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Training High Pressure Water Blasters to Become Experts (Part One of Two)

Picture of thompson_admin thompson_admin Jan 28, 2015 3:20:00 AM

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Here’s the goal: Train high pressure water blasting personnel to become experts in their profession such that they’re ready to handle whatever challenges an industrial cleaning client can present. Reaching that goal is very difficult, as you can imagine, but it is possible. We need to train those technicians thoroughly in real-lifesituations, but without making our valued clients “guinea pigs” and putting our personnel or their equipment at risk. At Thompson Industrial Services, we came up with a unique solution to this puzzle. In a special two-part series, we show you how it works. Seizing an Opportunity Over a decade ago, our training managers used the outside-the-box thinking that has set our company apart from its competitors to build a unique training module. They assembled the module by buying or receiving donated pieces of equipment from clients, then combining them into a mock-up structure that can replicate many of the difficult situations that our technicians and supervisors encounter in the field. Our trainees can practice high pressure water blasting and other cleaning techniques in the module, such as blasting concrete from various piping configurations while learning from their mistakes under strict supervision—building their skills without experimenting on clients’ equipment. A Module is Worth a Thousand Words Sitting in a classroom, memorizing procedures, and taking notes is one kind of training, and it has its value. But our trainers actually learn a lot about the trainees when they step into our module and begin using high pressure water blasting equipment under a myriad of conditions and environments. For instance, they may discover that a technician has a hard time focusing when he finds himself in an enclosed space. If claustrophobia or a fear of heights is an issue for a hydro blasting technician, we need to know that before we put him into the field. In our next blogpost, we will discuss some specific benefits of the training module and how it helps us assure each client that the technicians using high pressure water blasting on their equipment are fully prepared for the job.

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