Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/674536
locator. As the training progresses, each team member will put in equal time on each position. At each day's end, there's home- work. Instructors give students the parameters of the next morning's job – bore length, what utilities cross the drill path and where and how deep, and any other obstacles they'll need to navigate. Using a laminated sheet, each team of two is asked to create a bore plan. "The next day, they'll drill their bore plan," Bokhoven says, "and at the end of the day, they will have data logged the bore all the way through and will know how close to their plan they actually were." "The laminated bore plan is prob- ably one of the biggest training tools we've used," says Dan Vroom, customer training lead. "Most of them have never used a bore plan; they just figure it out on the job." Student T. J. Reed with Atmos Energy verifies this. "I hadn't done a bore plan before," he says. "We know what locates we have to cross, but since our bores are short, and we come into an open pit, you can get it done pretty quick." While some of the students going through the training were drilling novices, others had been on the job several years. Still others were sent by their firms to become company HDD trainers. Knowledge gaps Regardless of the experience stu- dents bring to class, there are still gaps in their learning. For student Aaron Adcox, also with Atmos En- ergy and Reed's teammate, the drill represented the biggest challenge, simply because he hadn't drilled before. "T.J. went over the drill controls with me one night and we worked on it for a couple of hours," Adcox says. One of the biggest knowledge gaps the trainers have seen with students – both novice and expe- rienced – is understanding pitch. "A lot of guys have a hard time un- derstanding what 'take 10 percent out of the rod' means and how that correlates to depth," Vroom says. Adcox echoes this. "When they talked about '10 percent,' I didn't understand it. But when they actu- ally drew it out on the plan, you can see the steps." It's a lesson May 2016 | EquipmentWorld.com 50 training | continued What's taught HDD safety • Recommended operator and safety guidelines • Recognizing unsafe behaviors • Utility strike procedures Jobsite evaluation/setup • Positioning of mud mixing system, pits, etc. • Machine transport • Communicating with the public Utility locating, including best practices in: • Potholing • Vacuum excavation of located utility Drilling fluid testing/mixing/ best practices • Fluid types, viscosity levels Drilling/pullback • Completing a bore plan • Drill head locating Equipment care/maintenance • Drill maintenance and inspection • Maintenance impact on machine performance and wear Over the course of two weeks, each student will have about 26 hours each both operat- ing a drill and running a locator. The first week, students get over-the-shoulder training. The second week, with trainers close by, they're on their own. Here, Dan Vroom (left) instructs T. J. Reed with Atmos Energy.