Search results for "Training"
Browse All
Sort by:
Written by Penelope B. Grenoble Time to gear up, get the equipment in shape, start lining up the operators, and get them up to speed. And that means training: at the least a refresher course for the guys who are coming back and a little this-is-how-we-do-it-here advice for new hires. The question is not only what you think you want your crews to know, but also why, and how you’re going to get them what they need. Otherwise you’re wasting their time and your money. What follows is a compilation of t...... continue reading
From: Grading and Excavation Contractor Topics: Human Resources, Management, Training
Written by Penelope B. Grenoble Time to gear up, get the equipment in shape, start lining up the operators, and get them up to speed. And that means training: at the least a refresher course for the guys who are coming back and a little this-is-how-we-do-it-here advice for new hires. The question is not only what you think you want your crews to know, but also why, and how you’re going to get them what they need. Otherwise you’re wasting their time and your money. What follows is a compilation of t...... continue reading
From: Grading and Excavation Contractor Topics: Human Resources, Management, Training
Written by Penelope B. Grenoble Once in a while you hear about someone taking the bull by the horn and stepping in to fill a gap. A case in point is the New Hampshire–based Construction Education Academy, the brainchild of Tim Edes of Eastpoint Lasers LLC, a laser, construction layout, and engineering supplier in Hooksett, NH, and Kent Brown of Brown Engineering LLC in Meredith, NH. Edes has 30 years experience training construction personnel how to use layout tools and software and Brown has spent...... continue reading
From: Grading and Excavation Contractor Topics: Management, Operations, Training
Written by Daniel C. Brown Employers have the responsibility to protect the safety and health of their workers. Construction workers are exposed to a variety of health hazards every day. These men and women have the potential for becoming sick, ill, and disabled for life. A course called “Health Hazards in Construction,” developed by the Construction Safety Council, Hillside, IL, can prepare an employer or its designated competent person to understand and react to occupational health hazards in con...... continue reading
From: Grading and Excavation Contractor Topics: Human Resources, Safety, Training
Sure, with its advanced 3D graphics and realistic motion feedback, you might assume it’s a video game from a modern day arcade. But it’s far from a game. The Volvo Advanced Training Simulator is where highly developed technology meets instruction, providing real-life operator education at a fraction of the cost and with fewer resources needed than with traditional training. Most people would likely expect that a physical piece of heavy construction equipment is necessary when training prospective equipm...... continue reading
From: Grading and Excavation Contractor Topics: Safety, Technology, Training
Written by Penelope B. Grenoble From the top on down to superintendents in the field, management has a crucial role to play in training. There are multiple levels all along the way that require input and decision-making, and passing these off to a trainer or neglecting them because of perceived time or commitment pressures can be a recipe for failure. Here’s a summary of critical management responsibilities recognized by the companies who take training seriously and the training experts who serve t...... continue reading
From: Grading and Excavation Contractor Topics: Management, Safety, Training
Written by Penelope B. Grenoble In the last issue we reported on projections for the construction industry from the perspective of four economic experts. Their prognosis was for a very guarded optimism, but since then the news from Europe and elsewhere suggests things are sliding from bleak to couldn’t-be-much-bleaker. When the economy tanks like this and you’re looking for places to cut, it’s tempting to target “soft” expenses like employee training and development. But don’t do it. We’re in...... continue reading
From: Grading and Excavation Contractor Topics: Business Management, Human Resources, Training
Written by Penelope B. Grenoble Professional trainers know things you and I don’t. They know how people learn, when and why they can falter, and what makes a software-training program successful. We asked four veterans for their behind-the-scenes tips. What they said was mostly common sense, yes, but how easily we forget. 1. Executive buy-in—Let your staff know the boss is behind them and why . “Executive buy-in is critical,” says Chris Henry, director of technical services at HCSS. “And this incl...... continue reading
From: Grading and Excavation Contractor Topics: Software, Technology, Training
By Penelope Grenoble Over the course of last year, we’ve occasionally received news about winners of Case Construction Equipment Triple Threat Rodeos across the United States and Canada, regional competitions that qualified 60 top operators for a showdown in the North American Championship at this year’s World of Concrete in Las Vegas. The more we thought about it, the more we wondered what kind of background and training propelled these operators into the winner’s circle. To find out, we tracked down t...... continue reading
From: Grading and Excavation Contractor Topics: Human Resources, Safety, Training
By Penelope B Grenoble
Listening to instructors Steve Neal and Wayne Tomlinson talk about what they do at the Road Institute, a kind of mini-asphalt paving university for contractors, DOTs, municipalities, engineers, material manufacturers, and just about anybody who has a connection to or an interest in the asphalt paving industry, suggests another look at what good training can be about. Train. Train. Train. We hear it everywhere—how important it is, how we’re not doing enough. But too often the nature of training ends up b...... continue reading
From: Grading and Excavation Contractor Topics: Paving, Safety, Training
|
|