How To Use This

1

ONE CARD, ONE TASK

Each card is one task. Read it, run it, initial it. Turn the page.

2

HE DOES IT MEANS HE DOES IT

"HE DOES IT" means he does it — you watch. Don't initial because he nodded.

3

NO INITIALS = DIDN'T HAPPEN

A card with no initials didn't happen. He repeats it.

4

EVERY DAY ENDS IN A VERDICT

Each day ends with a circled verdict, texted to Adam by 5:00 PM. Cards 12 and 19.

Cards 1–12 are Day 1. Cards 13–19 are Day 2. Both days are on a live job.

The Point Of Doing This On A Job

There's no classroom and no practice pit. That's fine — a real job teaches this better than a yard ever did. He learns the tolerance zone standing on actual paint. He potholes a crossing the job needed anyway. The zone he sets is the zone the crew needed. Training uses the work instead of interrupting it.

But there's one honest trade, and it has to be named:

A producing crew will not stop for training unless somebody decides it will. In a yard the training was protected because nothing else was happening. On a job the bore is running and the clock is going, and the easiest thing in the world is to say "we'll cover that tomorrow."

Three things do not get skipped, no matter how the day is going

Card 4 (the seven rules, at the tailgate, before work starts) · Card 7 (he potholes one himself) · Card 9 (he signs the accountability page).

If the day eats those three, the day was a wash and he starts over tomorrow. Everything else can slide.

Day 1 — On The Job

Cards 1–12
Day 1 · Supervisor

THE NIGHT BEFORE

CARD 1
Sunday evening · 15 minutes · Supervisor
  1. Text him: "Confirming you start tomorrow 6:30 AM at [meet location]. Reply YES." No reply by 8 PM, call.
  2. Confirm he's in payroll as W-2 hourly and there's real work booked. If either is no, he doesn't start.
  3. Pick tomorrow's job on purpose. The best first day is a job with at least one utility crossing that has to be potholed — that's Card 7, and it has to be real work, not a demo.
  4. Pick the crossing he's going to hand-dig. Write it here:
  5. Tell the crew tonight that a new man is on the job tomorrow and the first two hours will be slower. Not a surprise at 6:30.
  6. Pull his PPE — hard hat, vest, glasses, gloves. No boots, he brings his own.
  7. Print this book with his name on it, plus his I-9 and the accountability page. Put it in the truck.
Done looks like
he's confirmed, the job has a crossing, the crossing is picked, and the crew knows.
☐ Card doneInitials Date
Day 1 · Supervisor

MEET HIM AT THE TRUCK

CARD 2
6:15–6:35 · 20 minutes · before anything rolls
You need: his folder, your phone camera.
  1. Be there before he is.
  2. Write down what time he actually showed up. Every day. This one number predicts everything.
  3. No work boots = he doesn't go to the job. Sent to get them, unpaid for the gap.
  4. Photograph his ID documents for the I-9. Write the deadline on his folder: 3 business days from today. No documents by day 3 = no day 4.
    • You do not tell him which documents to bring. He picks off the government's list, you accept what he brings. Keep the list page in the truck.
  5. Add him to the crew chat, right there.
  6. Hand him his PPE. All of it on before he gets in the truck.
  7. Say the deal out loud, same words every time:
    "You get paid hourly, every two weeks, direct deposit. First 60 days is a working evaluation. 6:30 means the truck rolls at 6:30, not you pulling in at 6:30. Everything here is written down — you'll never get in trouble for something nobody showed you. That's my job today."
Done looks like
boots on, PPE on, ID photographed with a deadline written down, in the crew chat.
☐ Card doneInitials Date
Day 1 · He does it

ROLL-OUT

CARD 3
6:35–7:00 · at the truck
You need: the truck and trailer he'll be riding on.
  1. HE DOES IT — the pre-trip, out loud, you listening: tires and lugs · lights and signals · under the truck for leaks · fluids · glass and mirrors · horn, belts, brakes · trailer plug · load secured.
  2. HE DOES IT — hooks up the trailer, whole sequence: coupler fully seated → latch closed and pinned → chains crossed under the tongue to the truck frame, never the bumper → breakaway cable to the frame → lights plugged and routed up off the ground → jack stowed → chocks out → test every light → check tires and load → walk around, pull forward a few feet, re-check.
  3. HE DOES IT — secures the load. Rated straps, heavy low and forward, nothing loose in the bed.
  4. He counts the safety load out loud and writes it on the truck log: 20 cones · 2 roll-up signs + stands · 4 delineators · 2 spare vests · 1 stop/slow paddle.
    "Counted out when we set up, counted back in when we close. A missing cone gets found or gets logged — it doesn't just disappear."
  5. Tell him where every tool lives on this truck as you load. "This truck does not roll dirty. Clean is a gate, not a preference."
Done looks like
he hooked the trailer with no prompting and every light worked on the test.
☐ PRE-TRIP☐ TRAILER☐ LOAD☐ LOADOUTInitials
Day 1 · Never skipped

THE SEVEN RULES, AT THE TAILGATE

CARD 4
On arrival · 30 minutes · before a single tool comes off the truck
NEVER skipped. NEVER shortened. NEVER handed to somebody else. This is the one that keeps him alive.
You need: the tailgate down and the crew standing there. Phones away — yours too.
Do this standing on the actual marks. That's the whole advantage of being on a job — point at real paint while you say it.
1. Marks are sacred. No marks, no dig. Never scrub out, cover, or re-paint somebody else's marks. Why: no marks means no ticket, and we're the ones who pay for the strike.
2. Tolerance zone = hand tools only. Within 24 inches either side of a mark, no machine touches the ground. Shave the dirt — don't stab down into it.
Point at a mark and show him the 24 inches with your boot. He'll never forget it.
3. Pothole before every crossing. Every time. Eyes on the line.
4. If you hit something — STOP, clear people back, and SAY SO right now.
Gas: everybody upwind and uphill. Call 911 first. Then me. Then 811.
Say this part word for word: "Hitting a line is a Tuesday. It happens to good people doing everything right, and you will not be fired for it. Covering it up is the end of your career here, same day."
5. Cones out before tools out. He's about to prove this on Card 6.
6. Never run a red-tagged machine. Not even to move it ten feet. Firing offense.
And: "If you think a machine is unsafe, you can stop it. Nobody will give you a hard time for that. Ever."
7. One caller. The Crew Lead talks to the customer, the inspector, the homeowner. He points them over and keeps working.
Then point at each one on this job: first aid kit · fire extinguisher · eyewash · where everybody meets if it goes bad.
Done looks like — all three
☐ Says the strike rule back in his own words, unprompted
☐ Says "24 inches" correctly
☐ Names who the one caller is on this job
☐ Card doneInitials Date
Day 1 · With the ticket

WALK THE JOB

CARD 5
Next 30 minutes · with the ticket in your hand
  1. Read the work order out loud together. What we're installing, how much, what finished looks like — and what we get paid on. By the foot? By the hole?
    By the end of today he should be able to say it. Knowing that is what separates a laborer from somebody who's going to run a crew.
  2. Walk the ticket against the marks. What's painted, what's missing, what's faded. Show him the positive responses. Teach the paint colors right here on real paint — quiz him until yellow and orange are instant.
  3. Point out every crossing on this job and say which ones get potholed. He repeats the count back.
  4. HE DOES IT — writes one line on the JSA himself and signs it with the crew. Not a spectator.
  5. Sewer laterals: walk the line of houses and have him point at where each lateral probably runs. "Those are on no ticket anywhere, and every house has one."
Done looks like
he can state what we get paid on, and he can point at where the sewer laterals run.
☐ Card doneInitials Date
Day 1 · He does it

SET THE ZONE

CARD 6
Before tools come off the truck
  1. Show him the taper — how cones lead traffic away, how spacing changes with the road.
  2. HE DOES IT — sets the full zone for this job, himself.
  3. You check the spacing and fix what's wrong out loud, so he learns the correction and not just the fix.
Done looks like
the real zone for a real job, set by him, before a tool came out.
☐ HE SET THE ZONEInitials Date
Day 1 · Never skipped

POTHOLE A REAL CROSSING

CARD 7
The crossing you picked on Card 1 · THE MOST IMPORTANT CARD OF DAY 1
You need: shovel, probe rod, tarp, and the crew to leave him alone for 30 minutes.
  1. You demonstrate first. Probe before you dig. Shave the dirt off in layers — never drive the shovel straight down. Spoil on the tarp, never on the marks.
  2. HE DOES IT — the whole hole, start to finish, you standing right there. Let him work. Correct what needs correcting; don't narrate the whole thing.
  3. He says out loud what he found: what utility, what depth, what condition.
  4. Photograph it exposed, before backfill. That photo is what saves us in a damage claim.
  5. Backfill in lifts, compacted. Show him what "sod plug saved" means and why the homeowner's yard is a money problem, not a looks problem.
Done looks like
utility exposed clean, no scratches on it, photographed, spoil on the tarp, backfilled in lifts.
This is real production. The hole had to be dug anyway — he dug it.
☐ HE POTHOLED ITInitials Date
Day 1 · Attached to one person

WORK THE JOB

CARD 8
Rest of the morning and afternoon · attached to one person
Name the person he's attached to, out loud, in front of him:
"The crew will keep an eye on him" is not an assignment.
Tell that man, in front of the hire:
"He's on you today. If you move, he moves. Tell him what you're doing while you're doing it — don't just do it in front of him."
What he MAY do today: carry, fetch, hand-dig, hold, watch, run the tape, keep the site clean, ask a lot of questions.
What he may NOT do today — no exceptions:
One thing to say to him mid-morning: "Here's your one job right now, and here's what good looks like."
☐ Buddy named and told☐ Mid-morning checkInitials
Day 1 · Never skipped

LUNCH AT THE TRUCK: HOW TROUBLE WORKS HERE

CARD 9
30 minutes · tailgate, eating · a classroom that costs nothing
You need: the accountability page and his signature.
  1. Walk it line by line. The three point classes, what adds up to what, and that points fall off after 90 days.
  2. Read the zero-tolerance list out loud, word for word. Don't paraphrase it. That's the "you're fired" list and he deserves to hear it exactly.
  3. Say the other half: "90 days clean and you get named in the Friday note, and you go to the front of the line for raises, lead spots, and the crew you want."
  4. Say the principle: "Nobody here gets written up for something that isn't written down." Hold up the book.
  5. HE SIGNS THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT. Collect it. Signing means "I was told," not "I agree."
Done looks like
signed page in your hand before the tailgate goes up. Nobody goes home without this.
☐ SIGNED AND COLLECTEDInitials Date
Day 1 · Assigned operator only

MACHINE WALK-AROUND

CARD 10
20 minutes · SKIP THIS CARD FIRST if the day is running long
You need: the machine's assigned operator standing there. Not a substitute.
The rule: every machine belongs to one operator. Only that man trains anybody on it. If he's busy running the bore, this card moves to another day. It does not get handed to whoever's free.
Machine:   Unit #:   Operator:
  1. Engine off — or standing well clear if the job can't stop it.
  2. The operator points at and names every place that machine can hurt somebody.
  3. Hire puts his hand on the emergency stop. Operator says how you kill it in three seconds.
  4. Operator names the 3 things that would make him refuse to run it today.
Done looks like
status is RESTRICTED — he may be near this machine only with its operator watching.
Nobody is cleared to run anything on day one. Ever. Cleared to run solo takes three watched runs on three different days.
☐ Card done — status RESTRICTEDInitials Date
☐ Skipped — moved to date:
Day 1 · He does it

CLOSE THE SITE

CARD 11
Last 30 minutes on site
  1. "If it isn't in a photo and on the DFR, it didn't happen — and we don't get paid for it."
  2. Walk the before / during / after set — what each photo has to show, and always something in frame that proves where it was taken.
  3. HE DOES IT — shoots the day's photo set and files it where it goes.
  4. HE DOES IT — fills out a Daily Field Report for today's real work. You check it. You don't fill it for him.
  5. Show him the bore log and crossing sheet. Falsifying one is a same-day firing. He doesn't fill one yet.
  6. He counts the safety load back in. Missing cone gets found or logged.
  7. He resets the truck. You score it 1–5 out loud. Tell him the Friday audit posts in the crew chat.
Done looks like
photo set filed, a DFR he wrote himself, loadout counted in, truck clean.
☐ PHOTOS☐ HIS OWN DFR☐ LOADOUT IN☐ TRUCK RESETInitials
Day 1 · Verdict

CALL IT

CARD 12
Before he leaves
  1. Ask him these two, one-on-one, away from the crew. Write down what he says.
    "What's the one thing you're still not sure about?"
    "Anything that would stop you being here at 6:30 tomorrow?"
    (That second question is how you find out about the ride or the childcare problem before it turns into a no-show.)
  2. Put tomorrow in the crew chat in writing before he leaves: where, what time, who to ask for, what to bring.
Circle one — then text Adam by 5:00 PM
GREEN · YELLOW · RED
Why (one line):
Cards he has to repeat:
Day 1 gate

Did cards 4, 7 and 9 all get done? ☐ YES   ☐ NO → if NO, the day doesn't count as complete

Trainer signature Hire signature

Day 2 — Same Kind Of Day, More Rope

Cards 13–19
Day 1 you showed him. Day 2 he does it while you watch, and the crew lead takes over.
Day 2 · Supervisor to Crew Lead

THE HANDOFF

CARD 13
6:00 AM · 10 minutes · Supervisor to Crew Lead, face to face
This is the ten minutes where most onboarding falls apart. It costs nothing.
Hand the Crew Lead this book and say four things:
  1. "Here's what he already knows." Point at the initialed cards. (Stops him re-teaching cones for two hours.)
  2. "Here's what did NOT get signed yesterday — you finish those today." Name them.
  3. "Here's what to watch." Whatever came out of yesterday's two questions.
  4. "His buddy today is ______, and I'm coming by before noon."
Can't be there at 6:00? Same four things in the crew chat, in writing, before 6:00. It never gets skipped — it only changes how it's delivered.
☐ Handoff done — book handed overBuddy named: Initials
Day 2 · He runs it

HE RUNS THE ROLL-OUT

CARD 14
6:30–7:00 · you watch, you don't help
  1. Write down what time he showed up.
  2. PPE on before he touches the truck.
  3. He does the pre-trip, hooks the trailer, secures the load, and counts the loadout out — the whole Card 3 sequence, from memory, no prompting.
  4. Close his paperwork today, not "this week": ID documents if he didn't bring them · payroll app profile done · direct deposit in · boots if he was sent for them.
Done looks like
he did all of it without being walked through it. If he needed prompting, that's a repeat, not a pass.
☐ HE RAN IT UNPROMPTED☐ Paperwork closedInitials
Day 2 · He runs it

HE RUNS THE WALK AND THE ZONE

CARD 15
On arrival
  1. He reads the work order back to you — what we're installing and what we get paid on.
  2. He walks the ticket against the marks and tells you what's missing or faded.
  3. He sets the zone before tools come off. You check it.
  4. He writes his line on the JSA and signs it.
Done looks like
you didn't have to start any of it.
☐ Card doneInitials Date
Day 2 · Producing

HE DOES THE WORK

CARD 16
All day · still attached to the buddy, but now he's producing
What's new today: he hand-digs, potholes, sets zones, moves spoil, runs the tape, keeps the site right.
Still not allowed: any powered machine · tolerance zone unwatched · talking to the customer · signing a bore log.
Three conversations — four minutes total, and this is the whole retention program:
WhenSay
Morning"Here's your one job today and here's what good looks like."
Midday"Show me what you've got." — fix it at the hole at noon. A mistake caught at noon is coaching. At 4 PM it's rework.
End of day"One thing you did well. One thing to fix tomorrow. You good for 6:30?"
☐ Morning☐ Midday☐ End of dayInitials
Day 2 · Supervisor

SUPERVISOR CHECK-IN

CARD 17
Before noon · 15 minutes · EVERY new hire, EVERY time
Not a drive-by. This visit is the reason the Crew Lead actually runs the cards. Take it away and Day 2 goes back to "watch that guy" inside a week.
  1. Find him working next to his buddy. Standing alone or sweeping the truck for the third hour is a Crew Lead problem, and you fix it on the spot.
  2. Ask the hire straight: "What have you done today?" His answer tells you how the Crew Lead is running it.
  3. Look at this book. Cards initialed as they happen, or blank and about to be backfilled at 3 PM?
  4. Check the zone and the JSA with his line on it.
  5. Leave with the Crew Lead knowing exactly what still has to be signed today.
Time of visit:
☐ Visit doneSupervisor initials
Day 2 · At the hole

THE STRIKE SEQUENCE, AT THE HOLE

CARD 18
15 minutes · standing over an open crossing
  1. He potholes another real crossing — you watching, not coaching.
  2. Then, standing at the hole, ask him: "If that had been gas, what do you do — in order?"
  3. He says it back. Correct him until it's right. Then ask him again at the end of the day.
Done looks like
he recites it cold, in order, without looking at anything.
☐ HE POTHOLED IT☐ SAID THE SEQUENCE COLDInitials
Day 2 · Verdict

CLOSE AND CALL IT

CARD 19
Last 30 minutes
  1. He does the whole close himself: photo set filed · his own DFR · loadout counted in · truck reset. You check; you don't do.
  2. End-of-day conversation from Card 16.
  3. Tomorrow in the crew chat in writing before he leaves.
  4. Photograph this book, send it to the Supervisor.
Circle one — Crew Lead to Supervisor by 4:00 PM · Supervisor to Adam by 5:00 PM
SIGNED OFF · REPEAT · RED
Why (one line):
Cards he has to repeat:
Paperwork closed: ☐ ID documents   ☐ payroll profile   ☐ direct deposit   ☐ boots
Crew Lead Supervisor Hire

Tracker — One Page, Whole Class

photograph and send to Adam daily

Fill in as you go. Photograph it and send it to Adam at the end of each day.

Start date:   Trainer:   Crew Lead:

#CardName 1Name 2Name 3
____________________________________
1Night before
2Meet him at the truck
3Roll-out
4THE SEVEN RULES
5Walk the job
6Set the zone
7POTHOLE A REAL CROSSING
8Work the job
9POINTS — SIGNED
10Machine walk-around
11Close the site
12DAY 1 VERDICT
13Handoff
14He runs the roll-out
15He runs the walk and zone
16He does the work
17Supervisor check-in
18Strike sequence at the hole
19DAY 2 VERDICT
The three that never get skipped

Cards 4, 7 and 9 are the three that never get skipped. If any of those three is blank, Day 1 is not complete.

How Many Can You Train At Once On A Live Job

Fewer than in a yard. On a producing site the trainer can't split himself.
New people that dayHow to run it
1Supervisor runs it and the crew keeps producing
2Supervisor runs it. Expect the job to lose a couple of hours — plan for it
3Supervisor + a Crew Lead, and Card 10 moves to the next day
4 or moreNot on a live job. Split the start dates, or run them on a slow day where production isn't the point

When Something Goes Wrong

you don't need to call Adam for any of these
What happenedWhat you do
No work bootsDoesn't go to the job. Gets boots, unpaid for the gap. Repeats the morning cards
No ID documentsWorks today. Deadline written on his folder. No documents by day 3 = no day 4
Late, but he calledHe works. Write down the time. It goes in the verdict
No-call, no-showHe's not a hire. Don't chase. Tell Adam at 5
Refuses PPE or argues a safety ruleRED. Off the site, paid for hours worked. The only thing that ends the day early
The bore is going sideways and nobody has time for the cardsCards 4, 7 and 9 still happen. The rest moves. Say so in the 5 PM text
Somebody wants him on a machine "just to move it"No. You own that refusal. Overruled by anybody — straight to the Supervisor
Machine's operator is buried in the boreCard 10 moves. Nothing else changes
Rain or the job shuts down middayThis is a gift. Run every unsigned card right there at the truck
A crew is short and wants to skip the tailgateSay no. Card 4 is 30 minutes and it's the cheapest insurance Nova buys
He quits at lunchCollect the PPE, note the time, text Adam. Pay him through his hours
He says something that sounds like an injury or an old claimDon't investigate. Write down exactly what he said and send it to Adam today
Stop everything and call Adam now
  1. Any injury worse than a band-aid
  2. Any utility hit — including a nick, including "it was already damaged"
  3. Anybody under the influence
  4. A threat, a fight, or refusing to leave when sent home
  5. Anything that's going to end up on somebody's phone
Nova Underground · Training Book v2 (job-site version) · pairs with the HDD Operator book and the New Hire Guide
⌂ Back to the Library