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THE STORY OF THE SPIKE
In 1975, Ron Mock, a newly graduated University of Toronto engineer,
joined Ontario Hydro (Toronto, Canada - now known as
Hydro One) public utility. One of his first assignments was to observe
field linemen repairing underground electric power cables. This is what
he observed. Electrical power was shut off at both ends of the repair
site. A trench was dug surrounding the exposed cables. An amp meter
was used to confirm that power was shut off between termination points.
An experienced guess was made to cut into one of the exposed cables.
Without positive assurance that the cable was de-energized the lineman
handed Ron the hacksaw and he ended up cutting into the right cable.
That night, he sat down with his father Phillip R. Mock, a field supervisor
with Ontario Hydro, and another fellow engineer to design a safety device
to positively ensure buried electric power cable was de-energized before
cutting. The SPIKE Tool was born under the partnership business name
of Mock, Lopes, Mock with a corporate identity change to SPIKE Tool
Inc. in 1998.
Over 10 percent of SPIKE Tools have been returned since 1976 - damaged
beyond repair due to spiking an incorrectly identified cable --
Loss of life or serious injury has been avoided using SPIKE.
IN MEMORY OF
Phillip Robert Mock
September 1, 1928 - March 16, 1998.
An employee of Ontario Hydro from June 1, 1953 to June 30, 1989
Ron
Mock, PEng
President
SPIKE Tool Inc.
Ron Mock worked at Ontario Hydro (Toronto, Canada) from 1975 to 1986.
For the first five years Ron worked in the Underground Distribution
(0-44kV) and Underground Transmission (115-230kV) Departments. This
included field work, design, construction and research.
Ron then worked in the Electrical Engineering Department designing control,
shutdown, and power systems (up to 15kV) for Pickering and Darlington
Generating Stations. When Ron left Ontario Hydro he was in charge of
Nuclear Safety for Pickering Generating Station.
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