First Week Experience

Dean, check out our long running Flatbed Variety topic. This could be you sometime.

Did your company not have any securement training before you went out with the trainer?

Did your company not have any securement training before you went out with the trainer?

Nope. All OJT.

I dunno man, for flatbed that sounds kinda fly by night. Though I know it was hard to get an orientation during the virus. As long as your trainer is teaching, and you are doing things safely just try to swallow the pride and stick with it. Channel your inner jarhead an push through. Ask old school about his trainer. Brutal.

Dean thank you for your service. I too am former Navy and have great respect for marines. You have been through much worse in the service. Trainers come in all forms. Learn what you can from him and remember this is a temporary situation in the scheme of your career. Living in a truck with someone is very hard for everyone. My girlfriend works for me and we work together and there are times we get on each others nerves. Like you she is learning. Can she do things as quick and efficient as I can? No. But she is learning.

I think your company did a poor job getting you out there without classroom on securement. But, learn it, take pictures with your phone if needed for future reference. Youtube can also be useful sometimes. Just don’t do that around the trainer.

Old School and turtle can give you much better info specific to flatbedding.

Learn, listen, and get through it and move on.

Dean don't give up just yet. If you haven't yet approach your tainer and talk with him and clear the air so to speak. Find out what his expectations are for you and what's the plan for you to meet those expectations. You said in your post that basically your Training is all OJT so your company is expecting that you get the required training before you go solo. Since you have zero experience in load securement your trainer should be taking you through it step by step that's what the company is expecting from him. In the service your Drill Instructors didn't issue you a rifle Monday morning and have you sending rounds down range that afternoon. You learned the basic marksmanship fundemantals, disassembly, assembly of the rifle before one round was loaded and fired. So basically crawl, walk, run the same philosophy should apply to load securement. My back ground is training I've trained U.S. ,Iraqi, and Afghan soldiers and each took a unique approach to train some could master and task very quickly some took a bit longer but in the end I could confidently say that all met the required standard. There are good trainers and bad trainers out there no doubt about it. Remember back to Boot Camp you had good Drill Instructors and bad Drill Instructors the good ones would Teach, Coach, and Mentor the bad ones would not. I'm sure that you are not expecting your current trainer hold you by the hand and treat you like a 6 year old but be a professional and teach you the tools of the trade so you can become a successful flat bed driver. Yelling and screaming is nothing but counter productive! Again my perspective is from the training angle I'm not familiar with the particulars of flat bed side of the house. I'm sure some of the regulars on this forum with flat bed experience will chime in. Talking with your current trainer about your concerns will help you through your training time. Good luck and stick with it.

Dean one of the most important parts of becoming a top tier performer is communication.

I’m not going to sugar coat any of this...

Before going too much further you need to calmly and clearly communicate with your trainer so he understands what you need help with, why and find out from him the best way to address those needs. Second; realize part of his anger might be the lack of training you received on load securement. Ask him why he is irritated. Confront him in a professional manner. Don’t let this fester...

That said... he sounds like a hot head, however you will be dealing with all kinds of personalities out here, many of them unabashed jackasses, many (unfortunately) with the power to make your life miserable. It’s up to you to make adjustments that enable your overall success and sanity.

Whatever you do, please keep your cool.

Good luck!

...and one additional suggestion.

Your Mack has a detailed operators manual. I encourage you to review it, focusing on safety appliances like the engine brake...etc. It’s part of your job as a professional to know your equipment.

I had ZERO classroom securement training prior to going out with my trainers, and I'm glad for it. It would honestly be mostly a waste of time, in my opinion. The tips, tricks, tools and nuances of every different kind of load can really only be learned on the job, under the supervision of an experienced trainer. On a day-by-day basis, I would learn what to do under different circumstances.

Some things just can't be taught in a class.

However, once the OTR training was completed, and before upgrading to solo, I was required to attend a day securement class, which basically just reviewed and reinforced everything I learned on the road.

Dean don't give up just yet. If you haven't yet approach your tainer and talk with him and clear the air so to speak. Find out what his expectations are for you and what's the plan for you to meet those expectations. You said in your post that basically your Training is all OJT so your company is expecting that you get the required training before you go solo. Since you have zero experience in load securement your trainer should be taking you through it step by step that's what the company is expecting from him. In the service your Drill Instructors didn't issue you a rifle Monday morning and have you sending rounds down range that afternoon. You learned the basic marksmanship fundemantals, disassembly, assembly of the rifle before one round was loaded and fired. So basically crawl, walk, run the same philosophy should apply to load securement. My back ground is training I've trained U.S. ,Iraqi, and Afghan soldiers and each took a unique approach to train some could master and task very quickly some took a bit longer but in the end I could confidently say that all met the required standard. There are good trainers and bad trainers out there no doubt about it. Remember back to Boot Camp you had good Drill Instructors and bad Drill Instructors the good ones would Teach, Coach, and Mentor the bad ones would not. I'm sure that you are not expecting your current trainer hold you by the hand and treat you like a 6 year old but be a professional and teach you the tools of the trade so you can become a successful flat bed driver. Yelling and screaming is nothing but counter productive! Again my perspective is from the training angle I'm not familiar with the particulars of flat bed side of the house. I'm sure some of the regulars on this forum with flat bed experience will chime in. Talking with your current trainer about your concerns will help you through your training time. Good luck and stick with it.

Thanks for the encouragement Chris L. I'm going to learn what I can from someone who can't teach. Then get the you-know-what off of his truck.