Altec Sentry – Incident Prevention Magazine Spotlight

Phil Doud, Sentry Program Manager for Altec, joined Kurt Moreland of Incident Prevention Magazine for an interview regarding Altec Sentry, its training options, OSHA and ANSI standards and how the pandemic has impacted in-person training options.

To start the interview, Kurt asked, “You know we all see those beautiful Altec bucket trucks around town working hard but tell us about Altec Sentry. Exactly what is Altec Sentry, and what do they do?”

Altec Sentry has been serving customers for 20 years, helping customers train their operators to operate their Altec equipment safely. Training is offered in-person, online, or through Train the Trainer programs, where Altec teaches an in-house trainer at the company, who will then train its employees.

OSHA and ANSI Standards

When asked about one question he would ask equipment operators, Doud replied, “We have this conversation a lot. I usually ask, ‘if you needed to, could you reach into a training file and find an employee training record that you know is going to meet OSHA and ANSI training requirements?’”

For the electric utility industry, OSHA requires employers to train their employees properly. Although ANSI standards aren’t regulatory, OSHA can look to ANSI’s industry standards as a reference when they need to decide whether the employer administered proper training.

“Training improperly can be almost as bad as not training at all,” said Doud. “I think the connection there is that OSHA is going to look at the ANSI standards, and that’s been true for quite some time, just not as well-known perhaps as what people read strictly in OSHA.”

When it comes to how utility companies train operators, there’s a lot of variation. According to Doud, employers and operators may struggle to implement a consistent training process. Altec Sentry helps customers have that conversation to understand where they are and determine what solution will work for them.

No matter the size of the customer, they first need to assess where they are relative to ANSI training standards, which helps them determine if they have the resources in place and measure that against their current needs.

“I’ve got to say, in my experience, it’s pretty unusual for a customer to call with a great, solid understanding of those ANSI training requirements,” said Doud. “It’s not the most exciting topic in the world and that knowledge is kind of hard to find. We want to help them understand the regulations and get in front of them the right information so they can make an informed decision when they decide to start building resources or spending money.”

Training Before and After the Pandemic

Kurt then directed the conversation toward the pandemic, how it affected in-person training, and what Altec Sentry is doing in the online training realm.

Since 2016, Altec Sentry has offered online core operator, unit operating procedure and basic operational courses. These courses cover Altec’s entire range of products, including utility, tree care, lights and signs and cranes. Mechanic training courses and live webinars were added earlier this year.

For Altec Sentry, safety is everything, and that includes keeping customers safe during the pandemic.

Phil spoke about the value of online training, both before and during the pandemic. Customers are looking for ways to reduce in-person classroom time and are turning to online training courses now more than ever. However, Doud mentions that ultimately, you need actual hands-on experience operating the equipment. To facilitate this remotely, Sentry offers virtual training options that allow instructors to monitor online.

“We recognize there are certain conditions that have to be in place to keep safety in mind when we aren’t able to be there in person. But you know, ultimately, we find that customers that we can travel to prefer to have an in-person option with the proper precautions in place,” said Doud. “But we have worked it both ways – we’ve delivered virtual training to some of our more remote customers, and it’s been successful.”

Altec Sentry’s primary in-person offering is a direct training product for aerials and digger derricks. These one-day formats host up to 15 people in a class. Sentry Instructors facilitate classroom sessions and lead the hands-on training, evaluating attendees on how well they can operate the controls. Sentry’s trainers are there to answer questions and make sure students know how their equipment is intended to work.

Training that Covers a Wide Range of Needs

Altec Sentry trains at small and medium-sized companies, large utilities, tree trimmers, contractors, public works, and municipalities. They also want to provide safety training to Altec equipment users who may not have purchased the equipment directly from Altec. For example, if a contractor buys an Altec truck at an auction, they still are able to receive Altec Sentry training.

“It doesn’t matter how you acquired your Altec unit, you know we hope you bought it from us, but as long as you’ve got one, you’re in the Altec family,” said Doud. “We’ll come to you and set up training that meets your needs and your schedule, and that’s part of the total Altec value that Altec Sentry brings, right alongside Supply, Parts and Service and all the other things you can get by giving us a call.”

Phil mentioned that in the past few days before the interview, he received at least half a dozen requests from customers who had never contacted Altec before, and their request for training is the first time they’ve reached out to the manufacturer. Altec Sentry’s trainers are often an employers’ first contact with Altec, so trainers make sure they can answer any questions or find answers quickly and give employers a complete understanding of how their equipment is intended to work.

“We really want to be an ambassador for the equipment and establish that relationship in the right way, get that safety message out there, and help people take full advantage of the equipment they bought,” said Doud.

Visit Altec Sentry’s website to access operator safety and maintenance courses. For questions about Sentry training or to register for a class, email sentrypost@altec.com.