer satisfaction?
 
The Iowa Economic Development Authority is hosting a free PAYS® webinar on May 20, 2021, from 10:30 am – 12:00 pm.
 
The webinar will feature Tammy Agard, CEO of EEtility, describing the PAYS® process as well as examples of PAYS® programs used today by RECs and municipal utilities.
 
An RSVP is not required to participate, but is requested. RSVP your interest in participating to jeff.geerts@iowaeda.com.
 
What is Pay As You Save®?
According to PAYS® creator the Energy Efficiency Institute, the Pay As You Save® system enables building owners or tenants to purchase and install money-saving resource-efficient measures with no up-front payment and no debt obligation. Those who benefit from the savings pay for these measures through a tariffed charge on their utility bill, but only for as long as they occupy the location where the measures are installed. The monthly charge is always lower than the measure’s estimated savings and it remains on the bill for that location until all costs are recovered.
 
Webinar Login Information
Microsoft Teams meeting
Join on your computer or mobile app
Click here to join the meeting
Or call in (audio only)
+1 515-348-6300,,347172078#   United States, Iowa City
Phone Conference ID: 347 172 078#

You have 20 to 30 seconds to convince people to get their attention and convince them to hear you out about a project or initiative. Make your message quick to make it stick.
 
If you’re getting ready to pitch a project, get it underway, or start any new initiative, you want to sell your audience – whether it be customers, employees, or boards/councils – on the idea that your project or initiative is needed and will help the community’s future. Borrow a strategy from smart marketers: Develop an elevator pitch to quickly convince people of your project or initiative.
 
An elevator pitch is a brief, persuasive speech that you use to spark interest in what your project or initiative is all about. A good elevator pitch lasts no longer than a short elevator ride of 20 to 30 seconds, hence the name. Think compelling, memorable, and succinct. The elevator pitch should generate curiosity and energy so everyone says, “How exciting! Please tell me more!"
 
You’ll likely need to create variations of your elevator pitch, depending on the audience. You should have at least two versions:

• One for your board or council that explains the benefits of the project or initiative from a city standpoint.
• Another version for customers/the public that explains “what’s in it for them.”

 
When you develop your elevator pitch, consider involving employees. Employees support what they’ve helped to create. When people get excited about the possibility of creating something better together, it acts like a compass or North Star and can help align the whole team.
 
Here are the four steps to creating an effective elevator pitch:
 

1. Identify your goal. What will the project or initiative accomplish?
2. Explain how the project or initiative works. Focus on how the goal will be accomplished.
3. Communicate your unique selling proposition. How will the project or initiative improve the overall quality of life in the community or set it apart from other nearby communities?
4. Practice your pitch again and again. How you say it is just as important as what you say. You want to convey energy and enthusiasm. You want to get people excited, but don’t want to sound too aggressive. Go for a smooth, natural, conversational tone.

 
If you need help creating an elevator speech, contact Jen Cronin at 616-610-2546 (cell) or by email at jcronin@jcronincom.com. IAMU has contracted with Jen to provide public-relations support for IAMU members.