Never without …
my multimeter !

When Romain arrives at a substation, he takes out his multimeter and a 4-colour pen: two simple but essential tools to carry out his low-voltage tests.

“My name is Romain Rochette, I’m 30 years old and I’ve been working as a low-voltage technician at Elia for 8 years. In Secondary Systems – or SecSys as we often pronounce it – I work about 80% of my time on infrastructure projects, when we replace assets in substations with new installations. My job is to test the wiring made by external companies, as well as the protections. The multimeter is really my go-to tool. If something isn’t working in the substation, I need the multimeter to take measurements in different places and find out where the problem is coming from. I also use this device to measure the circuits of voltage and current transformers, and the polarities in a span.

The remaining 20% of my work is devoted to the maintenance of existing installations (testing the protections by injecting currents and voltages with a test case) and to curative interventions (intervening quickly as soon as there is a breakdown). »

“The second thing I can’t miss is the 4-colour bic with integrated pencil. As soon as I notice a problem during my tests, I contact the project’s low-voltage designer. If we agree on the adaptation to be made, I will note it in red on the level of principle. This is called redlining. I also sometimes have to redline wiring plans, in case of a cable number error for example. The green bic is used to mark out our work area on the marking plan. And we write down in pencil all the open points, the progress of the tests, what remains to be done… That way we make sure we don’t forget anything. We also use green or yellow fluorescent to highlight everything that has been tested and was OK. A colour code that allows you to see clearly and work efficiently.”

“Apart from our SecSys Villeroux team meeting every 3 weeks and a few exceptional events, I almost always work in substations, in pairs. We always work in pairs to be on the safe side, to be able to apply the principle of cross-checking. That said, we are well aware that we are doing dangerous work and we must not ‘pay attention’ to safety, it is an integral part of the way we operate.

Since I have several years of experience, I am often with a less experienced colleague to whom I teach the ropes. Coaching is really something that gives me a lot of energy. And even if I don’t often see my other colleagues or my foreman, we call each other a lot, as soon as we have a question or a problem, as well as with the project team. And then there is often a lot of coactivity in the substations, so I really don’t lack contacts!”

“I joined the Villeroux team at the beginning of the year, after several years with the SecSys team in Crealys. A work leader from Villeroux was changing direction and Elia was looking for someone experienced to replace him. I was offered the place and I jumped at the chance, I wanted a new challenge. I live on the border between the two areas so it was perfect for me. The atmosphere is really good, both in Créalys and in Villeroux. It’s very family atmosphere, we know each other well, we share more than just work. My colleagues know very well, for example, that I love football and that I will never miss one of my two training sessions during the week and my match at the weekend. Except in the case of an urgent intervention, of course!”