OPERATIONS CHALLENGE
Tuesday, 1-4:00 PM Exhibit Hall
Individual Participation Event-Free
Come test your operating skills at the annual Operators Challenge. This is a friendly competition between operators that can give you bragging rights as the best operator in the State! This event is for individual participation. Individuals may choose to enter just one challenge or all four. This makes it easy and flexible for anyone who is interested in participates.
This year there will be four challenges include Laboratory, Maintenance, Safety, and Operations. Try one or try them all!
Lab Challenge: The lab challenge will be educational and common enough that all should be familiar. Each participant will be required to don the provided goggles, lab coats, aprons, and gloves. Emphasis will be placed on procedure, technique, set up and clean up. The challenge criteria for grading will be on different aspects of the analysis. Judges will be knowledgeable and stringent, just like the regulators!
Maintenance Challenge: The Maintenance challenge will test participants’ knowledge and skill with a typical piece of equipment found at a treatment plant. As with previous years, grading will include aspects of the job such as preparations, maintenance techniques, clean up, and use of or lack of profanity. Judges are industry professionals and equipment representatives, so be on your toes!
Safety challenge: The Safety challenge will directly relate to the equipment used in the Maintenance challenge. Participants should brush up on their lock-out-tag-out skills and how to perform maintenance in a safe manner. The new IWEA Safety Committee Chair will keep participants on point with his keen eye toward safety. Not much profanity or arguing will be tolerated!
Operations Quiz: Sharpen up your wits! The Operations challenge is a quiz developed by the high academics at the Environmental Resources Training Center. These guys say the quiz will challenge even the most knowledgeable and astute operator. The quiz is short but will make you think!
The grade sheets will be submitted to the Head Judge table. There, in a top-secret high security area, the knowledgeable judges will tabulate the results. The winners will be announced at the end of the event. Each participant will be awarded a Certificate of Achievement. The winners of each event will receive a plaque and the undying respect and adulation of the crowds.
