NLO Training

[GatorNuke007]

I am scheduled to start my training to be an aux operator on June 13th. I am starting the class late and was told I would be on a self paced training program until I catch up with everyone else and start systems training in August. I was wondering the difficulty of the training program to become an auxiliary operator and what are some things I could study to prepare myself ahead of time.

[Cycoticpenguin]

I am getting paid to stay awake in class.


Others have to pay attention.

Long story short -> depends on your existing level on knowledge of fundamentals.  Dont sweat it dude.

[drayer54]

I am getting paid to stay awake in class.


Others have to pay attention.

Long story short -> depends on your existing level on knowledge of fundamentals.  Dont sweat it dude.

We need an emoticon that indicates a sarcastic bow down...
I'm sure you are doing just fine......

[Cycoticpenguin]

We need an emoticon that indicates a sarcastic bow down...
I'm sure you are doing just fine......

Besides one other guy, no one has looked at math in 10-12 years. They will have difficulties in the future, but they should be fine. Coming right out of the navy into the program is probably the most "painless" method. We dont have any college kids in my class, which is strange to me.  Me and another dude are 24, the rest are 35+, which is also strange to me O.o

[GatorNuke007]

Thanks my friend said they are learning fractions right now I hope that is the type of stuff I can look forward to.

[Cycoticpenguin]

Well I'll put it like this. I aced the math test. 2 failed, 2 barely passed and got points.

It really boils down to your baseline level of knowledge. Prior nukes have a HUGE leg up with getting through power school.


My opinion? If you're worried about it, get your butt on a computer and get to learning   go to your training folder and just go through the lessons. If you have problems understanding things, go to your training office, they WILL help you.

[NuclearLightOrchestra]

Listen to what Mr. Murphy has to say.  Your instructors are there for a reason, it looks bad on them if you fail.  Go to them if you have any kind of question.  If they don't know the answer, they will do the work for you to find the answer and make sure that you can apply it.

Take the time to draw and understand every system they throw at you.  It's not hard to remember the psid's, temp's, and levels that make automatic functions happen.  Look at it long enough and it's second nature.  Just make sure you can draw the system.  I can't stress it enough.  If you can draw it, you will remember everything else.  I know it sucks to sit and draw systems over and over, but it will go a long way to get you past being an apprentice.  I honestly wish I spent more time drawing systems.  I made it through training shooting from the hip.  I'm not ex-NAVY nor a college graduate, just a guy that put blue in the toilets and did a lot of decon work.  OPS is quite possibly the best job on the planet, consider yourself lucky and grab it by the balls.  If your plant is anything like mine, there is nothing keeping you from moving up the corporate ladder except for hard work and knowledge. Don't be afraid to ask questions.  It is YOU that is the eyes, ears, and nose of the plant.  It's up to you to make the best of it, and to be a good operator.

[Pman52]

Listen to what Mr. Murphy has to say.  Your instructors are there for a reason, it looks bad on them if you fail.  Go to them if you have any kind of question.  If they don't know the answer, they will do the work for you to find the answer and make sure that you can apply it.

Take the time to draw and understand every system they throw at you.  It's not hard to remember the psid's, temp's, and levels that make automatic functions happen.  Look at it long enough and it's second nature.  Just make sure you can draw the system.  I can't stress it enough.  If you can draw it, you will remember everything else.  I know it sucks to sit and draw systems over and over, but it will go a long way to get you past being an apprentice.  I honestly wish I spent more time drawing systems.  I made it through training shooting from the hip.  I'm not ex-NAVY nor a college graduate, just a guy that put blue in the toilets and did a lot of decon work.  OPS is quite possibly the best job on the planet, consider yourself lucky and grab it by the balls.  If your plant is anything like mine, there is nothing keeping you from moving up the corporate ladder except for hard work and knowledge. Don't be afraid to ask questions.  It is YOU that is the eyes, ears, and nose of the plant.  It's up to you to make the best of it, and to be a good operator.

It's a post like this that puts a smile on my face and makes me happy that I am pursuing this industry for a career in operations.  I don't want to get all mushy here, but I am glad that you have shared your passion for operations with us.  Like I said, posts like this one make me want to get into a plant and start learning.  I can't wait!  I look forward to the first day of class!

Thanks for sharing sir!

[JustinHEMI05]

Enough of the sappy touchy feely BS. We are talking OPs here, not RadPro.

Justin

[Pman52]

Enough of the sappy touchy feely BS. We are talking OPs here, not RadPro.

Justin

LOL sorry Justin...my bad.   

Back to the good discussion on training.  I know that it has been brought up before that most utilities urge you to do system walk downs with other qualified NLOs as you are in the classroom portion of training.  Is that something that you can do whenever you feel it is needed?  In other words, lets say you want to spend some time in the plant once you start training.  Do they ever have a problem with you spending "excessive time" in your plant?  (obviously obeying rules and staying out of the areas where you would pick up significant dose)

[Captain America]

I am scheduled to start my training to be an aux operator on June 13th. I am starting the class late and was told I would be on a self paced training program until I catch up with everyone else and start systems training in August. I was wondering the difficulty of the training program to become an auxiliary operator and what are some things I could study to prepare myself ahead of time.

The best way to get your skills up to par is to study the DOE Handbooks regarding Fundamentals.

DOE Handbook homepage:
http://www.hss.energy.gov/nuclearsafety/ns/techstds/standard/standard.html

Click on the fundamental handbook (link) you wish to view to get to that particular handbook.

Examples
DOE-HDBK-1010-92   DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Classical Physics (142 pages)

DOE-HDBK-1011/1-92   DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Electrical Science, Volume 1 of 4 (166 pages)

DOE-HDBK-1011/2-92   DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Electrical Science, Volume 2 of 4 (118 pages)

DOE-HDBK-1011/3-92   DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Electrical Science, Volume 3 of 4 (126 pages)

DOE-HDBK-1011/4-92   DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Electrical Science, Volume 4 of 4 (142 pages)

DOE-HDBK-1012/1-92   DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, and Fluid Flow, Volume 1 of 3 (138 pages)

DOE-HDBK-1012/2-92   DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, and Fluid Flow, Volume 2 of 3 (80 pages)

DOE-HDBK-1012/3-92   DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer, and Fluid Flow, Volume 3 of 3 (82 pages)

DOE-HDBK-1013/1-92   DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Instrumentation and Control, Volume 1 of 2 (132 pages)

DOE-HDBK-1013/2-92   DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Instrumentation and Control, Volume 2 of 2 (168 pages)

DOE-HDBK-1014/1-92   DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Mathematics Volume 1 of 2 (206 pages)

DOE-HDBK-1014/2-92   DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Mathematics Volume 2 of 2 (112 pages)

DOE-HDBK-1015/1-93   DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Chemistry, Volume 1 of 2 (140 pages)

DOE-HDBK-1015/2-93   DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Chemistry, Volume 2 of 2 (138 pages)

DOE-HDBK-1016/1-93   DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Engineering Symbology, Prints, and Drawings, Volume 1 of 2 (120 pages)

DOE-HDBK-1016/2-93   DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Engineering Symbology, Prints, and Drawings, Volume 2 of 2 (96 pages)

DOE-HDBK-1017/1-93   DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Material Science, Volume 1 of 2 (102 pages)

DOE-HDBK-1017/2-93   DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Material Science, Volume 2 of 2 (112 pages)

DOE-HDBK-1018/1-93   DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Mechanical Science, Volume 1 of 2 (139 pages)

DOE-HDBK-1018/2-93   DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Mechanical Science, Volume 2 of 2 (130 pages)

DOE-HDBK-1019/1-93   DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Nuclear Physics and Reactor Theory, Volume 1 of 2 (142 pages)

DOE-HDBK-1019/2-93   DOE Fundamentals Handbook, Nuclear Physics and Reactor Theory, Volume 2 of 2 (128 pages)

On top of Fundamentals, as a(n) NLO / AUO / etc, you should know plant geography forwards and backwards.  This is the most important key to your success.  You can not do your job, as a NLO, if you don't know where to go to do it.  So, get in the plant and walk systems down.  You've got plenty of time.  Start shadowing the Qualified NLO's and asking questions.

You are responsible for your own success.  It starts with fundamentals and system geography.

[Bleyse]

LOL sorry Justin...my bad.  

Back to the good discussion on training.  I know that it has been brought up before that most utilities urge you to do system walk downs with other qualified NLOs as you are in the classroom portion of training.  Is that something that you can do whenever you feel it is needed?  In other words, lets say you want to spend some time in the plant once you start training.  Do they ever have a problem with you spending "excessive time" in your plant?  (obviously obeying rules and staying out of the areas where you would pick up significant dose)

Since the NLO job is in the plant, it was heavily encouraged that students spend as much time as possible in the plant (with or without qualified NLO) while I was coming through the program.  Learning where everything is in the plant is equally as important (if not more so) than learning all those obscure set points and interlocks for being a good NLO.

[Pman52]

Since the NLO job is in the plant, it was heavily encouraged that students spend as much time as possible in the plant (with or without qualified NLO) while I was coming through the program.  Learning where everything is in the plant is equally as important (if not more so) than learning all those obscure set points and interlocks for being a good NLO.

So after class gets over, feel free to hang around and walk with the people on shift kind of mentality? 

[JustinHEMI05]

Yes but... keep an eye on your time.

You can't work for free, even if you want to... and at my two sites, they wouldn't pay you over time.

However, class rarely went all day, and the rest of the time was self study, where you could go to the plant.

Justin

[Bleyse]

So after class gets over, feel free to hang around and walk with the people on shift kind of mentality? 

If you've got a badge with UA you should be able to go look at whatever you want (within reason, no hi rad/contaminated areas).  You can definitely learn a lot by following a NLO around, but if everyone is too busy or they don't want an observer don't be afraid to go and look at stuff on your own.

As far as Justin's comment goes, I guess it varies from site to site.  At my plant you could spend all the time you wanted looking at stuff.  You could spend time beyond your scheduled 8 hour day looking at stuff if you really want to, but they won't pay overtime to students.  YMMV

[Pman52]

Thank you both for your insight.

I guess in the end it really depends on the plant and management's rules about the extra time spent and if OT will be paid/not paid.

[GatorNuke007]

Thanks for all the help I will look over the fundamentals handbooks and get studying.

[JustinHEMI05]

Thank you both for your insight.

I guess in the end it really depends on the plant and management's rules about the extra time spent and if OT will be paid/not paid.

Yup pretty much. Good luck!

[Cycoticpenguin]

(it's not always rainbows and fuzzy bunnies in radpro)

wait, its not? Darn....