In the early 1990s, the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) was the first DOT in the U.S. to require training for installation of roadside hardware and crash cushions. At that time, Road Systems Inc. had not yet been formed—but RSI employees who were with other companies at the time partnered with the Indiana DOT in their training efforts.
That partnership continues today, as the Indiana DOT is now using RSI’s online training for those involved in the installation, inspection, and maintenance of MASH Guardrail Terminals as the model of how training should be done in the future.
Given the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic—which required INDOT to institute something other than in-person training to meet their two-year recertification of DOT Construction, DOT Maintenance, and Installing Contractors—RSI was well-positioned to help INDOT meet this training recertification with its online training courses.
Derrick Hauser, INDOT Field Engineer said, “The Department found RSI’s online training to be comprehensive and able to fully meet the Department’s requirement for the recertification process.” DOT upper management took the training themselves before adopting it. They expressed appreciation for the fact that each portion of the course had to be completed before moving on to the next lesson.
In the Indiana DOT’s view, RSI online training was far better in its conception and went much more smoothly than that of other manufacturers. Others did not have an online training program comparable to what RSI was offering, and there was difficulty accommodating what they were proposing.
Mr. Hauser also noted he “liked the option of having personnel do ‘rainy-day’ training at a moment’s notice; that is, when crews can’t work in the field because of weather. This is very helpful for new hires as well as for their internal scheduling.”
INDOT also especially liked the fact that the course offered a test, and that as soon as participants completed the training, they immediately received completion-of-training certificates from the contractors.
The advantages of RSI’s online training became evident when compared with other manufacturers who only had webinars to offer. Some manufacturers would not allow the recording of the presentations to be used at a later date. And of course, one major problem with live webinars is getting everyone together on a particular day at a particular time.
By contrast, the DOT Maintenance Section liked the option of the RSI online training being available at any time during the day, any day of the week.
Indiana has not been the only state to make use of RSI’s online training. Other DOTs, as well as many contractors, have experienced the same benefits while fulfilling their MASH Guardrail Terminal training requirements.
RSI online training is available for its MSKT (tangent) and MFLEAT (flared) W-Beam guardrail terminals, and also for the MBEAT (box beam) terminal.
