This special NETA section of the magazine is a compilation of interviews conducted at the 2023 PowerTest Conference where we interviewed board members and thought leaders with great insights into NETA as it embarks on several strategic initiative, including adding the “I” for International. When I attended my first NETA conference over a decade ago, I have been impressed by the way members, who are often competitors, come together in a more collaborative way to make our industry better, safer, or reliable and resilient.

Alan Ross:
Damien, what do you think the value of NETA is to the industry in general? How does the organization make a difference?

Damien Robinson:
NETA provides a standard and proven methodology for reliable commissioning and maintenance of electrical assets. It provides an avenue for service companies, manufacturers, and industry personnel to share best practices and lessons learned for the betterment of the entire electrical industry. Related to this, Megger subject matter experts participate in the revisions of the ATS and MTS guides. A major difference NETA provides over many other standards bodies is the certification levels of technicians. This adds a high level of assurance that a service company is providing and a customer is receiving qualified individuals for the safe and reliable testing of assets.
Another significant difference NETA provides is the various Alliance Programs. After a brief hiatus, in 2024 Megger re-joined as a Corporate Alliance Partner Program which provides an excellent venue to highlight emerging technologies to industry leading partners.

AR
How has NETA added value to you personally and to your career/role at Megger?

DR
Being in sales my entire time at Megger, NETA’s primary value for me has been priming prospective customers. When I enter a NETA Accredited Company, in many cases, at least half of my typical job is complete, i.e. the need to explain certain electrical tests and why they are important. Mostly, I simply need to showcase Megger product solutions. This results in much more expedient sales, and it has helped Megger grow significantly in the industry.

AR
I attended a half day Megger workshop at NETA, several years ago and found it had tremendous value for me personally and form the reaction of the attendees, to them as well. Talk a little about why Megger Workshop adds so much value to a NETA, or other, conference?

DR
Megger’s approach to these workshops is sharing industry best practices. This matches well the intent of NETA. We endeavor to not make the workshop a sales pitch, though at the request of attendees we have at times engaged in hands-on demonstrations of our test solutions. Rather our philosophy is to partner with NETA Accredited Companies in educating technicians, managers, and/or sales personnel on overcoming challenges or understanding improvements in methodologies associated with asset condition assessment.

Alan Ross:
There was so much great content we gained from interviews at the conference and we wish we could have included all of them and all of every interview however that would have taken over the entire issue. The good news is that every interview is available on our website.

Continue reading: NETA Articles