U2's Trainer thread

There is quite a bit to get to, give me another day or two and I'll give you some thoughts on the recent questions.

 

My space, my rules. I'm certainly not unreasonable.

Shoes off in the bunk area. It's less dirt, and also it is an indicator if the other guy is still on board asleep when the truck stops for fuel, breaks, etc.

He is welcome to anything I have food wise, but ask first. Nothing irritates me more than to reach for something and it's gone... And it must be replaced in short order.

I don't sleep in his bedding, and he doesn't sleep on mine... Pillows included. The bed has a common blanket that our bedding goes on. Trainee has to keep his bunk readily available if I'm on duty and going to take a nap or rest (not cluttered) I'm not gonna kick him out of my bottom bunk unless its an extended planned stop.

I provide a empty cabinet and cubby for storage. There is some under bunk storage and I always suggest an old submariner trick I learned in the Navy... Socks, underwear, undershirts, jeans etc can be layed flat between the mattress and the bunk tray for storage.

No eating in bunk area. Yes the microwave and fridge are back there, but you take it up front to eat. No crumbs in my bed.

Ive got final say on all the truck decisions, but there are plenty of planning and situation decisions I let the trainee make. Depending on load delivery cushion, I'll give him a departure window, or he has the option of taking a two hour nap mid shift if he feels he needs it, or he can stop and eat at a "sit down" rather than fast food... Everything must fall within the requirements of the load.

If I'm on duty during delivery or pickup and I determine there is nothing new to be learned from that particular situation I will let the trainee know ahead of time to not bother with waking up. However, he is expected to get up for all other situations, and I never keep them up for one minute more than is needed.

 

Ran a level 2 simulation yesterday. Minus the actual checking the lights and basic physical inspect.

We had a broken mirror so I incorporated that into the simulated DOT conversation... Rather than pretend it was just a paperwork inspection.

Basically, I wanted to see exactly what paperwork he thought he should bring into the scale house and if he knew where it all was and what it was...

He had is med card, but forgot it "in the cab"

Busted him for not having approved his logs in two days, busted for being "off duty" 11+ hours while I was driving between AZ and TX.

Busted for incorrect inspection report. My post trip noted the mirror for two days, while his indicated absolutely nothing wrong with the truck in same time period...

Oh, he didn't know where his QC guide was for ELog... The one the DOT is supposed to reference if they need help with examining your log.