Learning and development process for Stone quarries: a ladder from feeder hand to plant operator
A crusher plant stops when the one person who can read the screen is away. Task-by-task sign-offs along a ladder from feeder to operator spread the knowledge across the shift.
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Share your requirementsWhy learning and development process matters in stone quarries
In many stone quarries the plant operator learned by watching and has never written down what he knows. The feeder hand moves rocks, the screen hand sweeps the belt, and only one man understands why the output turned coarse. When he is sick, someone is sent to find a fitter, and the plant waits.
The remedy is small steps. List the tasks at each stage of the line, for example clearing a blocked chute, changing a screen mesh, starting and stopping in order. When the operator has watched a hand do a task properly, he signs it with a date. A five minute talk at shift start on one fault does more than a yearly lecture.
How to set it up
1. List tasks at each station
For feeder, screen, conveyor and crusher, write the tasks in plain words. Keep it to a page for each station.
2. Sign off task by task
The plant operator watches the hand do the task and signs a card with a date. Unsigned tasks are practised, not assumed.
3. Rotate people through stations
Each month, move a hand through another station for a week, so more people know how the line fits together.
4. Use shift-start talks
Take five minutes on one fault, one safety point or one recent stoppage, and keep a note of who attended.
5. Link the ladder to pay and role
Let those who reach plant operator or loader level move into the higher grade, as shown in your pay scheme. The learning and development process page explains how we would help.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Ask who can start and stop the plant in the right order when the operator is away.
- Check that the sign-off card for each hand has dates and a name.
- Count how many hands can work at more than one station.
- Look at the last three plant stoppages and note what skill was missing.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach learning and development process in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
Give supervised hours on the machine with the senior operator, start with simple loading tasks and widen gradually. Sign off each stage. Never put a trainee alone on a loaded truck line before they are ready.
Not always. A senior operator can teach the daily tasks. Outside help suits safety, supervision and communication topics. Choose what your own people cannot teach.
It depends on the person and the plant. Do not set a fixed time. Use task sign-offs as the measure, and move a hand up when the senior operator is satisfied.