I Am An American Locator

“One thing we all understand is the importance of video, how it’s really its own language and can enable us to reach people at all different knowledge levels”
-Planet Underground

Why is it the right time for a new way to learn?
As the new pandemic has forced a change in the way that new ideas are communicated, in how education and training takes place, moving from in-person interactions to more virtual landscapes, Planet Underground is meeting this challenge by addressing some core needs for professionals in the underground utility industry. Topics addressed include: locating instruments, tickets and utility maps, utility map training and basic utility training.

Here we present a preview of these online and video-based training systems under development. These are products designed to translate and provide some of that same type of peer-to peer interaction and hands-on level of education and ideas communication offered at events like The Roundtable and The Roundtable Live!. They will also provide an enduring, valuable educational reference tool that can be accessed again and again as needed, utilized in the field, and help retention of key concepts in locating and utility systems. The educational team at Planet Underground recognizes that everyone learns differently, at different rates and in different ways, and we hope to offer some live streaming and video tools that will offer the best of all worlds to each unique learner at their unique stage of utility systems training.

Some quotes from our video training team:
“We’re providing new information, but also need to help some people unlearn incorrect ways of doing things.”- Kevin Dwyer

“Having a video and being able to look back on it and just take your time to understand it, using it as a refresher—is just so valuable.”- Kevin Dwyer

“This could be used as entry level training for anybody. The method of narration and how our diagrams work is not overly complicated.” -Sean Gloghessy

“Learning in class is valuable, but someone may not retain all that information once in the field, and this is probably one of the most important industries to do that in. You can forget something in math class and do poorly on a test, but if you fail a test in this industry, it could be life threatening.” -Sean Gloghessy

Let’s hear directly now from the developers of this new training material, Planet Underground President, Mike Parilac, and Staking University Lead Trainer, Paul Larkin, and learn a bit more on why and how this unique new learning system for utility professionals came into being. Why is it so important?