Driving Takes Time, but How do you Train for Plowing?

Winter is just a few short months away, and that’s hard to believe during the warm months of summer. Looking at your staff, have you moved someone into a Single Axle Truck for plowing that has little experience plowing? How do you prepare these employees for this type of work?

MnDOT has a Mobile Driving Simulator that can help gain some experience for these inexperienced operators. The Driving Simulator can help with trouble shooting some motor issues, to checking mirrors, and watching plows. This is not actually operating out on the road, but a great starting point to see how people can handle multi-tasking during winter weather events.

This simulator will help develop operators in things such as: controlling speed, plowing around vehicles, and keeping control of their equipment.

 

Simulator Fact Sheet:

http://view.exacttarget.com/?qs=771c6a269a6cfce3009a9f694b904f0f54b00043cf44c11a76b0994a61b6cda6d190b579b4cc1d44a28620d98533849fb6308aa154511769531aa3762cb21ed135c4a886f5d36a8c

 

MnDOT Simulator Brochure:

http://www.mnltap.umn.edu/training/topic/maintenance/simulator/documents/simulator_brochure.pdf

 

Training Simulator Schedule:

http://www.mnltap.umn.edu/training/topic/maintenance/simulator/documents/simulator_schedule.pdf

 

And don’t forget about FirstNet Learning, which you can access through the League of Minnesota Cities for your additional training needs. New courses have recently been added for: Snow Plow Safety, Backhoe Safety with Trackhoe Supplement, Bulldozer Safety, Dump Truck Safety, Street Sweeper Safety, and Road Grader Safety. FirstNet is free to members of our Regional Safety Groups, or $19 per account for our members who are not a part of a Regional Safety Group. More information on FirstNet Learning can be found on our website here: https://www.lmc.org/page/1/FirstNetSafetyTraining.jsp  

 

By: Troy Walsh

Editors Note: Don't forget that the United States will experience a Solar Eclipse on Monday, August, 21st. Solar eclipses, can cause permanent eye damage if proper safety precautions are not taken. If you, or any of your staff or coworkers plan to be working outside during this event, please be mindful of the increased risk. It is never safe to look directly at the sun, even though the temptation may be to do so during the unique solar event. Anyone who plans to view the eclipse should either do so through a viewer, or only while wearing proper eye protection. You can read more about the requirements these viewers and viewing glasses on NASA's website here: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-recommends-safety-tips-to-view-the-august-solar-eclipse