... after a while it sounds like you're listening to people des- describe the qualities that different breeds of dog would have.

Yeah.

I mean, and, and these stories, uh, to add to what you're saying, these stories go back thousands of years.

Um, and I, I can give you examples from the modern day of creatures.

So when I was in Mongolia, I was on the border of Kazakhstan and Mongolia, and I'd made a film for National Geographic about...

It was called The Last Living Neanderthal.

I don't think they're Neanderthals, but that's a whole different story.

These are real aspects of the natural world that are seldom seen for one reason or another, which I guess we can get into next.

So you've been mostly going out in, what, Smoky Mountain National Park or thereabouts in that kind of range? Yeah, anywhere up from the

Smokies to the Land Between the Lakes, yeah.

And I did have a Bigfoot encounter.

which was extraordinary.

And I'd never had any interaction of that veracity before in the land between the lakes.

And then I had something happen to me on a couple of occasions in Tennessee.

But it took a long time for it to happen in Tennessee.

I know you'd spent some time there and To hear your take and your perspective on that.

Adam, brief introduction to yourself.

Um, hello, everyone.

Uh, my name's Adam Davies.

I've been at Omega now quite well it'll be three years this September.

Uh, I am the electrical manager and power earthing manager for Omega Red Group.

Uh, I look after power earthing operations and electrical operations, which is includes surge protection.

Uh, and we're about how we improve our services, how we raise that level of quality to our s- customers.

Is, is that, is that your will too?

What are the most common mistakes when it comes to SBDs then? If I could look to you, Adam, you'd just turn around and say that we've gone through a myriad of different things, but what do you see as people's biggest mistakes? You call out three or four of those.

Yeah, I would say one of the biggest ones that we see is probably that series protection is fitted exclusively to LV systems.

And as we've discussed, there's a lot more to assist to a building than just LV.

You've got your data, your communications, et cetera.

Another one that we see is long connecting leads.

You can find information in this in BS 7671 in Chapter 534, and it will give you clear indications of what your minimum and your maximum permitted lead lengths are.

Another one that we see is the incorrect types.

And why do people make that mistake then? Is it just the aesthetics of the building or it's just an afterthought, the behind the build, the build something in front of it? How has it happened?

which is quite cool um learning management system lms and they it starts to recommend certain things in the lms going oh you're based on the transcripts you lost three goals you're struggling with this this bit here's a training video on how to do this better yeah and i think we start you know you're starting to see software come out that really is enabling sales sales people to get individualized training recommendations rather than generic stuff and then the days of generic stuff is is dead right like that's just just like you know the abc always be closing stuff right like all of that is just like dead right so let's let's just have a bit of fun for a minute so let's talk about what what do you think are the most the three most common objections that you come across like that people give your sales people that you're working with need to think about it

right every time And the irony behind that is the damage was done really early in the conversation.

So a perfect example was reviewing a call from one of our clients yesterday.

So we had a little battle at the end of the call and he was like, can you review this? Because I feel like I actually handled the objections pretty well.

Didn't close him.

He put him into a follow up and I believe he's actually closed now, which is good.

But the guy probably could have bought at that point.

So we'll like the what we will

Mm-hmm.

Uh, we know that now that, you know, it, it's a layered system and, and hopefully we bring that awareness.

Uh, and with the digital age moving forward, with data centers and, and the more use of electronic systems that are more sensitive to these transient voltages, it's, you know, it's becoming quite crucial-

Yeah.

A- and they, then they're also responsible for ma- ensuring that, uh, regulations are being adhered to and, and stuff is d- installed and delivered to the relevant standards.

Could you just take us through the different types and why one is used over another and how that works on site?

Yeah, absolutely.

So it's probably worth mentioning the standards of which SPDs are built to.

So this is BSEN IEC 61643.

Yep.

And basically what this does is this is a type testing to make sure that you get your Type 1s, your Type 2s, Type 3s, and what them capabilities are.

Yeah, and we're going to talk about the different types that way.

Yeah.

But you've been scoring goals in pre-season and has that just sort of carried on into that fall? Has that carried on into the start of the season, would you say?

Yeah, I think, although obviously pre-season games...

You know, can be a little bit hit and miss, I think, as a striker.

You know, strikers rely on confidence, really.

So, to get goals in pre-season puts you in good stead going into the season, fills you with confidence.

And then, you know, more tend to happen.

You'll have periods in the season where things don't fall for you and things, you know, your confidence kind of drops a little bit.

Can I just ask you what sort of the similarities or differences in terms of fan base-wise? I

So how do they work together when you're articulating that to a customer so that they're starting to go, the penny drops, and I now get how those two do join at the same time.

Yeah, so like Matt already mentioned, BS 7671, fixed wiring regulations, electrical contractors or electrical people working on whatever electrical systems they may have in the buildings, it's all going to be to 7671 for the wiring regulations, which is good because 7671 actually refers you to 62305 for anything where there's potential for lightning risk.

So they do complement each other quite well.

It's just, I think, a lack of probably an appreciation of the risk levels of what you're accounting for.

Do you see that as part of your conversations when you're coming in to look for these solutions that you're having to take people back a little bit to start? Fundamentally, is it maybe we've not joined those dots together? Is that your will too?

Yeah, absolutely.

We get it quite a lot where we do have limitations in the sense of an electrical system or electrical installation has to be at a point where we can sort of come in and gauge and make sure that the correct types and the correct SPDs are in the correct places to manage those risks.

But it is very much an issue, I think, in the industry is that lack of early engagement with specialists when it comes to lightning and surge protection.

And when you think about the buildings, how are they at risk then if we don't implement the right SPDs?

So where the buildings become at risk is probably more with where we're going as a civilisation, moving more into the digital age.

Yes.

So where you've got big data centres, you've got...

AI up and coming and quite well renowned now.

And it's about protecting that sensitive and electronic equipment that runs all of that and runs that infrastructure and how we protect it from catastrophic impacts from these surges.

and we'll get on

to that.

With regards to an event like this, is there a comparison? You know, for anyone who has gone to conferences, has gone to workshops, and has maybe dismissed it, thinking, "Oh, I, I go to conferences all the time," is this like all the others, or is this a bit more niche and unique?

No, this is definitely u- unique.

This is a, a totally different way of absorbing that knowledge.

Conferences with discussions and talks can be a great, but sometimes sinking your hands into the subject, getting your questions in there o- on a near one-to-one basis, uh, you can take so much more away from it, and it also opens up the learning opportunities for you and colleagues.

You know, in smaller groups, in a more relaxed environment, you can ask questions between each other.

You've got the opportunity to learn from one another, as well as the person leading the topic in the workshop.

What, what, what does it mean to you guys to be a zookeeper? You know, what, what does it mean to be part of this community and to do what we do?

Wow.

I, I just ran out of time." And so I have to go back again and then go to Cades Cove because you were saying that you have run into some very interesting things, uh, over at Cades.

Yeah.

Um, and, and, and I'll put, um, just, just so you know, um, the rock clacks have just gone up, my friend John Carlson, I just put them up as a short on the Adam Davis Explorer YouTube channel, if people wanna listen to those.

Um, well, I should mention that because I've just, I, just to give you the context, the background to what I've just been talking about.

Um, but, but Cades Cove, there's, I, I'm interested in a lot of sightings.

The highest volume of sightings in my area occur in Cades Cove.

Um, and, um, but what you have to do is do a lot of filtering with those.

Mm