Aldridge Showcases at The Utility Expo
At Aldridge, our mission is clear: to share best practices and deploy safety innovations so that everyone in our industry goes home safely. Our participation in The Utility Expo, in partnership with the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), provided a national platform to demonstrate exactly how we are doing that in the power and utility markets.
Why We Showcased
Manhole, vault, and other enclosed-space work in utility and transmission/distribution settings remain among the highest-risk environments in our industry. Through our long-standing involvement with the OSHA Electrical Transmission & Distribution (ET&D) Partnership, Aldridge has committed to advancing safety beyond compliance and toward real measurable improvement. The Utility Expo provided an opportunity to showcase our innovation — not just discuss safety, but demonstrate how we’re transforming the way work is done.
Introducing the Non-Entry Rescue System
The key innovation demonstrated is our Non-Entry Rescue System, an ideology designed for situations where entry into a confined or manhole environment would expose rescuers to additional risk. Bill Sullivan, Aldridge’s Utility Training Manager and 30+ year industry veteran, designed the system and a companion tool known internally as the “Sully Stick”. Aptly named after his moniker, Bill Sullivan invented this device by leveraging an extendable fiberglass pole with a specially configured hook that can attach to a windlass system.
Demonstration of the system is made easy through the use of Aldridge’s mobile training trailers engineered to simulate real underground, network-manhole conditions, which enable crews to practice rescue, retrieval, air testing, stray-voltage assessment, and other critical rescue-ready procedures.
“I believe this refined process of non-entry rescue will be a game-changer in the industry and could potentially save many lives.” - Bill Sullivan, Utility Training Manager & Non-Entry Rescue Innovator
By demonstrating this at a major national event, Aldridge reinforced that safety is not a side effort but a strategic focus and a responsibility to share that innovation in the industry.
What We Demonstrated
At The Utility Expo we walked through:
The rationale for non-entry rescue in enclosed spaces (showing data on rescuer fatalities when entry is attempted)
How the Non-Entry Rescue System works in real time: equipment set-up, scenario simulation, execution of retrieval without subjecting another worker to the confined environment.
How our mobile training trailers replicate field conditions, allowing attendees to practice and gain skill in a controlled, safe setting.