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Equipment Operators Training unit named
ITD Safety Team of the Year

The Equipment Operators Training Program (EOTP), generated as a Tiger Team and featured at the 2018 Leadership Summit, was honored as the Safety Team of the Year Oct. 17 at the Idaho Transportation Board meeting. The EOTP is spearheaded on a day-to-day basis by Mike Stowell, an Equipment Operator Trainer from D4, and Chris Cunningham, an Equipment Operator Trainer from D3.

“The program would not be as viable without their hard work, motivation and the belief this program influences our culture, safety and the mobility of our employees,” said D4’s Amanda Regnier, who nominated the team. “They each continually demonstrate their commitment to the employees, districts and state they serve by providing consistent value-added training.”

Stowell and Cunningham consistently incorporate feedback to improve the course and develop tools for employees. This enhances safety for employees working around equipment, and also improves their awareness of potential safety hazards.

“The Equipment Operator Training Program provides ITD with a ‘One Right Way’ training program that positively impacts employees, provides them with the confidence to operate equipment efficiently, and contributes to providing a safe work environment for those employees while they are operating near the traveling public,” Regnier wrote in her nomination.

Feedback from recent Dump Truck, Loader and Snowplow courses completed in D1 indicate the training was “informative and very well taught,” provided a great learning experience for new and older ITD employees, and that the hands-on experience was very helpful in getting familiar with new equipment. Even employees who had been with ITD for some time shared that they “learned quite a bit” from the training.

A recent Backhoe, Mini Excavator and Trench safety course included valuable time spent “in the seat,” learning the fundamentals of utility trench digging, how to manipulate the controls to perform different types of digs, and being provided hands-on experience in the field. Attendees said they most valued the real-life scenarios provided to further develop skills, great instructors that delivered the training in a professional manner, were very knowledgeable and easy to approach.

Several employees responded the same way to the question what was your biggest take away?

“Safety.”