By Austen Hufford
Phil Lavallee walked into work on March 23. He walked out on
Friday.
Mr. Lavallee worked for 54 days straight as the director of
National Grid PLC's transmission control center in Massachusetts,
without leaving the premises. He is one of about 400 National Grid
employees who have lived at the utility's job sites for weeks this
spring to keep energy grids running during the coronavirus pandemic
and minimize the risk of importing the contagion from their homes
and communities.
While much of America has stayed home for two months, workers
from bus drivers to grocery-store stockers and some manufacturing
employees have continued reporting to their workplaces. That has
exposed some to heightened risk of infection, and prompted
employers to add procedures and protective gear to minimize the
risk of local outbreaks.
Among the more extreme strategies that employers have tried is
sequestering staffers at work. A desalination center in Carlsbad,
Calif., a Braskem SA plant in Marcus Hook, Pa., that makes a
polymer used in face masks, and a National Guard missile-defense
contingent in Colorado Springs, Colo., have all housed employees on
or near job sites as they keep vital operations going without
risking infections on their premises.
"It's not an easy call to make, to say: 'You can't go home to
your family and friends,' " said U.S. Army Sgt. Nadia Carter, who
is temporarily living away from home with four other
missile-defense crew members in Colorado. "You do what you have to
do for your brothers and sisters next to you."
Workers who are staying at the office say it takes a toll.
"At the end of 30 days you can see it in people's eyes. They are
shot," said Mr. Lavallee, who said he worked 12 hours on, 12 hours
off for the duration of his stint at the plant. "You are ready to
go home."
National Grid decided to have employees live on-site in
mid-March as the number of coronavirus cases surged in areas
including New York state. With around three employees needed to
work each of the company's control centers, an outbreak could
quickly cripple operations, said John Spink, who oversaw the
on-site housing at roughly eight sites, which can each contain
multiple control rooms. He finished his own weekslong sequestration
at a site in upstate New York earlier this month.
"We just can't let the power grid go down. It's just not an
option," Mr. Spink said.
When Mr. Lavallee asked for 10 volunteers to live at the
facility in Worcester County that controls power lines in about 60%
of Massachusetts and all of Rhode Island, many more than were
needed raised a hand. Within 10 days the workers moved in.
Logistics had to be hashed out quickly: Where would employees
sleep? How would they eat? Unlike remote mines or offshore oil
rigs, National Grid's transmission center in Worcester County
wasn't set up for employees to sleep on-site.
National Grid rented about two dozen camper trailers for living
quarters, as well as trailers containing showers and laundry
machines. It hired a food-services provider to prepare three meals
a day for the roughly 80 workers staying at the Massachusetts site
at one time, and cooks lived on the premises too. Employees lived
two to a recreational vehicle: one on the day shift, one on the
night shift. Some conference rooms were converted into sleeping
quarters.
Entertainment was another challenge. At one New York site, a dad
working at the station gave tips to his child practicing the violin
outside. Families visited sequestered loved ones, speaking through
a gate, and a Girl Scout troop made a contact-free cookie delivery
to Mr. Spink's facility.
"There isn't a lot to do after work," Mr. Spink said. "You can
walk around the compound."
A second group of National Grid employees relieved the initial
crews. With more time to pack, they were better prepared to occupy
themselves off the job.
Employees at the Massachusetts site organized a cornhole
tournament, and crowned a winner of the bean-bag-tossing event last
week. They also brought basketball hoops, a croquet set and golf
clubs.
On Easter Sunday, a local band performed. "It was better than
sitting in the conference room all day long," Mr. Lavallee
said.
Dave Martin, a shift supervisor, started running around the
site's parking lot early one morning in April. He had been
scheduled to run the Boston Marathon that day and had raised $8,000
for charity. After the marathon was postponed until September, he
decided to run the 26.2 miles in the parking lot.
When co-workers woke up and realized what he was doing, they
created a makeshift finish line. He finished in around
four-and-a-half hours.
Mr. Lavallee, who left the station on Friday, said he is looking
forward to seeing his grandchildren. He missed two of their
birthdays while living at the center.
He added that he will be back at work on Monday, when National
Grid plans to enter a new operational phase. Employees will be
allowed to return home at night and will be split into two groups,
one at each control center and another at backup locations for
those sites.
Mr. Lavallee stayed at the facility more than seven weeks, while
his crew changed out halfway through.
"If, God forbid, we ever had to do this again, I would set it up
so that somebody never spends more than three-and-a-half weeks
on-site," he said. "It's a tough road to go down."
Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 18, 2020 08:02 ET (12:02 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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