Old Dogs/Young Pups: Balancing Experience and New Technology

Written by Paul F. Hahn

Created on Sunday, 29 November 2009 10:33

Most companies are made up of a diverse group of workers with varying experiences and different strengths and weaknesses.  This is a blessing when it comes to adopting new, productivity-enhancing technologies, like machine control.  I am sure most companies have established mentoring programs in place, but here are a few observations from my experiences that may be of help:

I am an old dog now, used to be a young pup and only made it as far as I did due some wonderful mentors. As a young pup construction surveyor I put a couple of buildings in the wrong place (could have done more, given more time), but eventually learned from my mistakes thanks to the guidance of my mentors. But as young pups do, I also brought some unique energy and new insight to the job. 

Young pups are basically fearless, if perhaps overly-confident.  They embrace new technology and new thinking.  They want to make their mark and have endless energy to prove their value. They are open-minded, willing to take chances and try new approaches.  They are more familiar with computers, software, advanced techniques and technology. These are all valuable attributes for a forward-looking company.

Old dogs have extensive experiences and time-tested techniques that are field- tested and proven. They are solid and reliable, with formidable track records. They have been there, done that and have a closet full of tee shirts. Yet they can get stuck in their methodologies and do not embrace change the way their younger colleagues do.

Working as a team these two groups can bring great value to the company, if they embrace technology advancements together; each bringing to the plate their unique strengths.

If the old dogs don’t dismiss the young pups out of hand, but rather work to mentor them in the right directions much will be gained.  When it comes to machine control issues and data preparation a lot of knowledge is required, but much already exists within the company in terms of experience. By providing as much cross training as possible, the young pups can more rapidly gain the wisdom that alerts them when something just doesn’t look right (this is a skill that the old dogs have acquired through years of experience.)  If you have a hot-shot young computer wiz, I would recommend that you put him or her in the cab, send them out with the surveyors, include them in meetings with the engineers and any other cross-training opportunities that apply.  This will not only benefit them, but the company as well.  Getting the “big picture” takes time and experience, but the more opportunities to glimpse that picture, the sooner it will come. (And with young pups; it is what they don’t see that most often bites them.)  To this point, I have seen an over-reliance in technology as a weakness of the young.  I recall a discussion with a young CAD operator about a wrong dimension on the plans he was producing.  He defended the data as “the computer said so”. Teaching them to step back and question if the data looks and feels right is valuable mentoring and will prevent expensive mistakes on the job site.

Of all the errors that occur on a job site; blunders are the most expensive and severe.  They come from bad assumptions or lack of experience much more often than from a lack of attention-to-details or fatigue.  Good mentoring and oversight can prevent most blunders from occurring.

At the same time that the old are teaching the young, they will be strengthened too.  New perspectives will be learned, fear of the new will be reduced.  A common set of terminology and methodology will be established and rapport increased.  Combining the strengths of the old dogs and young pups will provide a smooth transition into new technology that will strengthen the company’s competitiveness and profitability.

Machine control in particular, is not so daunting.  Old-time operators report that they are comfortable in days, if not hours, with the new systems. Long-time construction surveyors already know and understand site calibration concepts and site control issues, are familiar with Digital Terrain Models and earthwork quantity calculations.  Your other personnel are already familiar with project phasing and earth moving techniques that apply when using machine control.  So this article is more general to the process of mentoring. If you have that young pup in mind that you are considering for the hub for your new technology adaptation; be sure to support them with the necessary tools to succeed, most of which already exist in your collective knowledge base. Don’t assume the other group knows what you do or vice versa.  Communication and open mindedness are the keys. It will be a team effort in which everyone wins.

Related Articles:
The Value of Training
Training Resources for 3D Machine Control and Data Prep as researched by MachineControlOnline.com 

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