NASHVILLE, Tenn. (June 17, 2022) – Luke Ditto, power plant senior electronics mechanic with the Electronics Service Section, is named U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District Employee of the Month for March 2022. He is recognized primarily for his attention to safety while working at Cordell Hull Power Plant.
Lt. Col. Joseph Sahl, Nashville District commander, announced Ditto’s selection and said, “His dedication to safety and quality results are something I know we all strive for.”
While working at Cordell Hull Power Plant on the Cumberland River in Carthage, Tennessee, Ditto took on responsibility for observing subcontractors perform direct current high potential testing of the 13,800-volt generator bus and cables at 64,000 volts. During the testing, Ditto noticed the subcontractors were not working within proper safety protocol. He halted the testing and expressed his concerns.
When testing resumed, Ditto immediately noticed the contractors were still operating outside of guidelines. Once again, Ditto ordered maintenance to stop. He reported the incident and began working with plant management to create a safe way forward.
Ditto’s values and work ethic “sets the bar for his coworkers,” said Rieger.
Upon hearing of Ditto’s actions, Rieger recalled, “My first thought was Luke may [have] quite possibly saved a life that day. Luke decided to not just let the dice role, he actively, bravely, and consistently let his values guide him to make uncomfortable calls about the right thing to do.”
Ditto, humbled by the experience said, “It’s not always the easiest to speak up and stop work. We work around a lot of potentially dangerous equipment and of hazards of different types; take your safety training seriously and be on the lookout for yourself and others around you. Don’t be hesitant to say something to someone if you think they are putting themselves in a dangerous position. We should be the benchmark for safety in the workplace.”
Spanning 20 years, Ditto’s entire career with the federal government has been with the Nashville District. He first entered the workforce as an electronics technician with the Communications Field Group in 2002. In 2006, he entered the hydro-power training program and craft routed to ESS.
He completed the program as a senior level electronics mechanic in 2010. Working for ESS has been an adventure for Ditto, who has always enjoyed problem solving and being in the field. However, it’s “being part of the generation tasked with upgrading all the equipment in Nashville District’s hydro plants,” that has been especially rewarding.
(The public can obtain news, updates and information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District on the district’s website at www.lrn.usace.army.mil, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/nashvillecorps and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nashvillecorps.