Eyes Underground

Contractors describe their favorite techniques for selecting, grooming and training high-quality pipeline video inspection operators

It can be tough to attract and train high-quality inspection operators. The position requires a unique combination of precision skills, and because the equipment represents a sizeable investment, contractors want to make sure their operators maximize productivity.

Business owners find inspection operators through a variety of channels, including word-of-mouth referrals or promotion from within the company. They also look for a wide range of aptitudes and skills to fill this demanding and critical position. Here’s what three contractors do to make sure they find the right person for the job.

“First of all, we like to get inspection operators started on the sewer-cleaning end of it, so they understand the cleaning process,” says Mark Maurier, president of Cam-Trac Inspection Services Ltd., Legal, Alb.

“Understanding the cleaning process is a big portion of camera inspection because you need to know what’s in the line and the severity of the line’s condition. By doing this first, you’ll understand about sags, roots and deterioration in the pipe when you do an actual inspection.

“We like to have them spend three or four weeks on the cleaning trucks so they can understand it. Then, once they start to do the camera work, they can tell the flushing operator that he’s going too fast on the cleaning and leaving debris behind, for example, or to slow down and use a different nozzle for the different application.

“We also require operators to complete a Pipeline Assessment Certification Program. A lot of our municipal clients are requesting that operators be certified in PACP. It ensures uniformity of skills and helps them understand what the codes mean.

“We like to do the PACP training first. That way, once they’re ready to move on to the camera system, they’ll have the PACP to guide them through. They can look at a fracture in the pipe and go back to a manual from PACP and make a decision if it’s a fracture or a light crack. It gives them some guidance.

“Then we take them out with an experienced operator. That operator sits behind the trainee and guides them through the process and reviews the video. If there’s an area in town we want to inspect, we’ll start at the upstream manhole and work our way down and try to bring all the inspections down to the lower end.

“Operators in training get supervised for two to three months, depending on how fast they pick it up. Some will pick it up in two months and others may take an extra month. Our customers look for experienced operators, so we spell out to them the steps we take in training. Plus, providing quality work ensures more jobs down the road.”

“To find inspection operators, we look for someone with mechanical and electrical aptitude,” says Bobby Chesnut, co-owner of Pipe Eyes LLC in Louisville, Ky. “They don’t need professional training, but you want someone who can do simple maintenance and who will show up every day. Drug testing is a big thing. It’s difficult to find someone with all those attributes and who’s also willing to put in a hard day’s work.

“It helps that the younger generation nowadays has great eye-hand coordination from playing computer games. Operating a pan-and-tilt camera is a lot like a joystick on a computer game. You have to be able to maneuver things. It’s second nature to kids these days. But the more critical thing, because of the technicality of what’s going on, is the aptitude in mechanics and electronics. For instance, it goes a long way if they understand continuity and how to check a wire to make sure it’s good. The rest of it, you can learn.

“Probably the next hardest thing is to find someone who also has a sense of computers, because operators are being asked to do more and more with computers every day in the field. They need to move files, do data transfers. They have to understand codes and know that re-booting a computer doesn’t mean kick it across the room!

“To find guys like that, I talk to my own employees who have friends that are good at that. It’s sad that this industry doesn’t have a formal training ground, like with truck drivers. Sewers are out there in the ground, and the only way to learn about them is through experience. If they have the qualities we’re looking for, we start them at the back door. A mentor of mine always said find what a man doesn’t like, then give him plenty of it. If he doesn’t like to do certain things, but still does them, then he’s worth keeping.

“You have to put trainees with someone more experienced because that’s the only way for them to learn. A lot of it is on-the-job training. You can’t sit in front of a TV screen and show them every possible defect they’re going to see. You have to teach them to use a little bit of logic. You teach them about the pipes, and how pipes flow and how they’re put together – give them a history through your knowledge and background. It might take a year or two, because there’s so much to learn. Every job is so different.”

“We usually promote from within, so we look for someone who’s well organized, pays attention to detail, is mechanically inclined, is proficient with computers, and takes good care of the equipment,” says Mike Frailing, safety director and training coordinator for Visu-Sewer Inc. in Pewaukee, Wis.

“After we select someone, we have him sit with a camera crew and observe. Typically, he’s already spent time at the bottom end as a jet truck operator, assisting a camera operator. Some guys work out well quickly, and some guys have to grow into it. For others, the electronics is too much for them.

“The trainee watches for a while – maybe two, three or four weeks – under the direct supervision of a TV operator. At some point in time, they also take a two-day PACP course and get certified.

“When everyone feels comfortable releasing him into the field on his own, we let him take on easy, basic jobs – maybe a one-day cleaning and TV job, or a new construction acceptance job. During this time, a supervisor stays with him a little more than usual, keeping an eye on him.

Though they now understand the basics, new operators still need to get a feel for what’s too much detail and what’s not enough. Experienced operators can walk that fine line – what might be a sag in a pipe and what might not. All defects should be noted, but it’s how you note them that makes a difference.

“Hiring from within keeps everything more uniform. We have hired operators off the street, but because every company has its own methods and systems, trying to get someone to switch over to new methods is often difficult.”



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