Joshua Barker, senior electrician at Cheatham Hydro Power Plant, is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Nashville District Employee of the Month for September 2023.
He earned recognition for spearheading the design and installation of the new Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system at the Cheatham Power Plant.
Lt. Col. Robert Green, Nashville District commander, announced Barker’s selection and said, “Josh exemplified the highest level of dedication and professionalism while performing the duties not typical of his position.”
Since 1959 Cheatham Power Plant has sat on the Cumberland River about 42 miles downstream from Nashville. It features three generators with a total potential output of 36 megawatts, which, at maximum output, can power 23,400 residential homes. The SCADA system is the fourth at the Cheatham plant, the third having been installed in the late 1990s. At approximately 25 years old, it was near the end of its lifespan, and in 2019, a district-wide effort was undertaken to replace all plant SCADA systems.
Since 1959 Cheatham Power Plant has sat on the Cumberland River about 42 miles downstream from Nashville. Although not a primary energy producing facility it features three generators with a total potential output of 36 megawatts, which, at maximum output, can power 23,400 residential homes. The SCADA system is the fourth at the Cheatham plant, the third having been installed in the late 1990s.
A vendor delivered a new plant operating system, but it was deemed problematic and had to be scrapped. Barker, and the USACE Electronics Service Section (ESS) salvaged what they could from the vendor-purchased system and began conceptualizing one built in-house. Once three members of ESS; Luke Ditto, Allen Hayes and Skylar Halloway, successfully tested a system, Barker began a six-month planning process to replicate that at Cheatham.
“Barker worked several days of overtime on his own in the months preceding the actual changeover which greatly reduced total manhours. He identified, assisted, and directed the installation of cables and equipment as far in advance as possible,” wrote colleague Terrance Farrow on the nomination form.
Over the months, management allowed Barker to dedicate time outside his regular duties to focus on the upcoming transition to the new system. With the help of colleagues such as Farrow, Kenji Yamauchi, and Barker’s wife, Analiza, the new system came online successfully and ahead of schedule. “We’d done so much work ahead of the outage, when the time came, there wasn’t anything to figure out; we knew where everything was to go from and to,” Barker explained. “Everyone was just true professionals and it made it so much easier, and we communicated very well throughout the entire process.”
Hydropower Maintenance Supervisor Cayce Tiesler, Barker’s supervisor of 13 years, described his subordinate’s work ethic: “He always leans forward on any project that’s assigned to him. He goes next-level with planning, with the bigger picture. He’s not only looking at what it takes to get the job done efficiently but also what it takes to set his guys up for success.”
Barker, who hails from Paducah, Kentucky, has worked at the Cheatham plant since 2010. He received an associate degree from West Kentucky Community Technical College and started with USACE at the Kentucky Lock in 2006. After that, he worked at the Cheatham Lock, then joined the Hydropower Training Program at Old Hickory in 2008. Water is not only integral to his work, but his free time as well, as he enjoys boating and wake surfing with family and friends. He and his wife have three daughters aged 21, 9 and 6.
“It was a total surprise” Barker said. “My wife called me and said, ‘There’s an email about you,’ and it made my heart skip because I thought that may not be good. And when she told me it was employee of the month, I thought, who would’ve nominated me for that?”
Barker emphasized the caliber of employees at Cheatham: “Working in hydropower, you’re surrounded by very talented, skillful craftspeople.” He explained that being singled out amongst such skilled people was a thrilling, humbling honor. “You could’ve picked anybody, any one of the people who installed the SCADA system. They’re true tradespeople.”