Prime Training 101, Part 2

If you arrive on Saturday or Sunday, the cafeteria will most likely be closed. They close at 2pm on those days. But if you arrive early, they do accept cash. There will be boxed lunches in the hotel lobby for arriving PSD students, but I chose to go across the street to the Bob Evans restaurant. After 31.5 hours on a bus, I needed a good dinner). The food is moderately priced and was actually quite good. The Campus cafeteria is usually open from 6am until 645pm. When you get your meal card, someone will tell you the exact hours that breakfast, lunch and dinner are served. Lunch and dinner times overlap.

Note 1: When you check in, you will be given a schedule of what will occur during the next week. DON’T BE LATE!!!!!! They have a saying at Campus – “Early is on time, On time is Late”! Learn it and live by it. Being late is a sure fire way to be noticed and not in a good way.

Note 2: Your room key is “cel phone sensitive”. DO NOT put your room key close to your phone, not even for a split second. It will cause failure to your room key almost immediately, and if you are unlucky enough to be in the very back building, it is a long walk back up to the front lobby to have it recharged. Your room key also gains you access to the hotel front lobby, the doors to the hotel hallways, the entrance gate to the parking area, and the room buildings around the campus.

So day 1, Monday, you will start by gathering in the Computer Based Training room, C4 at 7:00AM. You should have a map that was in the paperwork from the front desk and it’s very easy to find. There will be a roll call and then you will go over some basic information such as your immediate scheduling, physical, drug test, interviews, APEX screening, permit testing, DOT medical cards, etc. You will have a few introductions to various staff personnel, go over more basic information about school, training, food, security, shuttle, etc. Pay special attention to Stan Kasterke, he has some interesting stories to tell.

Your class will be divided into groups before you set out for the day. Remember your group! You will be in this group for the duration of your PSD training at the campus for the next 5 days and your schedule will revolve around group assignments. This is particularly important relating to SIM class.

The basic rundown is: 7:00AM, Room C4. (Every Day starts with Roll Call in C4) Times Vary. LOOK at your schedule.

Roll Call & Welcome to Prime Application Packet Review Physical Review Health & Fitness Simulator Groups Organized

I want to stress a VERY important part of all this “basic” information you will receive.

Since you are now at the Campus, you have undoubtedly completed your online application and supplied various bits of the required information. One of the persons that will give you a little lesson is one of the security officers at Prime. He will stress to you, and you should listen to this very carefully, that if you tried to hide something in your past, or you “forgot” to mention something on your application, you need to come clean and make it known to him. You DO NOT have to do this in front of the class, you can see him privately and discuss whatever issue you have. This IS VERY IMPORTANT! DO NOT try to hide something that you think no one can find out about. He is like the all-knowing, all-seeing guru of Prime security. If it is in your past, and he finds it, (and he will), and you didn’t mention it, then your days at Prime are over. End of story.

Around 9:00AM you will be sent out to start working on your checklist.

So now that all the basic information has been covered by the staff, it’s time for everyone to head off and start getting your drug test completed. Some will start with the physical and drug testing, others, the APEX assessment (*), (agility testing)(easy peasy), some will go headlong into the CBT’s (Computer Based Training) and then move throughout the building doing the other functions. The CBT’s are just a series of 9 video’s that MUST be completed by Wednesday! Don’t try to do all the CBT’s the first day thinking it will be the easiest thing to do. It may actually be, but you MUST get your drug test, APEX screening and physical done on Monday.

(*) – APEX Assessment. This is a simple mini testing of your ability to move about freely without strain, such as bending, lifting various amounts of weights to about neck high, climbing a mounted ladder 3 steps up, then 3 down, with about 6 repetitions. (This simulates getting in and out of your truck).