The Best way to Train New Locator"s

**TechMaster** · January 28th, 2009, 08:37 PM

I agree that class room and the old school ride a week get handed a set of prints and a machine, along with a pat on the back from your sup telling ya good luck lets see what you are made of as he smiles and waves bye, are both was that work. However overall either you are a person for this type of work or you are not. It takes a special person to do this job

**scap** · January 28th, 2009, 10:21 PM

Originally Posted by Chicagoman

A Supervisor's are to busy keeping there butts warm at home on the sofa. I have not physical seen my sup in two and half monthes I have not talk to him on the phone in two monthes and he called me to do him a favor. We had a locator who became a Supervisor and after three monthes he gave up his job because he was board to death. What that tell you

don't let one example that you experienced make you think that all sups are ****offs. my sup comes out and helps guys whenever they need it. sounds like you are working with the wrong company, buddy.

**scap** · February 12th, 2009, 11:06 AM

we had one guy leave when we told him he had to put flags in the ground..

so I'd make sure I cover that base within the first few days...~

**nuffsenuff** · April 5th, 2009, 02:52 PM

Originally Posted by Chicagoman

Should we have new locator's ride along with a Supervisor's

If the supervisor actually knows how to locate!!!!!!! Everyone in this district knows class training is a joke. Everyone who came out into our field didnt know anything about what to do or procedures. Field techs trying to undo the scare tactics pounded into them to the point they were scared to death. Why spend more time scareing them than teachin technique? My first 3 days in were ALL threats and scareing the newbies. I knew better but what could you say?

**AULupstate** · April 5th, 2009, 03:24 PM

I love how these companies just throw training on whoever they can. To get 'proper' training one needs to be with a person who KNOWS HOW to train.

Being tossed out there and learning (learning is different than training) from a guy (or girl) who is stressed, over worked, under paid and generally pissed off at the world does NO ONE any good.

In my humble opinion there should be two different training scenarios. 1. For experienced locators who a new to the company but not the industry. 2. For fresh to the industry personell who don't know jack about what the job is.

There should be at least 2 DEDICATED trainers who have been in the industry for at least 5 years and gone to a school like Stake Center. They also need to stay CURRENT on technology and changes within the industry as a whole.

The training phase for FNG's should be 4 weeks total. 2 class room covering the basics, theory, technology etc.. 2 field for implenting techniques, demostrating knowledge and just getting a feel for 'real' field conditions.
This should also be the time where those who just can't quite grasp the concept and can't demostrate the simplest task completion get weeded out (of course after a predetermined remedial training time, 2 days or so). NO MORE WARM BODY SYNDROME!!!!

**scap** · April 5th, 2009, 04:48 PM

I really don't think how you train a locator is what makes a difference. I couldn't have asked for a better trainer, nor improved on any methods in which I was trained. I'm just saying, I think it's the person that you're trying to train, more than the training method. You can have the most professional, step-by-step gradual learning curve training sessions that are most informative...you can have all that but you are still going to have guys leave that class, get to their tickets and jump out their truck without looking at a Cox print, getting feeders smoked in their 2nd month of employment...

Some people just aren't supposed to be locators. It takes a specific breed of induvidual. It takes a guy who gives a shit, can deal with authority and responsibility. Serious responsibility...

On top of all the technical things we do and methods we use to hookup, I've found it's the rebellious guys who have problems with authority that end up having the biggest problems at the company. Guys who throw fits if their sup says something to them about their e-brake, etc. So I just say **** it and roll with the flow.

**scap** · April 5th, 2009, 04:51 PM

I had a new guy tell me the other day (he was just learning, running drops) tell me he thought a casher at a Super Stop had more responsibility than a locator. Rather than give him a real piece of my mind, (which I wanted to do) I just illustrated how it's too early for him to be saying that about locating. I gave him my personal promise that if he's here in a year, he'd laugh about his comment.

**nuffsenuff** · April 5th, 2009, 06:45 PM

I disagree.....even with some experience going into this company i had no experience with phone or pwer or gas but was thrown to the wolves with no prints or even a clue how to find what I was suppose to locate...I never have a problem with authority but when someone who does not and never has located tries to tell me im spending to much time on a locate I have a HUGE problem with that. When trainees come out with no idea what a high profile is and no idea how to read a print but has the desire to learn there is no excuse for that....An deffinately field techs shouldnt be training these guys because we already have enuff responsibility with being understaffed and busy season coming on fast...I do what I have to do and nothing else...

**yahoo** · April 5th, 2009, 07:46 PM

that's the great wonder of our business( utilities and the like) we agree to disagree!!!

**Mke** · April 6th, 2009, 09:25 AM

Swagman can back me up on this.

My training consisted of no classroom time. 1st day: Picked up at about 5:30 in the morning and went through the basics of where the tickets were at, the first half of the day I watched as he open peds and un-bonded cables and sprayed paint. The Second half of the day he let me dabble a little bit with the 810 showing me the basics of needle movement and transmitter placement etc...

2nd Day I drove and routed (he re-routed me correctly) and he watched me fumble my way through the easy tickets.

3rd Day I drove to an isolated gravel road in BFE and he told me it would take him about 15 min to do the locate, but he would give me 1hr and 15min to do it (the rookie time) and he would be back then. so he proceeded to leave me with the tools and enough paint to mark about a half a mile of single cable main.

My Training was completed at about the 3wk mark when my Trainer decided to go on vacation. (later was it revealed that the only way to go on vacation in this particular area was to train someone to replace you. As per the Supervisor.)

This was great. I learn by doing, not watching someone else do it. He was more instrumental in me being a locator by letting me learn at my own pace, and figure out what works for me. Now here I am a few years later locating everything i can put a tone on. From Aviation Fuel to Irrigation control.

fun

mke

**RD_Wrangler** · April 6th, 2009, 09:53 AM

I had a similar training Mke.

I endured the 4 weeks of "desk training" which consisted mostly of me showing other students how to operate their damn computers, with precious little technical training, and even less field work. It got to the point that I read the manual front to back myself twice, went to the library and studied the theories and technical information hinted at in the manual and just took the paper tests shaking my head thinking how grateful I was to have had some construction background and at least had an idea what was going on.

Out of a class of fifteen, 2 of us were there after 6 mos.

Thankfully I had a Sup. smart enough to team me up with a seasoned tech in the area I was going to run. He did almost the exact same thing as your trainer. At the end of 4 days I was running singles myself. And by 2 weeks I was pretty much running the area while he came anytime I had a question. 4 weeks and the area was mine and I had his number in case I ran into anything funky.

Whenever I got frustrated training a new tech. I'd remember my own training and it always helped me find the patience. As long as I didn't have to teach them how to operate e-mail.

**yahoo** · April 6th, 2009, 08:27 PM

Originally Posted by Mke

Swagman can back me up on this.

My training consisted of no classroom time. 1st day: Picked up at about 5:30 in the morning and went through the basics of where the tickets were at, the first half of the day I watched as he open peds and un-bonded cables and sprayed paint. The Second half of the day he let me dabble a little bit with the 810 showing me the basics of needle movement and transmitter placement etc...

2nd Day I drove and routed (he re-routed me correctly) and he watched me fumble my way through the easy tickets.

3rd Day I drove to an isolated gravel road in BFE and he told me it would take him about 15 min to do the locate, but he would give me 1hr and 15min to do it (the rookie time) and he would be back then. so he proceeded to leave me with the tools and enough paint to mark about a half a mile of single cable main.

My Training was completed at about the 3wk mark when my Trainer decided to go on vacation. (later was it revealed that the only way to go on vacation in this particular area was to train someone to replace you. As per the Supervisor.)

This was great. I learn by doing, not watching someone else do it. He was more instrumental in me being a locator by letting me learn at my own pace, and figure out what works for me. Now here I am a few years later locating everything i can put a tone on. From Aviation Fuel to Irrigation control.

fun

mke

i''m starting to think you and i was trained by the same person!!!!

**underground quester** · April 7th, 2009, 10:31 PM

Originally Posted by AULupstate

I love how these companies just throw training on whoever they can. To get 'proper' training one needs to be with a person who KNOWS HOW to train.

Being tossed out there and learning (learning is different than training) from a guy (or girl) who is stressed, over worked, under paid and generally pissed off at the world does NO ONE any good.

In my humble opinion there should be two different training scenarios. 1. For experienced locators who a new to the company but not the industry. 2. For fresh to the industry personell who don't know jack about what the job is.

There should be at least 2 DEDICATED trainers who have been in the industry for at least 5 years and gone to a school like Stake Center. They also need to stay CURRENT on technology and changes within the industry as a whole.

The training phase for FNG's should be 4 weeks total. 2 class room covering the basics, theory, technology etc.. 2 field for implenting techniques, demostrating knowledge and just getting a feel for 'real' field conditions.
This should also be the time where those who just can't quite grasp the concept and can't demostrate the simplest task completion get weeded out (of course after a predetermined remedial training time, 2 days or so). NO MORE WARM BODY SYNDROME!!!!

Yep, I absolutely agree!