Taken from the Tem Susquehanna U1 17RIO focus
...Susquehanna station and Eastern Fossil and Hydro funded the development of the Welder Training/ Testing Facility at Harwood by taking advantage of the recently acquired Fire School Garage. As a result, PPL's organizations were able to minimize their investment without sacrificing the quality needed to develop a first -class facility incorporating the latest welding technologies.
In the Past, contractor welder required site access or escorts to gain access to the welding test facility at Susquehanna. Along with Space limitations requiring either second shirft or overtime coverage, additional costs were incurred for escorts, test administrators, craft time and overall coordination / oversight of the effort.
The new off-site facility at Harwood is a state-of-the-art testing facility, able to accommodate 16 welders at a time, eliminating the need for second shift and overtime coverage," said Joe Ladick. "Welders are scheduled for testing at Harwood even before they access Susquehanna, eliminating the need for additional costs for processing, escorts and other inefficiencies related to coordinating testing on site."
Contract Welders were extremely complimentary about the new facility, indicating that it was one of the best facilities they'd seen in the industry.
The shop has been outfitted with the latest welding machine technologies and most noteworthy, a ventilation system designed to remove hazards associated with hexavalent chromium and significant reduction in welding fumes overall.
