Training.......

[Mke]

so, with the recent talk about training and trainers.....

What is the appropriate window for training? I know some people will pick things up faster then others, but on an average, what would you say it takes the typical noob to be acceptable out in the field?


In Class or in the field? My training was strictly in the field. (minus the routing and logging of tickets done in the office).

Training done with individulals or groups? I prefer training one on one, but understand the benefits of group training.

So, what do you guys think?

mke

[yahoo]

i think the safest thing for everyone is a little classroom training on safety and the like and then mostly hands-on training for about 1 month in the field.....after that a good locater will need his own learning experience self-motivated training that will take another 2 years to shape-up ......after this period i think most will survive!!!

[ProfessionalLocator]

It depends on how many different utilities that need to be located.

Classroom time is good to learn company procedure and is a great time to get introduced to reading the various utility drawings. A good central location to distribute reference material for initial study and to keep for reference when they are on their own.

The more utilities that need locating the longer the classroom period is. If just one utility one to two weeks should do it.


I think no locator should be put into the field with only classroom training, I have seen this done. Technically they got field training but I saw some of these classes. The teacher had at least a dozen people to train which consisted of watch me mark this and then... he told them all to use their equipment and locate the lines until he would return in about an hour.

Time spent in a truck with another experienced locator also depends on how many different utilities the noobie has to learn. The previous remark of one month is about right for most people. I have run into a few people who need an extra week or two and giving them that pays off, they go into the field knowing what they are doing.


In a firm that was marking 5 different utilities I have seen about five weeks classroom and 5 weeks field training.

[USIC1]

after that a good locater will need his own learning experience self-motivated training that will take another 2 years to shape-up ......after this period i think most will survive!!!

I ve been doing this since 94 and still cant shape-up... But I survive...

[Goldenboy]

It depends on how many different utilities that need to be located.

I believe this plays a big part of it.

If the company you are going to work for only locates phone or only locates gas it shouldn't take that long to learn. You can spend time just learning one kind of records and spend all the time on one utility.

If you are going to work for a company who locates tel,tv,gas,elec, and other things the learning curve is going to be alot longer. You're splitting up your time on each utility instead of just learning one. You have to learn all the different prints associated with each utility. And you also have to spend time learning the different theories with locating each thing. IE. You can't unbond tv or elec. Plastic gas doesn't have to have a tracer wire you can see. Hooking up to older gas sometimes will tone the water perfectly but won't tone the gas at all.

To answer your question I feel if a motivated person is trained and mentored by good people I wouldn't be trusting too much of his/her work for the first 6 months. There are just too many variables in this line of work to "cookie cut" out locators.

[sling'n paint]

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[Goldenboy]

I meant to say you can't isolate tv. If you have 6 feeders,2 trunks, and 8 drops in the ped you can not isolate them.

[ifinditunderground]

I meant to say you can't isolate tv. If you have 6 feeders,2 trunks, and 8 drops in the ped you can not isolate them.

Not without pissing off lots of people anyway.....

[gypsygirl]

A lot depends on the people that are hired. I wish there was a way to give them a comprehension test during the hiring process, but was told that this is a tricky situation (legal stuff) and can't be done. The time to train is based on number of utilities (different utilities) and individual ability to pick up on the information presented. Ideally a couple of weeks in classroom and then a month of field training would put a newbie on a good path, but it takes more than a year or so to be considered a seasoned locator. Too many think they "know it all" after a few months or there are those that will state that "no one ever told me about that" when in fact that information was given and shown to them. Size of class also has a big factor, but most of the time, the trainer cannot work one on one with a class of 6 - 12 people and give them the best training possible. It takes excellent field techs that are willing to work along with the newbies to really make it work. imho

[big boots mcghee]

Not without pissing off lots of people anyway.....

Exactly. But ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

[Doc Brown]

I have always felt that you should have your 2 weeks in the office learning all company policies and what not, going over basics, going over record systems, all the paperwork and such. Then, the class should be taken out and perform locates on 1 utility. Gas would be easiest in south eastern Wisconsin as the records show all services and mains on one print. This way you could give these people a basic idea of what it means to apply that tone. What happens when you use low or high frequencies. They would get a feel for the equipment.
After that, go back to the class room for at least 1 more week to really dive into what it means to apply that signal after people have had a taste of it. I would strongly urge that after that, the trainer could take that group out and perform survey requests to really get comfortable with what they are doing.
Even with all that, this is a tricky business to learn. I learn new things every day, and every day I realize just how dumb I was when I thought I had it all figured out soo many years ago....

[clown shoes]

Originally Posted by Goldenboy View Post
I meant to say you can't isolate tv. If you have 6 feeders,2 trunks, and 8 drops in the ped you can not isolate them.

You can isolate them with a coupler ring.

[headcipher]

Originally Posted by Goldenboy View Post
I meant to say you can't isolate tv. If you have 6 feeders,2 trunks, and 8 drops in the ped you can not isolate them.

You can isolate them with a coupler ring.

If they're all still bonded together, you will still be putting signal onto all the lines. Depth of lines and degradation of the lines could leave you with better signal on the wrong line.

[clown shoes]

If they're all still bonded together, you will still be putting signal onto all the lines. Depth of lines and degradation of the lines could leave you with better signal on the wrong line.

when you direct connect to cable T.V. using a ground rod half of your signal goes to the ground (black lead) and half of your signal gets divided between the other cables (red lead), so you usually only get one or two cables to locate no matter what you connect to. If you use a coupler ring half of your signal goes down the cable you are ringing the other half is divided between the other cables. In other words it is like disconnecting the drop and connecting red lead to the drop and black lead to the other cables.

[sling'n paint]

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