I start my day helping the crews collect all the materials they need for their projects. At KEC, we have 2 full-time warehousemen and together we are responsible for the staging of materials for future jobs, inventory controls, and salvaging/recycling materials. In addition, we receive deliveries of as small as nuts and bolts to transformers as large as 15,000 pounds and everything in between.
KEC’s headquarters on Dakota Avenue in Hayden is actually 2 separate parcels. The main parcel, which is on the north side of Dakota, is 10 acres. The second parcel, on the south side of Dakota, consists of 5 acres and a building. We store materials on both properties, which does not allow for the most cohesive flow of materials. We also have shipping containers full of materials.
We call the outdoor storage areas the “yard” and most of it is not paved. This makes for dusty summers and wet, muddy winters. The warehousemen are also responsible for keeping the warehouse clean and as dust-free as possible. We do much of the facility maintenance and snow removal, which includes plowing the parking lots and de-icing the sidewalks.
Tell us about how the new facility will change things in the warehouse.
The new facility will give us 3 times the space for materials storage, as well as covered storage outside, which we do not have currently. Materials such as underground cables, PVC conduits,s, and transformers will be stored under cover to protect them from ultraviolet rays and other elements, which can damage them in the long run. The crews will save time by not digging materials out of the snow in the winter as they load materials into their trucks each day and when responding to power outages.