Members of Little Rock, Ark., Local 647 and company officials from Entergy's Arkansas Nuclear One plant raise the first Code of Excellence flag,  

The Code of Excellence is the backbone of everything the IBEW does. That importance is underscored with the launch of a new quarterly newsletter. 

The IBEW SPARQ newsletter highlights one of the Code’s five values in each issue. They are:

  • Safety
  • Professionalism
  • Accountability                         
  • Relationships
  • Quality

The goal of the newsletter is to keep the Code of Excellence’s values at the forefront of everything IBEW members and officers do on the job. Each edition will have the same format, including a cover story that highlights the importance of the Code’s values, a section devoted to each branch of the IBEW, and a section that allows local unions to share their own Code of Excellence success stories.

Safety is the topic of the first issue, which is available at ibew.org. Look for the COE-SPARQ Newsletters tab at the top of the homepage.

The Code of Excellence was introduced in 2008 in construction and other branches have implemented it since then. Every day, IBEW members demonstrate their commitment to excellence by showing up for work on time, respecting employer and customer rules, demonstrating zero tolerance for drug and alcohol abuse and exercising proper safety practices.

The Code backs up that IBEW members are the best-trained and most skilled in the country. Its values make the IBEW the best choice for any job.

Delegates to the 39th International Convention last September passed a resolution calling for a renewed commitment to the Code of Excellence and for local unions to implement it with updated training materials. This newsletter is part of that initiative. The acronym SPARQ also was adopted to highlight the five values.

“With SPARQ, we not only compete with our skills, we compete with our character,” International President Lonnie R. Stephenson said. “Choosing the IBEW is choosing to invest in the highest quality craftmanship, and that is what SPARQ represents.”