Love of Antique Car Restoration Leads to Career in Quality Assurance

Twenty-four years ago, Wayne Davis got home from his honeymoon and checked a message on his answering machine. It was a job offer from TVA.

At the time, he was restoring antique cars — a passion that started when he was a kid working alongside his dad in the garage. Davis loved investigating how machines worked, automotive history and the immense creativity that went into even the smallest details like hood ornaments.

Now, Davis works in mechanical quality assurance for TVA in the Power Service Shop in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

He oversees the repair of parts from the moment they arrive on a truck, meticulously taking notes and as-found photos. During the inspection, Davis checks for defects in a part using a magnetic crack detection process and black lights. After documenting findings and creating a report, he oversees the reconditioning process from the engineers' disposition to the machinists' repair and, finally, at the last inspection before shipping the part back to its facility.

"Our jobs are important," Davis explained. "We do our best to make sure everyone feels equal and valued. I never go around saying 'my crew' or 'my jobs' — I like to say 'our.' We are all achieving the same goal."

Davis attributes this quality of selflessness in part to becoming a parent. The sudden sense of responsibility inherent in his role as a father recast him as a new kind of leader. Davis' son, now approaching high school graduation, is following in his dad's footsteps—from fixing vintage bicycles to refurbishing cars to renovating a school bus to drive out west. Tinkering definitely runs in the family.

"I've always tried to be approachable, too," Davis added. "I want people to feel like they can come to me if they feel unsafe or have a concern. I want anyone — friends, family, coworkers — to know they can talk to me about anything."

Davis' welcoming disposition was evident as he walked the shop floors, proving that respect is not commanded but garnered by mutual trust. His coworkers met him with jokes and smiles and hearty handshakes.

Wayne Davis stands beside the 1951 Ford Country Squire Woody Wagon he drove to work that morning.

It's common for Davis to drive his antique cars to work. He'd done so this morning. As he walked with this reporter outside the gates, there sat a pristine 1951 Ford Country Squire Woody Wagon. He waxed poetic about the specs and lamented that he didn't bring the car he'd used to take his wife to prom.

"Next time, I'll drive that one and show you," he said.

TVA has more than 10,000 people working across the Valley region, with hundreds of different job titles. But, as Davis said, all are working toward the same goal.

"We're all individuals, and that's what makes the world go 'round."

Maybe that's how energy is made.